Bai Ganio and Other Men’s Journeys to Europe: the Boundaries of Balkanism in Bulgarian EU-Accession Discourses
Bai Ganio and Other Men’s Journeys to Europe: the Boundaries of Balkanism in Bulgarian EU-Accession Discourses

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the role of Balkanism in Bulgarian EU accession discourses during the period that preceded the country’s membership of the EU. It focuses on political cartoons - regarded as indicative of broader societal discourses - which activate the ‘journey’ or ‘motion’ metaphor that dominated the imagery of EU integration. The article was prompted by a perceived incongruity in the study of the discursive encounter between the West and the Balkans. While most analysis concentrates on the Western or European self, by examining EU accession discourses in Bulgaria, this article turns to the Balkans’ responses to Western constructions. The study brings to light a decidedly mixed picture. Even though the crucial role of Balkanist representations and interpretations in Bulgarian EU accession discourses cannot be denied, alternative constructions are certainly present. They range from ambiguity and indifference to more overt challenges to the binary oppositions that characterize Balkanism.

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