Anitta M. Hipper examines to what extent and under what conditions the EU's transformative
power met with resistance in Romania. The book touches upon a raw nerve for most post-communist
societies: justice and anti-corruption reform. Through the use of a context-sensitive approach
it assesses how domestic factors influenced the implementation of EU conditionality towards
Romania from 1990 to 2012. Empirical investigations reveal a struggle between various
interested parties in complying with EU conditionality. As a result a complex layer of
(non-)compliance emerged and it became a Herculean task to ensure the sustainability of reform
by reformist forces within Romania and the EU.
