COMMUNICATING DEFENSE AND SECURITY IN ROMANIA DURING THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS (NOVEMBER 2013 - SEPTEMBER 2014)

This paper analyzes the main themes and patterns used by Romanian communication programs on defense and security during the Ukrainian crises, from November 2013 until the ceasefire of September 5th. Acknowledging the change made in the Romanian leadership’s understanding of the security concept during the last 25 years of country’s transition from communism to democracy, the study found out that the narrative used by the Romanian institutions might lead to a new understanding on whose job is to protect the country in case of a military aggression. Currently, the bearer of this responsibility appears to be, for Romanians, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU) and the Romanians themselves, in this order. For the timeframe analyzed, for what is spoken and written in the media by the politicians and, afterwards, re-represented by the general public (developed by opinion pools) it seems that for the military dimension, the security responsibility was somehow outsourced