Dossierveillance, Collaboration, and Fear in Society

The Saga of a Journey Through the Securitate Archives and Beyond
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-49753-2
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 240 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Surveillance

Exploring the cultural history of surveillance practices of the Securitate, Romania’s secret police during its communist period, the book blends biographical details in a historical inquiry to establish the concepts of psuchegraphy, dossierveillance, and banalization of evil in the study of Securitate Archives.

In the context of communist Romania under the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu (1965-89), dossierveillance was a type of surveillance that stresses the miasmic effect of Securitate dossiers in the daily life of Romanians. Centered around the analysis of this concept, the book presents a unique account of the surveillance practices of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, expanding its relevance to fear in the current neo-liberal societies. This book will appeal to students of Eastern European history and politics, criminology, sociology, anthropology, and surveillance studies.

Zielgruppe

General and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Plamadeala, Cristina

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Ethische Themen & Debatten
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Innen-, Bildungs- und Bevölkerungspolitik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part 1: An Itinerant in the Securitate Archives
1. Three Questions
2. Doing Research in the Securitate Archives
3. Brief Historical Overview: Romania and the Other Satellite States during the Cold War

Part 2: The Reluctant Betrayal: Collaboration During Nicolae Ceausescu Regime (1965-89)

4. Defining Psuchegraphy: Antonie Plamadeala’s Novel Trei Ceasuri în Iad
5. The Four Stages of Psuchegraphic Work in Securitate Manuals
6. On Dossierveillance in Communist Romania under Ceausescu: its tangible dimension
7. On Dossierveillance in Communist Romania under Ceausescu: its non-tangible dimension
8. Post-recruitment: Between Banalization of Evil and Perpetration

Part 3: Dossierveillance Then and Now
9. On Centralized Deliberate Dossierveillance
10. Centralized Deliberate Dossierveillance and Lustration
11. A Few More Thoughts on Dossierveillance

Über Autor(innen)

Cristina Plamadeala is a visiting researcher at McGill University. She writes about surveillance practices in totalitarian and neo-liberal societies. She has published works on the subject of religion, culture and politics, Romanian history, and the history of communism. A philosopher and historian of Eastern European history by training, with a background in theology, her work attempts to ask historical questions through philosophical and theological lenses. In her spare time, she writes novels and divides her time between Quebec, Canada and France.