Every reader will respond to and think in a different way about a book. They will have different interpretations of the book. It is not possible to say with scientific certainty in what way a reader will interpret a book. To address this issue, this study focuses on the reader response theory as explained by Iser and Jauss. However, the reader response theory is at present supported by research from the cognitive theory to narratology. This study attempts to understand how a reader reasons with regards to a certain text. A further aim is to understand why a specific reader will think about and interpret the text in the way he or she does. In this study the books 30 Nagte in Amsterdam (30 Nights in Amsterdam) by Etienne van Heerden and Swartskaap (Black Sheep) by Odette Schoeman is used to test the hypothesis. Qualitative research methods were used and the data was processed in different stages as is displayed in the addendum DVD. Cognitive theory wants to explain how the reader will respond to the book as a whole, characters, events and the places and spaces represented in the novel. In this study, it was found that a reader's response will always be influenced by his/her background. Readers use their background either to make sense of the book and the story it tells or to make sense of what has happened in their own lives in order to accept and understand it. On account of the results reached in the study it can be argued that readers should be taken into account when books are reviewed and discussed, because they are the ones that have to do the actual reading. Because of this finding, this study puts forward the suggestion that a review model is developed so that readers can make informed decisions as to which book will be best suited to them. / Thesis (M.A. (Afrikaans and Dutch))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Despite the wide spread use of psychological instruments in the forensic context, there is a dearth of research on the purposes for using it. A qualitative case study approach was adopted in this study to explore the purposes for which industrial psychologists use psychological instruments in loss of income claims. The research study comprised of two phases. Firstly, a literature review was used to provide some background on psychological assessment in the forensic context. The literature review described the historical development of forensic psychology, what psychological instruments are and how they are used in the forensic context. The forensic context, in which industrial psychologists operate, was also described. Furthermore, the initial conceptual framework to outline the context of the next phase of the research was illustrated. The second phase was an exploratory study that made use of a multiple-case study approach. The main research aim was to explore the purposes for using psychological instruments in loss of income claims by industrial psychologists. Another aim was to explore the psychological instruments used. The final aim was to explore the kind of information that is needed in the forensic context, which is not currently available by means of existing psychological assessment. Case study data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with four industrial psychologists. Each interview represented a case to be analysed. The multiple-case study data gathered were then analysed using coding, within-case analysis and across-case analysis. The findings indicate that psychological instruments are used for the following purposes: (1) to add value to the quantification of a loss of income claim; and (2) to provide information that is required on the specific situation and circumstances surrounding the claim. Furthermore, the research findings also revealed that the purpose of using a psychological instrument to add value is influenced by internal factors of the psychological instrument as well as situational characteristics of the legal matter at hand. Through the exploration of the purposes for using psychological instruments, specific instruments used could be identified. Another finding included the existence of a perception that the psychological instruments currently available in South Africa are inadequate to provide the information required in the forensic context. The findings also revealed the kind of information that is needed.Recommendations were made for future research and industry-related practices. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Cette recherche porte sur l’usage de l’altérité par le management des ressources humaines(MRH) dans les filiales de groupes multinationaux implantées en Chine. Elle s’intéresseautant à l’usage discursif de la prise en compte de l’Autre qu’à son effectivité. Elle recherchele sens des pratiques de management à partir d’entretiens menés sur six années entre 2005 et2010. La réflexion est complétée par une approche historique et des regards disciplinairescroisés sur les modes d’organisation des entreprises en Europe et en Amérique du Nordd’une part et en Chine d’autre part. Les résultats de l’analyse mettent en évidence les incohérences observées dans les pratiques de gestion : entre l’approche discursive sur l’altérité et la création d’une culture-fiction sur laChine, entre l’idéologie affichée d’un management interculturel éthique soucieux des différences culturelles et des pratiques de MRH élitistes et discriminatoires, entre un modèle de management universaliste exporté par les sièges et des organisations parallèles qui s’accompagnent de stratégies de dissimulation mises en place par les filiales, entreomniscience des sièges et volonté d’autonomie des filiales. La question centrale est celle des incohérences : sont-elles inhérentes au management ? La thèse montre une refondation possible du modèle managérial occidental par la confrontation des cultures. / This research concerns the use of alterity by Human Resources Management (HRM) in subsidiaries of multinational groups implanted in China. It is as interested in the discursive use of consideration of others as in its effectiveness. It looks for a sense of management practices from interviews carried out over six years between 2005 and 2010, and is completedby an historic approach and crossed disciplinary scrutiny of organization patterns of companies in Europe and in North America on the one hand and in China on the other hand. The results of these analysis bring certain incoherencies, observed in management practices, to light: between the discursive approach on alterity and the creation of a fictional cultureabout China; between the ideology displayed by an ethical and cross-cultural management worried about cultural differences and elitist, discriminatory MRH practices; between a model of universalist management imposed by headquarters and parallel organizations which carry with them dissimulation strategies organized by subsidiaries; and between the omniscience of headquarter and the desire of autonomy from subsidiaries. The main questionis the one of incoherencies: are they inherent to management? The thesis shows a possible refondation of a Western management model through this confrontation of cultures.

Le modèle computo-fonctionnel de la vision de haut niveau de Kosslyn et Koenig (1992) repose sur la dissociation entre la reconnaissance et le traitement spatial de la scène visuelle. En 1987, Kosslyn postula l’existence de deux processus pour le traitement des relations spatiales : un processus catégoriel qui calcule les positions relatives des objets et un processus coordonné qui calcule la distance entre les objets. Des études utilisant le paradigme de présentation en champ visuel divisé ont mis en évidence que l’hémisphère gauche sous-tendrait un traitement catégoriel ; l’hémisphère droit sous-tendrait un traitement coordonné. Cette interaction semblerait valider la dichotomie des deux types de processus.Une revue de la littérature pluridisciplinaire a été menée afin de savoir si ce fait est suffisant pour rejeter l’hypothèse d’un processus unique pour les traitements catégoriels et coordonnés. Entre autres, plusieurs études ont observé un effet de pratique au cours de la réalisation de jugements coordonnés : une diminution de l’intervention de l’hémisphère droit au profit d’une prise en charge progressive de l’hémisphère gauche. De plus, l’avantage de l’hémisphère gauche pour le traitement catégoriel a été rarement observé.Une série de cinq expériences comportementales ont été conduites pour vérifier certains biais expérimentaux qui pourraient expliquer les différences hémisphériques et l’effet de pratique observés. Nos résultats nous ont permis d’avancer des hypothèses axées sur la communication entre les hémisphères et sur un lien entre les processus catégoriels et coordonnés. Une critique du paradigme de présentation en champ visuel divisé et différents modèles d’interaction hémisphérique ont été présentés. Trois expériences ont été menées, afin d’évaluer l’impact des communications hémisphériques dans le traitement des relations spatiales. A la lumière de nos résultats, la dichotomie des processus catégoriels et coordonnés a été discutée. / The computational-functional conception of high-level processing of vision in Kosslyn and Koenig (1992) relies on dissociation between object recognition and spatial processing. In 1987, Kosslyn postulated that two different processes compute spatial-relations: categorical process computes relative position of objects and coordinate process computes the distance between objects. Some studies indicate a left-hemisphere advantage for processing categorical spatial relations and a right-hemisphere advantage for processing coordinate spatial relations. This hemispheric difference is interpreted as an evidence of a dichotomy between these two processes. A pluridisciplinary review was conducted to assure that single process hypothesis is dismissed out. Some studies showed, in a coordinate task, that practice resulted in a decreased right-hemisphere involvement and a concurrent increase in left-hemisphere involvement (i.e., practice effect). Furthermore, the left-hemisphere advantage in categorical was seldom observed. The theoretical aim of the thesis was based on two questions: (1) Are there single or several processes encoding visual spatial relations? (2) How can we interpret this practice effect ?Five experiments were run to verify possible bias which might explain observed hemispheric differences and practice effect. Our results suggested that hemispheric communication might be an important factor in spatial-relation processing.An theoretical investigation of divided visual field paradigm was led and several interhemispheric models were described. Three experiments were conducted to estimate hemispheric communication in spatial-relation process. In the light of our results, separate categorical-coordinate processes hypothesis were discussed.

Organizational learning causes organizational change. Different descriptive models have been proposed, but little research on variables influencing these processes has been done. Needs govern our behavior and motivate our acting. It has been shown that their identification and satisfaction effect value-creating and knowledge-intensive activities, such as innovation processes, strategy development, and product design. However, needs are usually implicitly anchored in organizations and people can hardly articulate them. Despite the fact that a focus on needs does not prescribe any concrete strategy, but extends opportunities to act, an initial consideration of needs often lacks. Consequently, their role as an influencing variable for organizational learning has not been investigated yet. Addressing this gap, this dissertation explores the nature of needs and how they can enhance organizational learning processes. It introduces a novel theory on needs for organizational practice which emphasizes the potential of a focus on needs. It argues why considering needs is beneficial for learning initiatives, such as vision or strategy development, in which various expectations which presumably emerge from shared needs have to be combined. Shared needs within a social system can trigger organizational learning and facilitate the design of new consensual satisfaction strategies (satisfiers). The theory allows for understanding the motivational forces of organizational learning and exploiting the postulated one-to-many relation between needs and satisfiers. Moreover, it points at influencing variables for the organizational transition from needs to need satisfaction and illustrates that by a knowledge perspective resulting in the concept of "need-based solution knowledge". This knowledge enables people to propose viable satisfiers in organizations. We introduce the methodological framework "Bewextra" that targets at the capacity to identify needs in organizations. It rests upon theories from various scientific fields and utilizes "learning from an envisioned future" as a core method. This enables to literally envision a desired future scenario in which all needs are intuitively fulfilled, and thereby allows for the creation of knowledge about needs. The research follows the action research paradigm which proposes a combinational interplay between rational and empirical research processes, in which various (qualitative) research methods are used. Besides theoretical considerations, the dissertation reports about four research projects in which the theories and methods were applied, reflected, and refined. More specifically, it presents how "Bewextra" was implemented and adjusted and demonstrates that a combination of conventional learning from the past and "learning from an envisioned future" enhances the outcome of organizational learning in various domains. Moreover, it investigates the differences between organizational strategies, that emerge with reference to needs, and strategies, that are developed without explicitly considering needs.

The starting-point of the thesis was that teachers to a large extent teach on the basis of intuitive theories. This creates a tendency that a number of frequent conceptions, pedagogical and didactic theories, experiences of one's own school days etc. become parts of a more fragmentary structure of ideas, rather than a coherent theory of teaching. With the aim of creating a deeper understanding of questions related to teaching and learning, two dominating perspectives were described initial. By putting the intuitive ideas in relation to basic paradigmatic assumptions a picture was given of what the teacher has to know in order to thoroughly understand a certain perspective. In addition, examples of pedagogical theories were presented that can be referred to the perspective in question, which teachers can adopt to qualify their understanding. A critical discussion of the paradigmatic assumptions paved the way for a third perspective, where thoughts occurring in the other two were partly combined. Here a theoretical basis was also presented to explain why the use of mental tools of thinking, especially such that are linked to knowledge theory may lead the teacher to a more reflective way of dealing with questions of teaching and learning. The third perspective was illustrated, first with four examples of how teaching can be performed, and then also in the form of in-service training for teachers. In the empirical section and in the final conclusion the perspectives were illustrated, discussed and examined critically. On the basis of questionnaires answered by upper secondary school teachers, interviews and observations, assumed examples of intuitive theories were presented. The empirical material was also analysed from the same starting-points as the formulation of the perspectives. Ten teachers' systems of intuitive theories about teaching and learning could thus be constructed. Five of these were presented and a comparison with the perspectives was made. Some analyses, however, turned out to agree best with a further perspective, which had not been focused on in the thesis. It was also found that teachers' practice can be enriched by being confronted with scientific knowledge. The value of such knowledge was illustrated through the evaluation of an inservice programme for teachers.

Titre de la page de titre additionnel: Ghost dancing at the Supreme Court of Canada : indigenous rights during the First quarter century of s.35.of Canada's Constitution Act, 1982. / Certains supposent que la Loi constitutionnelle de 1982, donc la section 35(1) reconnait les droits existants des peuples autochtones, a complété la décolonisation du Canada. Par contre, malgré le passage d'un quart de siècle, plusieurs Autochtones estiment que la Cour suprême continue à nier l'existence de leurs droits. Cette étude examine cette problématique en formulant des définitions juridiques du « colonialisme » et du « post colonialisme ». Vu le remplacement de l'idéal de «la loi» comme «commande », promu par le juriste anglais John Austin au dernier siècle, par l'idéal du consensus populaire et démocratique, nous avons vécu une changement important dans le droit euro-canadien. Mais, selon la théorie des paradigmes de Thomas Kuhn, la continuation des anciennes habitudes est une partie normale du processus de changement, qui n'est jamais complète sans l'émergence de nouveaux modèles et procédures. Pour déterminer la situation de la Cour suprême du Canada par rapport au processus de décolonisation, la Partie I de cette étude examine le fonctionnement paradigmatique autant que le phénomène colonial, la décolonisation en droit international et le postcolonialisme pour identifier les indicateurs du paradigme colonial autant que le paradigme postcolonial. La Partie II adapte ce cadre analytique aux raisonnements de la Cour suprême du Canada concernant les droits autochtones protégés par l’article 35 (1) de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1982. Cette double analyse coloniale/postcoloniale démontre la persistance des anciennes habitudes malgré la reconnaissance des idéaux postcoloniaux par la Cour. Les juges sont conscients des limites institutionnelles qui restreignent leur capacité de protéger les droits autochtones, mais plusieurs concepts qui structurent leur raisonnement perpétuent la dynamique coloniale. Une réflexion approfondie des juges, des praticiens et des peuples autochtones sur les problèmes qui découlent des changements paradigmatiques doit faciliter la tolérance mutuelle qui est un préalable aux ententes qui sont nécessaires selon les idéaux égalitaires qui sont partages par tous. / Many people believe that Canada became fully decolonized in 1982 with the "patriation" instituted by the Constitution Act, 1982, whose s.35 (1) explicitly recognized and affirmed "existing Aboriginal and treaty rights". Yet, a quarter century later, Indigenous critics continue to complain that their rights are being denied by the Supreme Court of Canada. This study has approached such questions by drawing on international law to establish legal definitions for "colonialism" and "postcolonialism". In this optic, it becomes clear that there has been a significant change in Euro-Canadian norms during the past century. Colonial concepts, like the English jurist John Austin's definition of "law" as "command" have been superseded by the ideal of informed, popular consent, yet modes of conduct that are consistent with the colonial paradigm persist. According to Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions this is predictable because changes from one paradigm to another are normally characterized by intensified assertions of the impugned orthodoxy and no change is complete until new models and procedures have emerged to replace established habits. In order to determine where the Supreme Court of Canada actually stands in relation to the decolonization process, Part I of this study examines the nature of paradigmatic function, including the metaphoric construction of language. It then reviews the colonial phenomenon, the emergence of decolonization in international law and postcolonialism to define the colonial and postcolonial paradigms in terms of specific indicia that can be used to classify institutional performance. Part II adapts this analytical framework to the specific circumstances of judicial decision making and applies it to the reasoning of over 60 Supreme Court of Canada cases concerned with section 35 (1) of the Constitution Act, 1982. This dual colonial/postcolonial analysis makes it possible to identify some of the ways in which colonial metaphors and modes of thought have persisted during the past quarter century despite the Court's firm commitment to postcolonial ideals. Though the judges themselves are aware of some of the institutional limitations that constrict their ability to validate Indigenous rights, many of the concepts that structure their reasoning induce them to perpetuate the colonial paradigm. Further reflection on the structure of our rational processes and on the problems predictably associated with paradigm change might make it easier for judges, practitioners and Indigenous peoples to develop the agreements that are necessary to implement the egalitarian ideals ascribed to by all.

Alors que les hypothèses de valence et de dominance hémisphérique droite ont longtemps été utilisées afin d’expliquer les résultats de recherches portant sur le traitement émotionnel de stimuli verbaux et non-verbaux, la littérature sur le traitement de mots émotionnels est généralement en désaccord avec ces deux hypothèses et semble converger vers celle du décours temporel. Cette dernière hypothèse stipule que le décours temporal lors du traitement de certains aspects du système sémantique est plus lent pour l’hémisphère droit que pour l’hémisphère gauche. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’examiner la façon dont les mots émotionnels sont traités par les hémisphères cérébraux chez des individus jeunes et âgés. À cet effet, la première étude a pour objectif d’évaluer l’hypothèse du décours temporel en examinant les patrons d’activations relatif au traitement de mots émotionnels par les hémisphères gauche et droit en utilisant un paradigme d’amorçage sémantique et une tâche d’évaluation. En accord avec l’hypothèse du décours temporel, les résultats obtenus pour les hommes montrent que l’amorçage débute plus tôt dans l’hémisphère gauche et plus tard dans l’hémisphère droit. Par contre, les résultats obtenus pour les femmes sont plutôt en accord avec l’hypothèse de valence, car les mots à valence positive sont principalement amorcés dans l’hémisphère gauche, alors que les mots à valence négative sont principalement amorcés dans l’hémisphère droit. Puisque les femmes sont considérées plus « émotives » que les hommes, les résultats ainsi obtenus peuvent être la conséquence des effets de la tâche, qui exige une décision explicite au sujet de la cible. La deuxième étude a pour objectif d’examiner la possibilité que la préservation avec l’âge de l’habileté à traiter des mots émotionnels s’exprime par un phénomène compensatoire d’activations bilatérales fréquemment observées chez des individus âgés et maintenant un haut niveau de performance, ce qui est également connu sous le terme de phénomène HAROLD (Hemispheric Asymmetry Reduction in OLDer adults). En comparant les patrons d’amorçages de mots émotionnels auprès de jeunes adultes et d’adultes âgés performants à des niveaux élevés sur le plan comportemental, les résultats révèlent que l’amorçage se manifeste unilatéralement chez les jeunes participants et bilatéralement chez les participants âgés. Par ailleurs, l’amorçage se produit chez les participants âgés avec un léger délai, ce qui peut résulter d’une augmentation des seuils sensoriels chez les participants âgés, qui nécessiteraient alors davantage de temps pour encoder les stimuli et entamer l’activation à travers le réseau sémantique. Ainsi, la performance équivalente au niveau de la précision retrouvée chez les deux groupes de participants et l’amorçage bilatéral observé chez les participants âgés sont en accord avec l’hypothèse de compensation du phénomène HAROLD. / While the right hemisphere and valence hypotheses have long been used to explain the results of research on emotional nonverbal and verbal stimuli processing, the literature on emotional word processing is highly inconsistent with both hypotheses, but appear to converge with the time course hypothesis. The time course hypothesis holds that in the processing of some parts of the semantic system the time course of activation is slower in the right hemisphere compared to the left hemisphere. The goal of this thesis was to find insight into the ways in which words with emotional words are processed in the cerebral hemispheres in young and older individuals. To this end, the first study investigated the time course hypothesis looking at the activation pattern of emotional words in the left and right hemispheres, using the priming paradigm and an evaluation task. Consistent with the time course hypothesis, the results in males revealed an early and later priming in the left and right hemispheres, respectively. The results for females, however, were consistent with the valence hypothesis, since positive and negative words were optimally primed in the left and right hemispheres, respectively. As females are considered more emotional than males, their results may be due to the nature of the task, which required an explicit decision concerning the target. The second study looked at the possibility that the preservation with age of the ability to process emotional words would follow the compensatory role of bilateral activation in high performing older individuals known as the HAROLD phenomenon (Hemispheric Asymmetry Reduction in OLDer adults). Comparing the pattern of emotional word priming in a group of equally high performing older and younger, it was shown that while priming occurred unilaterally in young participants, the pattern of priming in older participants appeared to be bilateral. The occurrence of priming in older adults occurred with a tiny delay, though, that may be due to an increase in sensory thresholds that causes older adults to need more time to encode stimuli and start activation through the semantic network. Thus, the bilateral pattern of priming and the equivalent level of performance in older adults provide behavioral evidence supporting the compensatory role of the HAROLD phenomenon.

Alors que la création de valeur demeure un objectif légitime et naturel de l’évolution d’une firme, cette recherche a montré que les éditeurs de presse d’information se trouvent, depuis le début du XXIe siècle, d’une part, dans une situation financière dégradée et subséquemment dans une spirale de destruction massive de valeur au point de mettre en péril leur pérennité – certains étant d’ailleurs en faillite virtuelle – et, d’autre part, dans l’incapacité à l’horizon 2016, au-delà du simple équilibre opérationnel, d’inverser la tendance, dès lors que le raisonnement se conduit à périmètre structurel constant. Pour autant, en considérant une interdépendance systémique de plusieurs facteurs d’influence – des déterminants de la performance qui puisent leur origine dans l’histoire et la nature même du bien informationnel et qui s’enrichissent d’éléments structurels et environnementaux –, et en acceptant que chaque industrie ne soit plus que le maillon d’une chaîne de valeur globale dans laquelle l’éditeur n’a plus le monopole, il ressort, par une mise en scène de différents scenarii construits, entre prévision et prospective, sur une période allant de 2010 à 2020, que les différentes conditions requises pour une dynamique vertueuse, malgré les pierres d’achoppement possibles, s’articulent autour de trois axes majeurs – reconquête des marchés, recherche de marges de manoeuvre opérationnelles et financières, changement de référentiel. La dynamique se construit dans un enchaînement de circonstances contraint, ajusté et structuré en trois grandes étapes, qui permet finalement à quelques groupes de se réorganiser pour constituer des firmes de taille critique et ainsi dégager, grâce à une équation de valeur efficiente, simplement réajustée et différenciée, les moyens de migrer vers ce nouveau paradigme informationnel né de cet univers numérique. / Creating value is the natural aim of any private company. This study shows however that from the beginning of the 21st century print media publishers have been losing money and getting into a spiral of value-destruction so vicious as to jeopardise their very survival. Some are practically bankrupt. Nor is there any sign they will have turned the corner or even be breaking even by 2016 if the industry doesn’t restructure. There are three ways for print media firms to turn this round and regain positive momentum: recapturing market-share, improving their operational freedom and their margins and changing market perception. To do this however they will need to understand and take account of some big and interrelated themes – the ways in which the new uses of data, its ‘history’, its location and its very nature have enriched the value of information itself. They will also need to accept that publishers no longer have a monopoly of information and that they are only a link in a global value chain. To reach this conclusion the study runs a range of scenarios comparing confident short term forecasts and foresights for the longer term, from 2010 to 2020. We find that there will probably be three key stages of constraint, change and restructuring. A few publishers probably will manage to reorganise themselves, reach critical size and create value in this new world. To do so they will have a profoundly new and efficient value-creation ‘equation’, readjusted and differentiated from what has gone before. It is this that will allow them to migrate into and flourish in the new informational paradigm born from this digital universe.

Un nouvel contexte de sécurité en Europe a fait place à l’ère bipolaire au cours des années 1990. La chute du communisme découvre une Europe scindée entre les pays occidentaux et les pays de l’Europe orientale, une région positionnée au carrefour des civilisations, tributaire encore aux défis, dangers et risques qui accompagnent la chute de l’empire soviétique. Au début des années 1990, un nouveau paradigme de sécurité, surnommé le « paradigme de sécurité gelé » remplace l’ancien paradigme de la bipolarité, spécifique à la guerre froide. Le manque de coopération entre les pays de la région devient la principale caractéristique de l’époque, au début et lors du moment unipolaire. Le tableau de la sécurité régionale nous montre deux camps avec des conceptions apparemment irrémédiables : d’un part, les pays appartenant à l’ancien système communiste, chacun avec les propres craintes vis-à-vis d’un possible revirement de la Russie et chacun avec une forte orientation pro-occidentale. D’autre part il existe une Russie désireuse de rétablir la sphère d’influence perdue et de regagner la gloire impériale, en utilisant de plus en plus une nouvelle méthode de coercition, l’arme énergétique. Dans cette équation de pouvoir, il est intéressant de poursuivre l’évolution et le rôle de la Roumanie, un pays de faille, appartenant par la langue et par la culture à la civilisation occidentale et par religion à la civilisation orthodoxe. En définitive, par son positionnement stratégique, et par sa volonté de retrouver son identité européenne perdue lors du communisme, la Roumanie deviendra l’une des importants piliers de la défense otaniene dans cette part du continent. / A new security environment in Europe replaced the bipolarity era since the ‘90th. The fall of communism reveals a Europe divided between Western countries and the Eastern Europe, region located at the crossroads of civilizations, tributary to the challenge, risks and hazards accompanying the Soviet collapse. Early ’90th, a new security paradigm, the “paradigm of freeze security” replaces the old one of bipolarity during the Cold War. The lack of cooperation among the countries in the region is the main characteristic of the period, from the beginning and during unipolar moment. The picture of regional security show us two camps having apparently irremediable ideology: on the one hand, countries belonging to the former Soviet empire, each of them having their own concern about a possible sudden change of Russia, but with a strong Western orientation, and on the other hand, the existing Russian empire willing to reestablish a sphere of influence and to regain lost imperial glory, using increasingly a more and new coercion weapon – the energy weapon. In this equation of power, is interesting to observe the evolution and Romania role, a buffer security zone, by the language and culture belonging of Western civilization and by religion of Orthodox civilization. Ultimately, by its strategic position and desire to find again, its European identity, lost during Communism era, Romania will become one of the important pillars of NATO defense, in this part of the continent.