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In a recent publication, I introduced the theoretical framework of neosecularisation with regard to the Orthodox Church and society in Bulgaria. I argued that neosecularisation, as a complex process of decline of religion's importance and the hold of religious authority over the social system, while genealogically different from communist secularisation, explicates patterns of continuity with the communist past. Important aspects of this continuity include the persistent grassroots feminisation of the Church and the co-optation of the Church by the state. Drawing on those theoretical insights, in this paper, I seek to understand the rise of anti-gender politics in Bulgaria since 2018 in relation to the condition of neosecularisation and its impact on the Church. I argue that (neo)secularisation remains a much feared "threat" for the Church and plays a role in ecclesiastical anti-gender mobilisation. However, the Church is not a major factor in anti-gender politics in Bulgaria; the roles of far-right nationalists and certain transnationally connected evangelical actors are to be seriously considered. Furthermore, anti-genderism cannot be understood merely as a religious or cultural backlash. It needs to be discussed as a larger protest movement against liberal democracy's failure to live up to its promises and against the pathologies of neoliberal globalisation, a movement in which the Orthodox Church is only tangentially involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines claims made about political representation in recent work on global protest, focusing on two very different authors. Tormey champions the anti-representative claims of various radical movements while Krastev assumes the stance of those political insiders who deplore the failure of protesters to work within established representative institutions. Both turn to examples which seem to best support their positions. Tormey to anarchist inspired movements in Spain and Mexico, his argument being that political representation has been succeed by what he variously calls 'immediate representation' and 'resonance'. Krastev's focus is Russia, Thailand and Bulgaria. His argument is that protest in these countries can be seen are 'a collective act of exit' by middle classes that no longer seek political representation. Using the theorisation of political representation in Rosanvallon's Counter Democracy, I suggest that the global waves of protest of recent years are nothing inherently novel but can be seen as part of the elaborate and complex process of representation that is argued to have always existed beyond and outside of official elected legislative bodies. In conclusion, I suggest that Macron's turn to citizen's assemblies can be seen as informed by just such an understanding of political representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the representation of women in radical right partiesand examines the often assumed relationship between the radical right andgender, namely that radical right parties are overwhelmingly ran, supported by,and representing the male part of the population. Using data from elections,party platforms, and parliamentary committees the paper asks ‘Are PRR partiesMännerparteien?' Using data from Bulgaria, we suggest that the Männerparteienargument is too simplistic and argue that in order to make a claim aboutrepresentation, one needs to study both female and male MPs and across all partyfamilies. We find that while radical right parties are still primarily composed ofmen, an examination of the substantive representation of women's issues, putsthis relationship into question. Furthermore, we show that while men outnumberwomen in all political parties, both radical right women and men have been moreactive in women's issues than their gender counterparts from other politicalparties. These findings suggest two things: one, we cannot study gender equalitymatters without comparing the activity of both men and women; and two, theclassification of radical right parties as Männerparteien based on descriptiverepresentation only, is too simplistic and to an extent, misleading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the impact of neoliberalism on disability policy and activism. The paper highlights the neoliberalisation of postsocialist disability policy, as well as the convergence between the neoliberal critique of welfare-state paternalism and the advocacy of disabled people’s movement for deinstitutionalisation and direct payments (personal assistance). The discussion is supported by examples from Bulgaria and the United Kingdom. In conclusion, the paper argues that neoliberalism confronts the disabled people’s movement with two difficult tasks: to defend self-determination while criticising market-based individualism, and to defend the welfare state while criticising expert-based paternalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the United Nations (UN) Decade for Women, world governments met three times in Mexico City (1975), Copenhagen (1980), and Nairobi (1985) to discuss the status of the world's women and produce conference documents that would serve as transnational road maps for improving women's rights. Throughout the Decade, a coalition of women from the socialist bloc countries and women in the so-called nonaligned countries often joined together to isolate and antagonize Western feminists. These 'Second World'-Third World' coalitions perhaps shaped the political outcomes of the three women's conferences, but today the history of the UN Decade is often written with an air of Western triumphalism, as if it was exclusively women from North America and Western Europe who championed women's rights on the international stage. This research note specifically explores the transnational socialist solidarity networks that were forged between the Committee of the Bulgarian Women's Movement (CBWM) and women from Zambian United National Independence Party (UNIP) Women's League between 1975 and 1985. It discusses the theoretical and logistical challenges of doing research to fill in these glaring historiographical gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The political integration of ethnic minorities is one of the most challenging tasks facing the countries of post-communist Europe. The roads to their political representation in the mainstream political process are numerous and diverse. The EU accession of the Central and East European countries has expanded the scope of the political participation of minorities by adding an electoral process at the regional level: the elections for members of the European Parliament. This article presents a comparative study of the ways in which EU-level electoral processes affect the scope and quality of minority representation on the example of the participation of ethnic political parties in Bulgaria and Romania in the 2007 and 2009 electoral cycles of the European Parliament. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this article is to help begin the development of a Bulgarian model of feminist therapy. It begins with a historical and political overview of the development of feminism in Bulgaria, as well as Bulgarian women's gender role experience. Then, using case material, the article identifies some of the themes Bulgarian women bring into therapy and the techniques and formulations that therapists can use when applying a feminist therapy model. Finally, an initial Bulgarian model of feminism in psychotherapeutic work is explored from the perspective of the therapist as well as the client. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of the 'Bulgarian ethnic model' has become part and parcel of the rhetoric of Bulgaria's political elite. While often used to acknowledge the political participation of the Turkish minority, which has played a stabilising role in post-communist Bulgaria, the notion of the 'Bulgarian ethnic model' conceals other important aspects of ethnic relations in Bulgaria. The article considers three factors that render the notion of the 'Bulgarian ethnic model' problematic: the existence of racism, discrimination and exclusion; the issue of minority rights; and the popularity of nationalist parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the radical political changes of 1989, new possibilities for the development of political science appeared in Bulgaria. The discipline went through its own transitional periods. The first was the legitimisation of political science and its institutionalisation in the major academic institutions. The second, which remains at an early stage, is the establishment of a community of scholars and university staff with the necessary theoretical knowledge and resources for assuring its development. Of the major challenges which political science is facing today, one is the need to ensure the expansion of the community of scholars who are sufficiently familiar with recent developments in the discipline. Another is the need to overcome the politicisation of the discipline which was typical of many social scientists (and especially political scientists) at the beginning of the period of change. To an increasing extent, political science is not merely a product of democracy but also one of the major scientific resources for achieving its consolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]