Thirty years after Bulgaria's democratic breakthrough, this book provides a "balance sheet" of the country's democratic institutions through a number of interdisciplinary contributions. The volume is organized around three themes-democratic institutions, civil society, and European Union (EU) processes-and examines such topics such as voting, political parties, populism, media, civil society organizations, identity, and the rule of law. While the contributors argue that Bulgaria's democracy is successful in terms of the procedural norms of democracy, civic participation, and compliance with EU rules, they also identify serious problem areas. Bulgaria's democratic institutions struggle with obstacles such as populist Euroscepticism, political elitism, corruption, and a lack of political accountability, though this volume fully acknowledges the historical development of Bulgarian democracy, including its achievements and continuing setbacks.
Chapter One: Thirty Years of Bulgarian Democracy: Lessons (Partly) Learned Petia Kostadinova Part I: The National Electoral Process Chapter Two: Direct Democracy and Electoral System Reform Tanya Bagashka Chapter Three: Preferential Voting and Party Loyalty: How Bulgarian Voters Respond to Parties' Choices Tatiana Kostadinova Chapter Four: Representation Trends in Pledge Making: Do Election Promises Reflect Distinctions between Political Parties in Bulgaria? Petia Kostadinova Chapter Five: State Capture: A Crippling Political Affliction and the Search for Antidotes Stoycho P. Stoychev Part II: Civil Society Chapter Six: Bulgarian Populist Nationalism on Digital Steroids: The Case of Siderov's Ataka Party Elza Ibroscheva and Maria Stover Chapter Seven: The Permutations of Bulgarian Citizens and Migration Post-1989 Maria Stoilkova Chapter Eight: Digital Media and the Thinning Out of Civic Activism: Empowerment/Disempowerment of the Savvy Few Maria Bakardjieva and Kjell Engelbrekt Part III: The European Context Chapter Nine: The Role of Civil Society in EU Policy Implementation in Bulgaria Asya Zhelyazkova and Reini Schrama Chapter Ten: When Anti-establishment and Euroscepticism Converge: Bulgarian Party Politics 2001-2019 Dragomir Stoyanov and Plamen Ralchev Chapter Eleven: The Post-Communist Judiciary: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back Maria Popova Chapter Twelve: Concluding Thoughts Kjell Engelbrekt
