ASSESSMENT, PRIORITIES AND PERSPECTIVES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL SYSTEM IN BULGARIA

Author: Dr. Ivan Sirakov

Institution: Center for Development and Policies 

Date: July 2022

 

ASSESSMENT, PRIORITIES, AND DEVELOPMENT PESRPECTIVES OF THE DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL SYSTEM IN BULGARIA

  The constitutional system of the Republic of Bulgaria has been functioning for three decades, directly reflecting the established but dynamic party model, changing public attitudes and state institutions as a product of political representation. The field of the Bulgarian political system includes all the problems of the functioning of the power in the state, the market environment, the civil sector and, last but not least, the media. Our political system is directly linked to Bulgaria’s foreign policy relations. It functions as a part of the two unions defining our society and country – the EU and NATO.  

A brief assessment of the situation

  Bulgaria’s democratic political system, although permanently criticized, is sustainable as a functioning model of relations between society and the state. It has always been able to produce socially legitimate institutions capable of exercising power in the state, respecting the basic rules of democracy and legal order. The democratic political model of the country has managed to overcome many severe socio-political, social and economic crises. The field of power is a dynamic and living process in a conflict environment, therefore the political model is constantly subject to risks, attacks and criticism. In its meaning, it is entitled to represent, channel and turn into solutions the various social expectations of the society towards the power in the state. The Bulgarian model of a democratic system has been strongly criticized as public representation, negative power practices, non-compliance with the principle of separation of powers and unsatisfactory functioning of institutions, but never after 1989 has democracy been fundamentally questioned by our society.  

Main priorities for the development of the democratic model of Bulgaria: threats and perspectives

  Criticism of democracy in Bulgaria is related more to its poor functioning than to the positions of a non-democratic political, alternative model. Even politically exploited nostalgia for communism cannot undermine the foundations of democracy in the country. Even all the criticisms of liberal democracy fail to erase its principles and institutions born from the public consensus for a democratic political model. The priorities of our democratic political model are determined mostly by public expectations for a well-functioning, legal and prosperous state driven by national interests. All opponents of the social contract for a democratic political model in Bulgaria are also the enemies carrying the corresponding threats to democracy. The priorities for the development of the democratic political model can be divided into two interrelated areas: foreign political priorities related to threats and their overcoming, and domestic political threats to the functioning and sustainability of democracy in Bulgaria and their overcoming.    

Foreign policy priorities related to threats and their overcoming

 

• The geopolitical destabilization and change of spheres of influence, triggered by Russia’s aggressive policy towards the West, the destabilization in Eastern Europe, the war that started in Ukraine.
• The destabilization of the Balkans – Russian influence for disintegration, against the perspective of the expansion of the European Union (EU) as a guarantee for security and prosperity of the region.
• Political changes within the EU as a change in the ideologies, attitudes and policies of the member states.
• An expected global economic recession, which would greatly affect the European Union. Expected energy crisis in Europe.
• NATO’s new policy towards Russia and China, and Bulgaria’s actions as part of the Alliance’s Eastern Flank.

 

Internal political threats to the functioning and sustainability of democracy in Bulgaria and their overcoming

 

• Political fragmentation, the inability of political parties to project governing majorities.
• The emergence of strong political populism or calls for an „iron-hand regime“.
• Russia’s long-standing hybrid war in Bulgaria.
• The interests of oligarchic elites and their political engineering.
• The war between institutions and the infiltration of the deep state.
• Low voter turnout and withdrawal of society from politics, distrust in the ability of the political elite.

 

Measures to enable the achievement of the above stated priorities

  Short term. Optimizing our relations with our neighbors in the Balkans in the context of the European Union. Stabilizing state institutions through reforms and increasing public trust. Bridging the gap between elite and society. Rehabilitation of political parties by building a coalition culture for state governance. Clear identification within the Euro-Atlantic zone at the expense of the Eurasian alternative to Bulgaria.  Medium term. Strategizing against hybrid warfare attacking the public opinion and institutions. Minimizing the risks of capturing state institutions in favor of foreign and oligarchic interests through the efforts of civil structures and the state. Rule of law. A clear value and target policy of identification with the EU and NATO vis-à-vis Russia and Ukraine, membership in the Eurozone and the Schengen area. Long term. Incorporating our security system fully into the structures and policies of NATO and updating our foreign policy doctrine with the new geopolitical realities. Rethinking the political field as power-society relations through the prism of civic activity. Participation in European political processes as challenges and opportunities.