Administrative Regionalism in Interwar Romania. The Case of the Lower Danube Land

Abstract

The article examines the evolution of administrative regionalism in interwar Romania, with a particular focus on the Carlist reform of 1938–1940 and on the case study of the Lower Danube Land, as an expression of the tension between modernisation and centralism. The study traces the genesis and functioning of the land system, introduced by the Law on the Administrative Organisation of Romania (14 August 1938), within the broader context of the transformation of the political regime into an authoritarian monarchy. Building on an analysis of the normative framework, the competencies of the royal residents and the relationship between the centre and the periphery, the article poofs that the administrative reform of 1938 represented a form of formal regionalisation rather than genuine decentralisation. The Lower Danube Land, headquartered in Galați, offers a
revealing example of how the modernising discourse, emphasising efficiency, inter-county coordination, and economic planning, was employed as an instrument of centralised political control.
The analysis of the documents shows that, although the royal residency introduced incipient forms of territorial planning and administrative standardisation, the lack of financial autonomy, overlapping competencies, and the reform's short lifespan ultimately hindered the achievement of its declared objectives. While the reform did contribute to the uniformisation of procedures and the partial professionalisation of the administration, it ultimately reinforced a culture of executive centralism.