The studies included in this volume reflect on the history and culture of Romania during the twentieth century, a critical century for the country that saw such realizations as the achievement of national unity, as well as the horrors of two world wars and the installation of a brutal communist dictatorship, ending in the overthrow of the totalitarian regime and the hopes for a freer and more prosperous future. These papers, written in English and Romanian, were presented at the Eighth International Conference of the Center for Romanian Studies, held in Iasi, Romania, on 24-25 June 2002, on the theme "Twentieth Century Romania: A Retrospective."Studies include:•Dumitru Sandru, Arestarile Operate În 1945 În România Dupa Instaurarea Guvernului Petru Groza;•Matthew H. Ciscel, Cei de la Rusi: The linguistic identity of the Bessarabian Romanians in the 20th Century; •Dissidents of the Great Unification?;•Stelu Serban, About electoral volatility in interwar Romania;•Simona Gheorghiu, Nicolae Iorga and the Iron Guard;•Florian Banu, Regele Carol al II-lea si emigratia româneasca din America în timpul celui de-al doilea razboi mondial;•Mihail Rotaru, Sfatul Tarii si autodeterminarea Basarabiei;•Basil D. Georgiadis, Life After Ceausescu: The Challenge of Democracy and NATO Membership for Romania;•Wally Bacon, Contextualizing Interwar Romanian-Polish Relations;•Liviu Groza, Periodicizari ?i Tranzitii în Secolul XX din perspectiva româneasca;and many more.