Mihaela Serban

The dissertation examines the survival and re-constitution of private property during the communist regime in Romania at the intersection of state policies, ideologies, and legal practices. It investigates the extent to which the communist state influenced ideas, practices, and processes of using the law; the extent to which past property regimes continue to affect beliefs and everyday consciousness about law; and the consequences for the post-communist transition. As a case study, the dissertation focuses on urban houses nationalized and expropriated in Timis county, Romania, from 1945 to 1965. The ongoing multi-method field research involves document and archival research, as well as court observation and interviews, in Timisoara, Romania.