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One-Shot Party Primaries: The Case of the Romanian Social Democrats

While party primaries for candidate selection gain gradual popularity in established European democracies, they remain rare in Eastern Europe. This article focuses on the Romanian Social Democrats and investigates the reasons why primaries were abandoned after one use. The central argument is that this short lifespan was determined by the absence of relevant short-term benefits. A few pathologies of the primaries led to their failure: contest administration, primary regulations and high costs. The key findings are that party primaries did not produce the intended consequences when implementation was accompanied by centralised decision-making.