Български

This article traces the emergence and development of another major political crisis in the Republic of Northern Macedonia, as well as the options for overcoming it as a result of the parliamentary elections and the process offorming a new government. This is a continuous cycle, referred as “stability in instability”. Overcoming the crisis will not be enough, but rather will lead to another situation of “stability in instability”. Moreover, the pandemic caused by COVID–19 prolongs the crisis but does not play a fundamental role regarding the (in)stability of the political system in our southwestern neighbour.

The enlargement of the European Union (EU) is an absolute priority for most of the member-states and the EU institutions, as it is seen as the main guarantor of peace, security and stability on the continent. At the same time, reaching a consensus regarding the enlargement policy towards the countries from the Western Balkans turns out to be particularly difficult. In response to the challenges in the efforts to reach an agreement, the European Commission has published a new “enlargement methodology”, according to which the candidates will not only need to synchronise their legislations with the EU standards, but they must show real results and reforms. This declaration by itself proves the existence of a recognised problem with the current approach to enlargement and the need for a radical change due to its unsuitability. The fragile consensus on this new agenda also shows that the enlargement policy has yet to be developed, changed and improved. In this context, the lessons learnt from the Eastern enlargement become particularly valuable.

The text introduces to the expert positions and opinions of Transparency International – Bulgaria, the national representation of the international anticorruption organization Transparency International regarding bills addressing the issues of financing political activities and holding elections in Bulgaria.

Становище на Асоциация „Прозрачност без граници“ относно промените в Закона за държавния бюджет, регламентиращи финансирането на политическите партии ипредизборните кампании

Становище на Асоциация „Прозрачност без граници“ по Конституционно дело №13/17.09.2019 г. относно промени в Закона за политическите партии и в Изборния кодекс, регламентиращи финансирането на политическите партии и предизборните кампании

Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Public Administration, Public Law

The article looks at the last election campaign of GERB in its main phases – pre- paratory (preliminary), active and hot. It raises the thesis of the “preservation” campaigns of the party in the recent years. Additionally, the article explores the main actors, platform and messages of the campaign. Special attention is de- voted to the role of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov in the hot phase of the cam- paign and his influence both on the attitudes of the electorate and on the overall dimension of electoral dynamics within the electoral period.

At the beginning of the campaign for the European Parliament elections in Bulgaria, most polls placed the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) either in the first place, or at slight difference after GERB, but in any case, with a real chance of winning this election. Such was the declared objective of the Bulgarian socialists. However, the votes cast on the ballot on May 26, 2019 showed a different picture: BSP ranked second for the fourth consecutive time, with a considerable distance from the first – GERB. The article seeks to answer the question regarding the dimensions and reasons for the results of BSP in the elections. This is done by tracing the overall process of preparing and conducting the campaign, from the formation of the candidate list and the adoption of the election platform, through the course and eatures of the Socialist’s Party campaign. The campaign results are compared with previous results of the Socialists and with the results of the main competitor since 2007 – GERB.

The article analyses the issue of the implementation of new electronic tech- nologies in the electoral process in Bulgaria over the last decade, focusing on the legislative regulation and the implementation of electronic voting in a con- trolled environment (the so-called electronic machine voting) during the Euro- pean Parliament elections in May 2019. In this context, the subject of analysis is the process of adopting legislative amendments in the Electoral Code, which finished before the elections. Deficiencies in the work of the election adminis- tration were also analysed, assessing the Central Election Commission’s activ- ities and the role of the Precinct Election Committees in counting the election results.

This article presents the essence and main features of preferential voting (as a constituent part of the proportional election system) as well as the Bulgarian experience in introducing the preferential vote in electoral practice. Chronolog- ically has been followed the emergence of the pan-European electoral tradition in terms of the formation of the European Parliament – the institution called to ensure the representation of the citizens of the member-states at the level of the European Union. The aim of the analysis is to confirm the inevitable need for a vote with preferences as a necessary component of any proportional system, and in particular for the election of MEPs.

At the European Parliament elections in May 2019, the European citizens voted on how the European Union should move ahead over in the next five years. In times of crisis, fake news, populism, sharp political opposition, and the constant search for a single European approach to the problems and challenges of the day, voters have shown that they want the people to whom they have delegated power, to act with wisdom, capacity for dialogue and compromise and, above all, show clear results. This article is an attempt for a recap of the results of the European Parliament elections. Special focus is put on Bulgaria, as well as on the debate on the election of the President of the European Commission.

This article is the result of a media monitoring conducted in the run-up to the 2019 European elections. Led by the maxim that “dialogue is at the root of democratic governance,” we decided to trace whether Bulgarian politicians used elements of hate speech during the campaign for European elections in 2019 and how was this reflected in the media.The monitoring of keywords and messages reflecting the crisis with the political speech and use of abusive vocabulary in Bulgaria was carried out during the hot phase of the election campaign of the European elections from 26th April to 25th May 2019. For this purpose, we followed the morning blocks of the three national televisions, the main political programs, the evening issues, as well as the deliberately organized debates within the BNT, BTV and Nova TV. The subject of the study was the information published in 22 electronic editions of major national daily newspapers and news agencies.The social networks “Facebook” and “Twitter” were also subject to moni- toring as they are one of the main conductors and distributors of hate speech to different groups of people and are increasingly being used as an information channel by politicians who want their messages to reach as quickly as possible a wide range of people.

This text focuses on the politicisation of the topic of migration in Bulgaria in the period between the European elections of 2014 and 2019, which coincides with the period of the migratory crisis and the consequences thereof. As opposed to the classic understanding of politicization, in Bulgaria the process occurs in the conditions of dominating populist discourse with extremely conservative and nationalistic talk and securitarian interpretation. All this has entailed the impossibility to devise and implement working policies in the realm of migration and integration and in reality, places the security of the state in a potentially much more precarious future situation.

The paper reveals the process of institutionalisation of the Bulgarian Parliament for the period from 1991 to 2018, by examining three dimensions: /1/ the par- ty discipline and cohesion; /2/ the changing structure of parliamentary representatives; /3/ the legislative process. The paper reports the results of a longitudinal study of Bulgarian parliament aimed at identifying factors, drivers and stages of its institutionalisation and democratisation such as changes of rules and regulations, landslide electoral victory of new parties, presidential veto and judicial review.

The paper explores the link between the rise of national-populism and the return of religion to the mainstream of politics. One of the most popular theories explains the rise of populism with a fundamental conservative and religious shift in public attitudes in western countries. The paper tests this hypothesis by an analysis of one of the central themes – the connection between political power and compassion. The main argument is that contemporary populists, as a rule, are indifferent to or even disintegrate the institutional forms of compassion. They most often lower taxes, avoid redistributive policies, do not expand the system of socio-economic rights, and do not strengthen trade unions or NGOs targeting poor people. From this point of view populists use Christianity as a “label” without respecting its doctrinal requirements about compassion. Because of that the new synthesis between religion and politics is very different from traditional forms, as Christian-democracy for instance. Populism relies on the mobilisation of “threatened” majorities: majorities that feel they are loosing social status. Christian identity becomes a marker of the protective stance and closure of these majorities; it is also used as a call for the marginalisation of minorities: migrants, ethnic, sexual and other minorities. The reasons for these processes are at their core political and are not related to deep shifts in fundamental religious attitudes.

The article aims to outline two directions in which in recent decades different political theories search for reasons and possibilities for change of liberal representative democracy. The first of them is connected with the development of the libertarian theories for which democracy ceases to be indispensable requirement to political order, and the second one with development of theories of participatory democracy, trying to expand and deepen the application of democratic principles not only beyond the representative democracy but also beyond the political system, regarding it as a supreme normative ideal. These two types of theories are explored from point of view of their underlying philosophical-political conceptions of freedom and equality. Comparative analysis and critical assessment of some of their premises and conclusions are offered, some predictable results of their conceivable application to the organization of contemporary late modern societies are outlined.

The article analyses the problematic nature of the methodological approach examining populism as an ideology. There is an emphasis on several aspects. Firstly, the lack of a worldview, which would give an ideological value of populism. Secondly, on the insignificance of populism understood as lack of ideas for the development of politics, economics and society. Thirdly on its collaboration with left and right ideologies, as well as on the insubstantiality of the ideological approach, in that it draws some of its intuitions from the paradigm that considers populism as a strategy for political mobilization.

Based on an analysis of semi-structured biographical interviews with participants in the Green Movement, conducted between 2005 and 2015, the article shows a typological portrait of the Bulgarian environmental activist. The main focus of the analysis is the motivation for participation. This is examined in the light of the interaction between the motivation and the political and civic culture of the interviewees, their views on politics, democracy, participation, the meaning of life, as well as their outlook on nature and their surrounding environment. This typology highlights important political and ideological cleavages within the environmental community, and it reveals the diversity and complexity of the tendencies, motivations and values that the environmental movement encompasses. The green citizen is an ambiguous and yet a monolithic persona: He/ She could simultaneously be a Patriot and a Cosmopolite, a Traditionalist and a Pioneer, a Radical and a Reformer, a Leftist and a Rightist, Formal and Informalbut in any case – he/she is an opponent of the status quo, a witness and a participant in the overcoming of the traditional models and oppositions which are characteristic for the 20th century. Additionally, the green citizen is a co-creator of new value syntheses, but also of new oppositions.

The study examines the perception of the election process of representatives of the four main groups of participants – voters, candidates for elective office, campaigners and representatives of election administration. The study consists of sixteen separate face-to-face interviews in the form of series of questions. The study was realized in a non-election environment, as interviews were conducted approximately six months after the local elections in 2015.

The study illustrates and analyses the main problems and political challenges faced by the funded pension pillars in Bulgaria. It is motivated by the specific direction of the pension debate, which resumed in the country and by the recent reform attempts that contravene the multiplier design and complementary balance between the solidarity and funded approaches of meeting the retirement risk. Approaches on which the new pension model was developed after 1999. The main goal of the study is to put under critical analysis and evaluation the development and the leading problems of the funded pension pillars in Bulgaria and to discuss possible reform steps and directions for their future evolution.

Effective democracy depends to a large extent on effective communication. In this regard, comes one of the main, continuous deficits that the European Union is facing. The key to a proper understanding of the essence and way of functioning of the Union is above all to raise citizens' awareness. This is a long educational process that runs through several channels, including political parties, EU institutions, non-governmental organizations, universities, schools. With the White Paper, the European Commission launched a new debate on the future of the EU of 27 Member States. As a key priority, the Commission pointed out the need for active dialogue with citizens. Members of the Commission travelled all over Europe to listen to citizens' views on the various scenarios proposed, thus giving everyone the opportunity to contribute to defining the way forward for the Union.The author of this text has, as its main task, to examine the main shortcomings in the communication of European issues in the context of the current geopolitical challenges. Special emphasis is placed on the need to improve civic education and serious investment in the political literacy of young people. An attempt is also made to assess the results of the Citizens' Dialogue Initiative – in the light of the debates on Brexit and the key European Parliament elections.

The possibility for membership of Norway in the EU is a leading topic for the country’s foreign policy. Moreover, the assessments for potential membership are quite controversial. This leads to the formation of social divisions, which reflect in the political system. The current research aims to investigate the major cleavages formed by the experience of Norway in the field of European integration. These social divisions are not common only in Norway but are well observed in the rest of the member states of the EU. Their existence outlines a tendency, which can lead to significant changes in the EU, especially nowadays when Eurosceptic attitudes are becoming more common in the member-states.

Politics / Political Sciences, Political Theory, Political Sciences

The aim of the article is to analyze populism in relation to its political innovations. The idea is that, if national-populism marks such an impressive rise, it is because it is a carrier, author and driver of main political innovations. The three perspectives in which populism innovates are communications, symbolic politics, post-democracy. The innovation is captured analytically – through concrete political changes, instead of normative ones – as positive political changes. Populism is also a reaction, and an expression of „post-democracy” (Crouch) – the gradual transformation of democratic institutions in empty shells. The neo-liberal globalization and economization of societies shift the energy and innovative engine from the democratic arena to closed politico-economical circles. The far-right populism, on one side furiously criticizes the post-democratic loss of democratic content, and on the other additionally continues to erode it.

Populism as a phenomenon of modern society is fueled by a number of factors – the „rebellion of the masses“, the communication revolution, the globalization and the simultaneous polarization of the world. All of this in turn creates huge and expanding space for ideological substitutes.The author defines populism as a characteristic of political behavior that short- ens the gap between „politicians” and „the people” by eliminating the elite and uncritically accepting mass demands, attitudes and stereotypes. In populism, priority is given to short-term effects as a basis for policy decisions, as well as simplified, one-sided „views” of long-term problems. Populism is a double rejection of the elite – as a privileged social group and as a carrier of specific knowledge.Two types of populism are defined. The first one is tactical, where in a political platform or in a specific political action mass expectations are imposed in order to provide a rating effect. The second one is strategic (positive and negative), where rating decisions are not the „garnish", but the principle, the structure defining factor.The author seeks to answer the questions whether populism is only political stylistics or is it a political ideology and what its historical perspective is.

The main thesis of the text is that populist actors often voice legitimate critiques of the ruling elites in liberal democracies. The alternatives they offer, however, are worse than the illness they claim to cure. There is some merit in their central critique – the global meritocratic elites have betrayed their respective people, as the governing elites in liberal democracies are often too distant from the citizens who elected them to govern. The alternative that the above mentioned critics offer – nationally responsible leadership, claiming to be the unique voice of the authentic will and interests of the people – sounds attractive. Yet it is not credible and moreover, undermines political pluralism – the fundamental presupposition of a well-working liberal democracy. The better alternative, it is argued in the text, are responsive to their citizens, meritocratic pluralistic governing elites.

The article considers populism as a democratic element, not as a phenomenon outside of modern democracy. The arguments of the critics of populism remain on the same rational ground as the populist ideas because they imply a clear and undeniable distinction between the elites and the masses, between the lead- ers and the governed, between the professionals and the ordinary people. The suggestion made is that national populism should not be identified as populism because it is anti-democratic, but as a manifestation of primordial-fascism.

The article traces the main elements, the historical context and the stakes of the discursive theory of populism of Ernesto Laclau, which was further developed by the Essex school of discourse analysis. Laclau’s approach is key, because he articulates a rigorous theory of populism, which is able to save the concept from its excessively pejorative and pre-theoretical (mis)uses that are prevalent today. The main argument is that the critique of anti-populism is amongst the strongest features of the discursive theory of populism. To achieve that, however, the theory risks becoming a general theory of political identification, which may lead to another over-inflation of the term „populism“. A way out of this deadlock is a reflexive turn, by looking into the historical transformations of the very term populism instead. In other words, the strong sides of the theory may be rescued by a refusal of the universal pretentions (to explain every political identification) and, instead, to hold within the researchers’ perspective the historical and contextual trajectories of the populist problem and the populist and anti-populist positions.

The article traces the genesis of the Bulgarian populist radical right (PRR) after 1989. I highlight the interrelations between the stages in the development of the „ethnic model” and the PRR. I examine the electoral dynamics and the leading messages of the party family. The article demonstrates the effects of both the competition and interaction between these formations, on the one hand, and the parties of ‘moderate conservatism’, on the other. Trends in social distances are taken into account when considering the chances of success of ethnic entrepreneurs. On the basis of the analysis, I make a forecast for the future political behaviour of the PRR.

Although populist parties and movements have increased their electoral influ- ence for many years, the economic crises in the Eurozone, as well as the re- cent refugee crisis, have given new impetus to this trend. Both Eurosceptic and anti-elitist discourse, well reflecting broad public attitudes and opinions, fuels populist parties and movements that are becoming increasingly visible in the political arena of the Member-states and at the European level. The aim of this text is to analyze anti-elitism as one of the main characteristics of populism in the context of the mutually reinforcing crises in the EU.

The article presents a corpus analytical examination of political speeches by two leaders known to have voiced populist theses – USA’s newly elected President, Donald Trump and the leader of a nationalist political party in Bulgaria, Krassimir Karakachanov, and one presidential candidate who has not been verifiably ac- cused of such tendencies. The study juxtaposes the key words in their speeches to a list of populist themes derived from theoretical sources for this research. Conclusions are drawn concerning the specific types of populist discourses and the viability of the methodology.

Analysis of the ideological and political symmetries between the period 1924 – 1933 and the first decade of 21st century in Bulgaria. The article describes the youth segment in the far-right movements Kubrat, National Protection, Panbulgarian union „Father Paisij“, UBNL and the Union of Fighters for Development of the Bulgarian, „Defender“. Additionally, the article clarifies the youth profile of fascist and national-socialist ideas and practices.In the contemporary post-communist context there is a consolidation of neo-Nazi youth movements represented by skinheads such as: Bulgarian National Union, „Guardian“, Lukov march, Spisarevski march, the adolescent wing of VMRO. Public actions of members of the above mentioned movements are directed against religious and ethnical minorities; moreover, they are characterized with high level of intolerance, xenophobia and racism.

The paper examines the different basic manifestations of the new populism through the prism of the new realities created by accelerated social change, the mixing of opposing ideological trends and the clashes of radical political ideas and practices. We explore the extreme manifestations of political populism, coupled with irrational utopianism and radical fundamentalism. On the one hand, we have the left-liberal idea of the unlimited development of democracy, of disproportionate tolerance, of achieving equality beyond the law in the name of complete social justice. On the other hand, we have the right-populist answer with the radical language of the hurt traditional culture of primitive everyday life. The classic tyranny of the majority is replaced by the tyranny of constructed political minorities, and their diktat is opposed by the more authoritarian „direct democracy” of the majority of „the people.“ The repressive correctness of populism is a metaphor for the mixing of meanings that practically manifest themselves as their complete opposite. The „political correctness” created in the name of non-violence and culture has degenerated into a political repression of all those who do not think in the paradigm of left-wing ideology. But the answer of the primitive everyday life is the radical national populism combined with far-right anti-liberal and anti-democratic rhetoric.

The culture of jokes, bullshit and parody has invaded the political scene thanks to the digital turn. Ridiculing power is no longer folklore, it seems to have become an integral part of high culture; the ruling elites themselves eagerly make fun of them- selves. We are used to think of satire as an arm of the citizens against power, but could it be that it lulls their vigilance and transforms them into passive observers?

The presidential elections of 2016 produced a new situation in Bulgarian politics, but did not change substantially the Bulgarian party system. The victory of the non-partisan candidate proposed by the BSP and the failure of the candidate of the ruling party was unexpected and was significant for the “depolitization” of the society. Citizens in Bulgaria expressed their limited support for the main parties, looking for a candidate who has not previous partisan career. This seems to be a sign for more serious civic disaffection from the existing parties.

The article tracks all aspects of the presidential candidacy of Roumen Radev: the process of his nomination, campaign and performance. Subject of detailed analysis is the campaign of the candidate in its various aspects - organization, party support, financing, direct campaign, media appearances, participation in election debates. The author presents a picture of his convincing victory in the presidential elections in Bulgaria in 2016. On the background of broader economic, social, political, cultural context during the campaign and election are shown the internal factors that led to this result – the effective support by the party BSP, the personal and political qualities of the candidate, the campaign performance.

The article has a double objective: to analyze the campaign of the nationalist candidate in the presidential election 2016, as well as populist-nationalist discourses and messages of non-nationalist candidates. It is structured in three parts. The first offers a periodization of the nationalist vote and analyzes the campaign as a happening of Krassimir Karakachanov, the candidate of the United Patriots. The second introduces the symbolic cartography of the nationalist campaigns, introducing a diachronic perspective and comparing the messages and images of the presidential campaigns of the two sympathetic nationalist candidates - Volen Siderov and Krassimir Karakachanov. The third part introduces a synchronic comparative perspective by identifying nationalist messages of non-nationalist candidates. The main thesis and conclusion of the analysis is the tendency of hegemonization of the nationalist discourse, crossing the classical ideological cleavages.

The text examines the campaigns and results of the presidential elections of the right-wing candidates in Bulgaria. The reasons for the surprising failure of the candidate of the largest GERB party Tsetska Tsacheva and the poor result of the candidate of the Reformist bloc Traicho Traikov are being sought. In the first case the focus is on the late rise of the GERB candidate, on the lack of personal charisma, conceptual appearance and clear cut political values. In the second case, besides the personality and campaign of the candidate, the deep division among the right parties played a part. None of the candidates on the right offered authenticity to Bulgarian citizens.

The present study analyses the presidential electoral campaigns of Ivaylo Kalfin, candidate supported by a coalition of parties around the party „Alternative for Bulgarian Revival“, and of Tatiana Doncheva, supported by the coalition ”Move- ment -21” and “National Movement for Stability and Progress”. Both of them are known personalities, confirmed politicians with their expertise, qualities of technocrats and with their criticism against the ramping populism and the risks of authoritarian and undemocratic tendencies. Despite their qualities and professional electoral campaigns, they didn’t’ have room to successfully challenging the strong protest antiestablishment and populist candidates at the first round of the presidential election held on November 6th 2016. Furthermore, they are positioned and known as politicians on the center and center-left where one of the main political forces – the Bulgarian Socialist Party raised and supported a candidate who have never been a politician, offered the alternative of a “new face” in politics and aggregated the protest vote against the GERB party. Voices of expertise, experience and professionalism have been muted by the populist candidates.

In the 2016 presidential elections, there were 21 presidential candidates, for more than half them it was clear that they had no real chance to be elected. This article analyzes what motivates these candidates to get into the presidential race. For this purpose, a proposal of a typology of the candidates and their campaigns was made. Special zoom was put on Veselin Mareshki, whose participation in this election was both underestimated, but also a request for a more stable place on the political scene.

The article focuses on three dimensions of the issues related to the rule of law and the judicial system reform in the context of the presidential elections in Bulgaria in 2016: the formulation of a clear vision for future development of the judicial reform and strengthening of the rule of law in the candidate’s manifestos, the level of participation of candidates in the political and civic debate on the issues and the type of commitments expressed during the campaign. Thus the article aims to formulate a typology of campaign related positions on the basis of two dimensions – political profile of candidate and their distance to bringing the issues as priorities of the presidential institution.

The study is analyzing the presidential election campaign through the place and level of topicality given to the social problematic in the pre-election debates. By doing this, the study follows in the train of several research tasks that allow the systematic analysis of the leading political topics and themes in the pre-election debates. First one is, to describe the specific political accents and topics, which dominated the pre-election campaign and to underline the factors that contributed to their domination. The second task is, to analyze the degree of importance and the way of articulation of the social problematic in the pre-election campaign.