Populism: the Bulgarian case

Ano: 2010 | Volume: 13 | Número: 2

Autores: Christiana Cristova

Palavras-chave: populism, Bulgaria, National Movement Simeon the Second, GERB, postcommunism

Resumo Inglês:

The paper explores various aspects of populism focusing on the Bulgarian case study
since 1989 with reference to its empirical manifestations, the legitimacy crisis and
political culture traits. The text focuses on parliamentary represented parties and reconstructs
the evolution of populism from an ephemeral phenomenon to an integral
part of the political system. Particular attention is being paid to the year 2001, when
the king’s return unleashed the “populist moment” opening up the space for the massive
influx of populist parties. The paper advocates the thesis that, with the exception
of Ataka, populist parties generally remain within the limits set by constitutional
democracy, yet at the same time, by reducing complexity to trivialized solutions they
only aggravate the legitimacy crisis instead of overcoming it.