Work As A Historian
Most of Djuvara's work concerns the history of Romania and that of the Romanian people, although he has published significant works pertaining to the philosophy of history, particularly questioning the existence of what he calles "truthful history".
Regarding Romanian history, Djuvara advocates continued and extensive research into what he believes is still unexplored territory. His views are often seen as undermining a Romanian national identity, mainly because of his expressing doubts on the scientific accuracy of most historic research done in Romania since the unification of 1918, and putting forward controversial hypotheses concerning the origin of the Romanians, such as advancing the theory that the vast majority of the nobility in the medieval states that made up the territory of modern-day Romania was of Cuman origin.
He has also published extensively regarding the relationship between his native Romania and Europe, placing the country politically and culturally "between East and West", citing it as the "last to enter what is commonly called the European concert", referring not to Romania's 2007 accession to the European Union, but to the country's change of orientation towards adopting a Western political and cultural model. He has voiced his concern regarding multiculturalism in Europe, a policy which he views as detrimental to stability within the EU.
He is a critic of what he perceives to be an excessively pro-Western attitude in Romanian politics, suggesting that Romanian society and culture cannot be classified as Western, citing Orthodoxy as the predominant religion, the presence of many non-Latin elements in the modern Romanian language and the country's history in the past centuries as arguments.
He has also written about what he called the "American hegemony" and its premises, analysing the influence which the United States of America and its foreign policy have had on the World and, more specifically, on Europe. He characterises the efforts of the United States to establish what resembles a hegemony in Europe and other parts of the World as a "Seventy-Seven Years' War" waged throughout most of the 20th century.
Neagu Djuvara can be seen as a populariser and "de-mystifier" of history, having published books aimed a younger audience as well as books seeking to explain the historical basis for mythical figures such as Dracula or Negru Vodă. He has also published memories from his exile, recounting his life and work in Paris, France and Niamey, Niger.
Read more about this topic: Neagu Djuvara
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