Bulgarian Politics Research Papers

I propose a theoretical framework that illuminates the conditions that limit the seat- maximizing behavior of incumbents and test it through a comparative analysis of three cases of electoral reform in Bulgaria. Building on Tsebelis’... more

През 1934 година българският писател и публицист Антон Страшимиров определя Петко Каравелов като феномен в българския политически живот , а според д-р Александър Гергинов копривщенецът е патриархът на българската държавническа и... more

През 1934 година българският писател и публицист Антон Страшимиров определя Петко Каравелов като феномен в българския политически живот , а според д-р Александър Гергинов копривщенецът е патриархът на българската държавническа и политическа мисъл. Всъщност през своята 25-годишна политическа кариера Петко Каравелов е бил четири пъти министър-председател, нееднократно председател на Народното събрание и министър на финансите, а когато се налага успешно ръководи и други министерства. По време на неговото управление се извършва Съединението на Княжество България и Източна Румелия, в защитата на което той има решаваща роля. За кратко време изпълнява длъжността кмет на Пловдив, девет пъти е избиран за народен представител, а след абдикацията на княз Александър Батенберг е един от тримата посочени от княза регенти на Княжеството. Член е на Българското книжовно дружество и има основна заслуга за преместването му в България.
Същевременно Петко Каравелов преживява два преврата и един контрапреврат. Два пъти лежи в затвора по времето на режима на Стефан Стамболов, като втория път е осъден на 5 години затвор за участие в убийството на министъра Христо Белчев. Нееднократно неговите партии претърпяват разцепления и бившите му приятели се превръщат в най-големите му врагове. Не е привърженик на агресивната националистическа политика, поради което е обявяван от противниците си за национален предател.
Както се вижда от това резюме, тук наистина става въпрос за една крупна и противоречива фигура, играла важна роля в построяването на модерната българска държава. Настоящото изследване няма за цел да представи биографично живота на Петко Каравелов, а да посочи неговите политически идеи и действия през дългогодишната му политическа кариера. На власт или в опозиция, в изгнание или в затвора, този бележит деец е за демократичен порядък, вътрешна самостоятелност и външна ориентация към Русия. За него Симеон Радев пише: „Той бе останал толкова ненакърнен в своята умствена сила, колкото и в твърдостта на своите принципи.“

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- by Angel Zlatkov
- •
- 3
  Politics, Bulgarian Politics, Bulgarian history

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- by Alexander Sadovski
- •
- Bulgarian Politics

"The mausolea of communist leaders, a major component of Stalinist symbolic politics, are still shrouded in mystery. Some are destroyed, like Dimitrov’s in Sofia, Gottwald’s in Prague and Neto’s in Luanda. The Lenin mausoleum in Moscow is... more

"The mausolea of communist leaders, a major component of Stalinist symbolic politics, are still shrouded in mystery. Some are destroyed, like Dimitrov’s in Sofia, Gottwald’s in Prague and Neto’s in Luanda. The Lenin mausoleum in Moscow is basically defunct. Yet the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum in Hanoi, Mao’s in Beijing and the Kumsusan mausoleum complex of the Kim dynasty in Pyongyang keep fulfilling their task of a powerful symbol of a different political, social and economic order, with the embalmed cadavers of the founding fathers embodying the supposed eternal duration of that order and thereby perpetuating its legitimacy.
While the destroyed and defunct mausolea continue to be a subject of rumours and fables widely circulating among citizens of the respective countries, and globally among journalists and some scholars, very little is currently known about what actually transpired in a communist mausoleum.
This talk will offer first an overview of the cultural background and ideological reasons for the origin of communist mausolea in general. Second, it will demonstrate the details of the Soviet embalming method and the symbolic meaning of displaying the leader’s body, based on archival documents relating to the mausoleum of Bulgarian leader Georgi Dimitrov (on display 1949–1990) and Czechoslovak president Klement Gottwald (on display 1953–1962). The recently declassified archives of these mausolea currently represent the only freely accessible documentation of its kind. The formerly top secret material to be presented in this talk was never seen before by anybody else than the embalmers.
The talk will conclude with a discussion of the relationship of the embalmers to the practice of preserving dead bodies in the past. It will be shown that the Soviet, and to a lesser extent also the Bulgarian, specialists were fully aware that their preservation work in a monumental tomb constituted a continuation of a tradition inherited from antiquity, and they did not hesitate to publicly acknowledge that, at the same time highlighting the fundamental differences between the context and method of ancient and modern body preservation. They were (and still are) proud of their work while the attitude of particularly the Soviet population to the mausoleum project certainly was not negative. The attitude of the Czech specialists, however, was marked by indifference or even shame while the mausoleum project met with condemnation among the majority of Czechoslovaks."

Encyclopedia chapter.

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- by Antony T Todorov
- •
- 2
  Bulgarian Politics, Election Studies

HIDALGOS Nº 560, Madrid 2019 Se explica la formación del Kanato Búlgaro y su conversión en Imperio por Simeón I en el año 893 y la restauración imperial por Kaloyan en 1185. La dominación otomana y la independencia lograda en 1978. La... more

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- by Luis Valero de Bernabe
- •
- 19
  History, Balkan History, Heraldry, Bulgaria

Αντικείμενο του βιβλίου είναι το ζήτημα των μεταρρυθμίσεων στο χώρο του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου και πιο συγκεκριμένα το πρόβλημα της ερμηνείας των Γενικών Κανονισμών , οι οποίοι επηρέασαν τη διαδικασία ανασυγκρότησης του ορθόδοξου... more

Αντικείμενο του βιβλίου είναι το ζήτημα των μεταρρυθμίσεων στο χώρο του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου και πιο συγκεκριμένα το πρόβλημα της ερμηνείας των Γενικών Κανονισμών , οι οποίοι επηρέασαν τη διαδικασία ανασυγκρότησης του ορθόδοξου μιλλέτ . Η μελέτη δεν περιορίζεται στην ανάλυση του κειμένου των Κανονισμών, αλλά διερευνά το πολιτικό πεδίο που συγκρότησε ο καταρτισμός τους. Οδηγεί έτσι, όχι μόνο σε πλούσιο πρωτογενές υλικό, αλλά και σε συμπεράσματα που φωτίζουν σημαντικές πλευρές της ζωής της ελληνορθόδοξης κοινότητας στην Κωνσταντινούπολη. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, οι στόχοι της εργασίας είναι:
- Να αναλύσει τι πολιτικές και κοινωνικές προϋποθέσεις της ανασυγκρότησης του ορθόδοξου μιλλέτ, ξεκινώντας από τα δίκτυα ισχύος και τις ομάδες συμφερόντων που συγκροτήθηκαν ήδη από τη δεκαετία του 1830.
- Να εξετάσει διεξοδικά το σχηματισμό των δύο πτερύγων , της κληρικαλικής και της μεταρρυθμιστικής και την αντιπαράθεσή τους κατά τις εργασίες του Εθνικού Προσωρινού Συμβουλίου.
- Να περιγράψει και να ερμηνεύσει το πεδίο πολιτικών ανταγωνισμών, όπως διαμορφώθηκε στο Πατριαρχείο, μετά τη ψήφιση των Γενικών Κανονισμών.
Σύμφωνα με την ερμηνεία που επιχειρείται εδώ, η ενδεχόμενη «λαϊκοποίηση» της Εκκλησίας δεν σημαίνει απαραίτητα και μια ώθηση στη διαδικασία εκκοσμίκευσης, δηλαδή, στη θεμελιακή διάκριση της θρησκευτικής από την πολιτική σφαίρα . Κι αυτό δεν οφείλεται τόσο στην αδυναμία του λαϊκού στοιχείου να επιβάλει την παρουσία του στον εκκλησιαστικό κόσμο, όσο στην ικανότητα του κλήρου να εγκολπώνεται τα «κοσμικά» ιδεολογικά σχήματα, συμμετέχοντας στη διαμόρφωση της δημόσιας σφαίρας που υπό κανονικές συνθήκες θα έπρεπε να τον περιθωριοποιήσει.

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- by Dimitris Stamatopoulos
- •
- 159
  Religion, Comparative Religion, History, Modern History

Задачата на настоящия текст е да даде типологизация на различните младежки партийни организации, да опише успешните и недотам успешни модели на политическа социализация и мобилизация на младежите. Най-общата методологическа рамка,... more

Задачата на настоящия текст е да даде типологизация на различните младежки партийни организации, да опише успешните и недотам успешни модели на политическа социализация и мобилизация на младежите. Най-общата методологическа рамка, използвана тук, е тезата на Мансър Олсън за „селективните стимули“ (Olson 1965), които мотивират членовете на една организация да я изграждат и поддържат и така да преодоляват вътрешноприсъщите за нея „проблеми на колективното действие.“ Изводът ми е, че успешни са тези модели на функциониране на младежките партийни организации, при които се осигуряват достатъчно атрактивни селективни стимули не само за младежките лидери и функционери, а и за по-широки кръгове от активната членска маса. Ключово важно за успеха е „употребата“ на такива младежки политически организации да е от взаимна изгода за всички преки участници – както стимулираните, така и стимулиращите. Последните получават лоялен (поне докато осигуряват навременен и достатъчно обилен приток на нужните стимули), мотивиран да работи лидерски екип и мобилизирана масова електорална подкрепа.

This paper draws a parallel between the physical and political remnants of the communist regime in Bulgaria and explores the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia as a temporal and spatial reflection of the relationship between Bulgaria, the... more

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- by Mia Agova
- •
- 13
  Heritage Conservation, Protest, Bulgarian Politics, Cultural Memory

The year 927 brought a peace treaty between Byzantium and Bulgaria, which ended many years of military struggle between both the states. On this occasion, Theodore Daphnopates, a prominent representative of the intellectual elite of... more

The year 927 brought a peace treaty between Byzantium and Bulgaria, which ended many years of military struggle between both the states. On this occasion, Theodore Daphnopates, a prominent representative of the intellectual elite of Constantinople of the first half of X century, delivered a speech praising the newly concluded agreement. By means of a variety of hints not only to ancient history and literature but also to the Bible, the speaker explained reasons which led the conflict between both the states, lamented sad consequences of numerous military operations conducted over the years of the past war, as well as elaborating on the importance of the newly established peace. Daphnopates wanted to convince those who heard his declamation that these were only the Byzantines who made up the new nation chosen by God and the new spiritual “House of Israel”. On the other hand, the Bulgarians were compared to a mere scion, which only recently had been grafted onto the stock of the vine tree of Jesse. The Byzantines were pictured as fathers and teachers in faith of the Bulgarians and the speaker wanted to imply that the latter would remain blessed by the Lord and their state would flourish only on condition that they remained faithful by the side of the empire and in unity with it. It is essential, however, that by means of the statement, the speaker included the Bulgarians into the hierarchic order established on Earth by God himself. On the other hand, he also pointed clearly that it was their fidelity to Byzantium that enabled them to enjoy the wise lead and firm protection of the empire. In orator’s opinion the peace concluded in 927 was a genuine miracle sent from God, which by no means should be disregarded, and any attempt to diminish its importance has to be condemned as a heavy sin. The speaker maintained that the survival of this peaceful coexistence was an important task to which both the involved parts were obliged to apply themselves seriously in the future. Since peace was always an eternal attribute of God himself, the establishment of this hopefully ever-lasting treaty, which was supposed to entirely eliminate war from the relations between the Byzantines and Bulgarians, was an actual act of imitation of the Lord’s activities, and by virtue of that achievement both the states moved closer to become similar to God.

This publication is an introductory speech “Let’s unite the right!”, delivered at the first General Assembly of the Bulgarian Democracy Movement (Sofia, March 19, 2022). The speech deals with issues related to the socio-economic and... more

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- by Blagovest Varbakoff
- •
- 6
  Populism, Bulgarian Politics, Democracy, Political Crisis

The article analyzes poems written by Mehmet Karahüseyinov (1945-1990) in the context of socio-political phenomena in Bulgaria of the 19980s and 1990s. In Karahüseyinov’s poetry, echoes are found of both the “Revival Process” and the “Big... more

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- by seyide sevim deniz
- •
- 3
  Nationalism, Bulgarian Politics, Radical Right

The recent waves of protests affecting many countries in the world create the impression of rising levels of civic activism. The people vent their frustration with the performance of governments, parliaments and political parties. Trust... more

The Bulgarian citizenry’s behavioral expectations that associate with post-Communist Bulgarian nationalism show comparatively weak consensus beyond joining Europe, represented by the EU. Bulgarian social movements against corruption are... more

Kültürel açıdan heterojen devletlerde din, dil, ırk ve etnisite sorunlarını sosyo-ekonomik sınıf ya da ideoloji sorunlarından daha çok görürüz. Heterojen toplumlarda, topluluk ile devlet sınırlarının bir olmayışı bir devlet oluşturma... more

On the 18 March 2012 Otec Stiliyan died 83 years old. As monk and tipikar he had sung the daily services for 51 years at Bačkovo Monastery. Everybody who visited Bačkovo between 1961 and 2012, was instantly touched by his exceptional... more

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- by Oliver Gerlach and +1
  Deniza Popova
- •
- 42
  Balkan Studies, Balkan History, Bulgarian, Old Church Slavonic

The article examines the political activity of Stefan Savov Bobchev.

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- by Petar Parvanov
- •
- 6
  Historiography, Bulgarian Politics, Bulgarian history, History of Law

The role of the Haemus Mountains (that is Stara Planina and Sredna Gora) as a geographical factor is visible in the fact that between the close of the 7th century and the beginning of the 9th century, the eastern parts of that massif... more

Spis treści ....... 6 Wykaz skrótów ......9 Wstęp 13 CZĘŚĆ I Dzieje . . . . 25 Rozdział I Panowanie Borysa-Michała (852–889). Chrzest Bułgarii 27 1.1. Kierunki polityki zagranicznej w pierwszym etapie rządów (852–863) ..... 28 1.2.... more

Spis treści ....... 6
Wykaz skrótów ......9
Wstęp 13

CZĘŚĆ I
Dzieje . . . . 25
Rozdział I
Panowanie Borysa-Michała (852–889). Chrzest Bułgarii 27
1.1. Kierunki polityki zagranicznej w pierwszym etapie rządów (852–863) ..... 28
1.2. Zawarcie pokoju z Bizancjum (863) i przyjęcie chrztu (866) ..... 30
1.3. Opozycja przeciw chrześcijaństwu. Bunt możnych . . . . . . 37
1.4. Między Konstantynopolem a Rzymem. Zmagania o status bułgarskiego
Kościoła (866–870) . . ... 43
1.5. Borys-Michał opiekunem uczniów Konstantyna-Cyryla i Metodego 53
1.6. Ostatnie lata rządów. Życie monastyczne. (?) Kanonizacja . . .. . 57
Rozdział II
Rządy Włodzimierz-Rasate (889–893): czas reakcji pogańskiej? . . . . . 61
Rozdział III
Symeon Wielki (893–927) – twórca Pierwszego Carstwa Bułgarskiego . . . . . 70
3.1. Przejęcie władzy
3.2. Wojna bułgarsko-bizantyńska (894–896) . . . .. 81
3.3. Charakterystyka stosunków bułgarsko-bizantyńskich w latach 897–904 . . 97
3.4. Wydarzenia roku 913 .......... 100
3.5. Anchialos (917) . . . . . . 118
3.6. Ostatnia dekada (917–927) . . . . 126
3.7. Cele polityki zagranicznej Symeona . . . . . 141
Rozdział IV
Czasy Piotra I (927–969) . . . . 149
4.1. Przejęcie władzy i walki z opozycją wewnętrzną 150
4.2. Zawarcie pokoju z Bizancjum (927) . . . . . 155
4.3. Sytuacja wewnętrzna. Bogomilizm ........ 162
4.4. Polityka zagraniczna . . . . 167
4.5. Zaostrzenie stosunków bułgarsko-bizantyńskich za panowania Nikefora II Fokasa (963–969) . . . . . . . . 174
4.6. Najazdy Światosława, księcia kijowskiego 176
4.7. Ocena panowania Piotra . . . . 186
Rozdział V
Borys II (969–971): Upadek Pierwszego Carstwa Bułgarskiego...189
5.1. Wojna bizantyńsko-ruska a Bułgarzy 189
5.2. Cesarz Jan I Tzymiskes i likwidacja Carstwa Bułgarskiego (971) . . . . . 192

Część II
Państwo – społeczeństwo – gospodarka – kultura .. . . . 201
Rozdział I
Państwo i społeczeństwo . . . . 203
1.1. Władca . . . . . 203
1.2. Rada wielkich bojarów . . . . 209
1.3. Kwestia tzw. saboru państwowego ..... 209
1.4. Administracja centralna . . . . . 210
1.5. Administracja prowincjonalna . . . . . 214
1.6. Stolice państwa ........ 218
1.7. Siły zbrojne .......... 222
1.8. System obronny państwa bułgarskiego . . . . . 229
1.9. Społeczeństwo . . . . . . 232
1.9.1. Skład etniczny 232
1.9.2. Struktura społeczeństwa . . . . . 237
Rozdział II
Kościół . . . . .240
2.1. Status Kościoła bułgarskiego i jego organizacja . . 240
2.2. Monastycyzm ... 256
2.3. Bogomilizm ... 262
2.4. Budownictwo kościelne i klasztorne . . . . . 268
Rozdział III
Gospodarka . . . . . .77
3.1. Warunki i zasoby naturalne. Znaczenie geopolityczne regionów . . . . . 277
3.2. Rolnictwo i hodowla . . . . . . 289
3.3. Rzemiosło wiejskie i miejskie. Rozwój ośrodków miejskich 291
3.4. System dróg i wymiana handlowa . . . . . 296
Rozdział IV
Kultura duchowa. Literatura . . . . . 305
4.1. Presławska szkoła literacka .... 309
4.2. Ochrydzka szkoła literacka .... 314
Zakończenie . . . . 319
Bibliografia . . . . 321
Aneks . . . . . 349

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- by Kiril Marinow and +1
  Mirosław J. Leszka
- •
- 32
  Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, Medieval Literature, Medieval History, Medieval Studies

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- by Alexandros Nafpliotis
- •
- 10
  Balkan Studies, Balkan History, Bulgaria, Bulgarian Politics

This report examines the intersection between political and policy responses to Covid-19 across 8 democracies (the UK, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, and the US). In doing, it provides first-cut analyses of the early... more

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- by Peter Finn and +2
  Robert Ledger
  Radu Cinpoes
- •
- 15
  German Studies, Japanese Studies, American Studies, American Politics

The Turkish problem has always been present in the new Bulgarian history. But it gained much popularity at the end of the 20th century when the communist regime attempt to forcibly assimilate the largest minority group in this country.... more

ÖZET Komşu iki ülke olarak Türkiye ile Bulgaristan siyasi, ekonomik, kültürel, coğrafi ve beşeri gerekçelerle birbirleri için stratejik açıdan önem taşımaktadır. Tarihsel süreç içerisinde yaşanan olaylar taraflar arasında güven problemi... more

After France, Bulgaria became the second EU country to enact an open-ended ban on hydraulic fracturing in early 2012. This government action was a radical departure from an initially friendly, even enthusiastic stance on unconventional... more

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- by Tom Kamusella
- •
- 20
  European History, European Studies, Russian Studies, Albanian Studies

280 pp. with an appendix of old and new place names and an extensive bibliography. The subject of the thesis is the considerable diplomatic activity of IMRO in the interwar period, from 1919, when it appeared on the Balkan scene, to... more

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- by Vlasis Vlasidis
- •
- 11
  Greek History, Balkan Studies, Balkan History, Bulgarian Politics

This essay examines the positioning of the main political parties in Bulgaria on the political specter. By using the latest available electoral platforms and actual positions of the ten most supported political parties, we localised them... more

The European Union is formed by 28 member states which are different in culture and languages. Thus it is not hard to imagine that when it comes to decision making every member state has its own interests and preferences. Elaborating on... more

„Turecka opończa, belgijska peleryna”. Obraz państwa bułgarskiego w twórczości satyrycznej przełomu XIX i XX wieku, Kraków: Historia Iagellonica 2016, ss. 258. (ISBN 978-83-65080-35-6) | The book analyses the image of the Bulgarian state... more

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- by Valery Stojanow
- •
- 6
  Bulgarian Politics, Bulgarian history, Orthodox Christianity, Archon

Mimo celkového diania na Balkáne nemohli zostať ani Bulhari, ktorí boli navyše silne motivovaní spomienkou na svoj mocný stredoveký štát (predovšetkým tzv. Druhé bulharské cárstvo 1187 – 1396). Ten sa do osmanských rúk začal dostávať... more

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- by Maroš Melichárek
- •
- 6
  Balkan Studies, Nationalism, Bulgaria, Bulgarian Politics

Muhadżirowie. Uwagi na temat emigracji muzułmanów z ziem bułgarskich na przełomie XIX i XX wieku, „Balcanica Posnaniensia. Acta et studia”, 2016, t. 23, s. 47–69. | During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and the first months after that... more

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- by Krzysztof Popek
- •
- 25
  History, Balkan Studies, Balkan History, Migration

Сп. Ново време, бр.5/6, 2013 г.

Статията проследява генезиса на българската популистка радикална десница (ПРД) след 1989 г. Откроени са взаимовръзките между етапите в развитието на етническия модел и изучаваната партийна фамилия. Разгледани са електоралната динамика и... more

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- by Paolo Modesti
- •
- Bulgarian Politics

“The Extreme Right Wing” (also known as the “Far Right”) consists of parties and organizations, which ideologically share extreme forms of cultural conservatism, xenophobia and, not infrequently, racism. It is especially attached to the... more

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- by Antony T Todorov
- •
- 2
  Bulgarian Politics, Right-Wing Extremism

Bulgarian Politics

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