Why is Romania different?

Why is Romania different? is the title of the latest book by Lucian Boia. It is not a book about how Romanians are the chosen nation, au contraire. It explores the reasons why the Romanian society is behind other western and even eastern European societies. This is in fact a compared history of the institutions and social habits from Romania (or the former regions of Valachia, Moldavia and Transilvania) and other countries. The book already generated a lot of reactions in the media, two examples being those of Dan Tapalaga (here) who complains about the last chapter where the current political situation is analyzed and Alina Mungiu Pipidi (here) who argues that the whole Balkans region has the same characteristics. Since I liked all the books I read of Mr. Boia, starting with the one which shook the view of Romanians about their history 10 years ago (Istorie si mit in constiinta romaneasca), I highly recommend this one too.