political parties in Bulgaria

The first part of the article examines the tools through which, to date, Russia is trying to influence the Bulgarian political system, as well as the reaction of the Bulgarian political institutions to these attempts. The second part analyzes the role of the US and the EU. The third part examines the programs and priorities of the political formations in the 45th National Assembly. The paper concludes with the forecast that, in the near future, Bulgarian foreign policy will likely continue to rely on some sort of “balance” between NATO and Russia.

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.