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Emil Constantinescu

Romanian politician

Emil Constantinescu (born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000.

Emil Constantinescu in 1998

Quotes

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  • Victory means first and foremost security. Only the consolidation of NATO's Southern flank, through the soonest extension of an invitation for Romania, Slovenia and Bulgaria to become full members of the Alliance, can assure it in the long term. It is safer for NATO, and safer for the whole region, to have the Alliance firmly implanted in the region. For our countries, which assumed the same risks of any member state, without the guarantees and benefits of actual membership, a deadline after 2002 seems an unfair and remote prospective.
  • Economic incentives to the stable zones neighbouring the conflict-torn area is an emergency, as well as the foremost political instrument for maintaining zonal equilibirum and persuading, all the countries in the region of the positive model's validity.
  • Within the debates on the security assessment and planning logics, two theoretical approaches have emerged. According to the first one, which is also the oldest, the world is unipolar, due to the USA super-power, which have invested during the last ten years double the amount of the military budgets of all the other states in scientific and technological research for military purposes. The world can be defined as unipolar also from the point of view of the western liberal democracy model that assures economic development and prosperity.
  • On the future, the European and world security, as well as each state security should adapt to the postmodern society. The states will probably remain for a long time from now on not only the security subjects, but also its guarantees. Meanwhile we are also forced to take into account the fact that the postmodern world created solidarities of racial, ethical, sexual groups that transcend the states. Thus, we should not see the state security only as a goal, but also as a way to assure the security for different groups and for citizens seen as persons with own interests and options.
  • The world economic crisis led to a positive reassessment of the state role as protector of the citizens against abuses coming from those who assured the 20th century states progress and prosperity: transnational economic and financial companies. A partnership between the private sector and the civil society promoting the corporate social responsibility may create the trust necessary to overcome present and future crises.
  • In our contemporary world, states can no longer be conventionally divided in blocks because the reactions following different interests lead to changing the alliances and the opposite parts on different topics or subjects. On one hand, it is a reflex of the contemporary world democratization, but also of the governments’ pragmatism forced to respond to the needs of their own citizens.
  • Problems of the transition towards democracy, along with the separatism and the delay in consolidating the new independent states create, on their turn; risks directly connected to the states and governments political legitimacy. The mafia type cores nourishing separatism and blocking the new states consolidation put a question mark on the capability of fighting the institutionalized corruption. A threat associated to the democracy global model is the populism. Populism can lead to weakening the power and efficiency of the key democratic institutions, of the independency of justice, mass media and army. The elements along with the existing old frozen conflicts arouse concerns both about the dividing tendencies within the new independent states, but also about the terrorist elements transit to Europe as well as about maintaining the backward mentalities generating attractiveness towards authoritarian administrative models.
  • Conflict prevention and post-conflict situations management require a more comprehensive perspective that will allow the development of the global or regional institutions complementarity. A balanced vision should take into account the interests of different ethnical and religious communities, the states obligations and their citizens’ natural rights, the conjunctural and long-term interests of the regional actors. It cannot be elaborated without involving representatives competent to express the voices plurality, questions and aspirations from billions of people. Political structures should be supplemented by civil society structures dedicated to world security issues. Only such a process to consolidate the respect for human, democracy and common security may reach the depth that only peoples’ real will can guarantee.
  • Cultural diplomacy can work as a laboratory where is created the global security political culture through mutual trust, negotiation and cooperation. It can identify the major risks, can conceive and apply programs of mutual trust enhancement, both within countries with a high-risk degree, but also within conflict potential regions. Within this laboratory, I believe that exists a privileged place for the former presidents in term during the transition from the communist dictatorships to the democratic states status. Their civic and reformer political leaders experience, their mutual relationships and the prestige they have gained can play a role both in conflict defusing, but also in reconceiving long-term strategies.
  • The important contribution of the preventive cultural diplomacy to the security architecture in Europe and in the entire world will be, with no doubt, the one of wars that would have not taken place due to creating a few democratic dialogue mechanisms and to strengthening of the collaboration with the civil society.
  • We use to say that diplomacy was invented when our ancestors decided that it was more interesting to hear the messenger than to eat the messenger. Time runs faster and faster in the new century. That does not mean we must rush ahead without thinking. Our past is shaping our future, if we accept it or not; let’s try and make the best use of it.
  • Globalization has opened a market without borders in education. However, we must go immediately to the statutory changes and constituent reforms in education. If mobility is a canopy of trees and their roots are a network of domestic and transnational institutions tree trunk must consist of new strategic organization of knowledge. Globalization has offered communications infrastructure, in which space and time lost their meaning. The dual role of education and labor should operate based on two concepts: education and lifelong subject diversity. A subject diversity hasn’t got freedom from the tyranny of the caste spirit disciplines and research institutes. The decision could have an offer for the younger generation that would not allow him to choose between names of subjects, but between occupations, professions offering horizon, where objects are replaced by a format that allows you choose their own route, which would have created an individual biography. In this format teachers should become guardians or examples rather than just carriers of knowledge. You must create a system of education and research field of new playing fields and new players. Managers must manage interaction. Organizational areas have changed in the context in which the battle for talent management becomes a science.
  • A world without borders in education requires, as I said, rethinking the role of institutions. It is necessary to prepare graduates with global competence, which would be able to act based on religious, technological, cultural and environmental features. We should not forget that globalization is caused by problems. Global problems require global answers.
  • Mankind has just reached a point in its history that is not only critical, but full of hope. After the tragic experiences humanity underwent on a global scale during this past century, we are seeing the birth, for the first time in history, of a universal culture of peace.
  • The laws that govern our States are based on the presumption of innocence. Along the same lines, we need to adopt a common code of conduct for cultures and peoples based on a presumption of goodwill. Romania also has profound respect for United Nations action aimed at avoiding, or at least restricting, armed conflict and at guaranteeing dignity and fundamental rights for every human being.
  • In shedding the constraints of communist dictatorship, together with a deepening of the globalization process, our countries have suddenly become vulnerable. The speed with which criminal organizations have set out to conquer new territories is in stark contrast to the necessarily slower rhythm of institutional development. Still fragile, the protection which the rule of law can offer from the perverse and toxic globalization of organized crime remains inadequate and legislation deficient, while civil society continues to react timidly.
  • The security, prosperity and peace that we imagine to be the pillars of the twenty-first century will, in fact, be achievable only if we are able to act now in order to clear the path. We are convinced that the documents which we are to adopt at the end of this session will establish an appropriate framework in that direction.
  • We now have, on the eve of the new millennium, the opportunity to establish a global policy and an unprecedented kind of human communication that will open the way to a future that we will be able to build freely and unhindered. This goal is at hand, if only we join forces.
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