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The present volume consists of two parts. The contributions in the first part offer first of all a theoretical analysis and outline some perspectives for the functional macro-regions in the eu, while in the second part the papers are basically case studies in the sub-national regions concerned. This combination of the top-down and bottom-up approaches gives the specificity of this edited volume and it provides a big advantage, since the danube strategy – the danube Region strategy, with a usual abbreviation, dRs – can only be approached at the same time from “above” in the framework of the eu2020 general strategy and from “below” through the efforts of its constituent parts, i.e. the countries, sub-national regions and localities, including the capital cities.
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The article makes a brief historical review of the development of Roma publicationsin the countries in Eastern Europe by emphasizing the processes in each country andthe interrelations between their policies regarding the Roma culture and the Roma literary production. The aim of the article is to show that the development of Roma literature is related to the political, social and cultural context in the country or region of its creation. The comparative historical approach is the most appropriate for the purpose since the tendencies in the development of the Roma literature are related to the policies of identity (in general or directed to the Roma population) in different historical periods and regions.
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In this paper I briefly investigate the impact of three types of state agricultural policies on rural households in Valchedrum region, North West Bulgaria. I argue that the state remains a key factor, capable to transform the local economies, identities, and everyday life in a few years. I argue that unlike the situation in socialist Bulgaria, when the state lacked resources to implement its policies and had to rely heavily on coercion, the local people have rather limited options for agency now against powerful and efficient EU agricultural policies.
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Three factors create the sense of an identity – the emotional factor, the cognitive factor and the factor of the political or the public representation of an identity. Part of historical development of Europe is marked by two very important processes – the creation of national, religious and other identities (nets of identities) on the Continent and the arise of the idea for global European identity. The analysis from historical point of view shows, that in framework of the idea for European identity there is no emotional feeling of belonging. The idea for European identity arises when specific conditions come into being and it stops to exist when these conditions disappear.
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The objective of this article is to outline the basic tensions in contemporary Bulgarian society concerning the intertwining of religion and secularism through the prism of relations between national state and different religious organizations and individuals.The general goal is to combine the presentation of national historical context, existing legislation and the current social debate based on anthropological fieldwork.
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Ignorance towards world history can lead to severe distortions in the national psyche. Even today, Bulgarians either rejoice as the greatest nation, surrounded by enemies, for some reason, or as a hopelessly lagging nation. The book offers the most fateful events and processes from the history of mankind in the twentieth century. During this century, people entered space, found the computer but at the same time faced the threat of nuclear self-destruction and were struck by a new type of plague known as AIDS. The planet became narrow. Clothing, life-style and food are uniform. The globalization, symbolized by both McDonald's fast food and Chinese restaurants, has its furious opponents, but also enthusiastic followers. Current Handbook aims to acquaint students with those historical events and processes in the history of Europe and the world in the twentieth century that directly impact human civilization, and the beginning of the 21st century. Therefore, the approach is not typical for historical science - events and processes are not chronologically but problem-based considered.
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During the Yugoslav era (1945–1992), the Serb ethno-nationalist Chetnik movement and its motivating ideology were unambiguously condemned in public discourse. This followed the defeat of foreign occupiers, including Italian fascists and German Nazis, who had been aided by collaborationists within Ustasha (Croat ethno-nationalist and fascist) and Chetnik ranks. Thus, in the period after World War Two, public accusations of Chetnik membership were levelled pejoratively in Yugoslavia, and it was clear: to be a Chetnik was to be a traitor. Many former members of Chetnik detachments tried to conceal or minimize their participation in the movement, but some continued fostering Chetnik ideals in the privacy of their homes, even as a shared Partisan/Yugoslav identity was publicly nourished.
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This article studies Greek European policies and the country's strife for European integration, the negotiations and the obstacles it goes through from 1955 until the signing of the Treaty of Accession to the European Community on 28 May 1979. The role of Konstantinos Karamanlis and the geopolitical situation at the moment are identified as major factors in Greece becoming the first Balkan country to join the EU community at the very beginning of its expansion. The article also examines the attitudes of the Greek political parties and the reactions of the Greek society throughout the various stages of the European accession policies of the ruling government.
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Britain's exit from the European Union and the election of President Donald Trump at the White House are events that are part of a broader global world change project that dominated international political life in the US's sphere of interest and influence in the post-World War II period. The article highlights some of the causes that led planners in Washington and London to make radical changes in their future projects. It highlights how the US has lost over the past decade and a half its international influence and the internal crisis generated by the priority promotion of global interests in the face of the deep interests of the US. It also shows that Britain, after fighting hard with great losses in two world wars as the winner, found itself in a situation where, within the EU, Germany would make the most important decisions. The article highlights the way how it started and then stalled the process of encouraging the American doctrine of Europe of nations.
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Portrait of Europe comes at an opportune moment, when the political wranglings attending the formation of a supra-national organisation are bringing constantly to the fore the differences of national temperament and tradition. To understand our neighbours we must first get to know them; and we could not find a gayer, wittier or more penetrating guide than this scholarly and broad-minded writer. His acute observation of national modes of thought, prejudices and even jealousies is supported by examples from their language, literature and histories; and yet he never fails to show the wood as well as the trees, to make clear the real unity of culture and ideals which must be grasped and developed and made present, so that the family solidarity of Europe may be given concrete political expression. (cover-text of the original). PUBLISHED in 1952 by HOLLIS & CARTER, LONDON
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The article is based on the results of a nationally representative sociological survey conducted in 2021 within the project “National and European Dimensions of the Contemporary Identity of Bulgarians” (KP06-H50/6/30.11.2020), funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund. The transformations in the identity of Bulgarian citizens are traced in today’s world of increased mobility, migration and communication with representatives of other ethnicities and nations, which changes the meaning of national borders, eliminates the closedness of national cultures and leads to the formation of a consciousness of supranational or European identity. The analysis of the ongoing processes in the contemporary identity of Bulgarian citizens is based on the understanding of identity as a social construct which has relational and situational/contextual structure, determined by the nature of interaction with “others” and changing over time. The results show that although at this stage the national identity is the leading and determining one in the self-identification of the Bulgarian citizens, the processes of formation of the supranational/European identity have begun and represents an important part of their self-identification. Over 50% of all Bulgarian citizens have consciousness of belonging to supranational structures, i.e., we can talk about processes of formation of supranational identity; and in 30% of them it is a question of a declared consciousness of belonging to Europe, including the identification as citizens of the European Union.
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The political changes after 1989 in Bulgaria and the country’s difficult economic transition, temporarily led to a decline in patriotic feelings among the Bulgarian people. With few exceptions, such as Bulgaria's triumphant performance at the 1994 World Cup, which led to unprecedented national pride, the idea of belonging and unity began to dissolve in the harsh and uncertain conditions of the transition from socialism to a market economy. This led to a deterioration of relations in Bulgarian society, a sharp revision of values, a decrease in tolerance, and the entering into everyday life of the so-called language of hatred. Political parties were created which, under the guise of patriotism, openly promoted more radical sentiments toward various types of minorities. An increase in domestic crime at the time proved to be a fertile ground for such rhetoric. The fact that from the beginning of the new millennium until now, some Bulgarians have been invariably supporting nationalist parties, shows that these political formations are an expression of permanently present sentiments in the Bulgarian society. The current text will focus on nationalist manifestations towards the second-largest ethnic minority in the country – the Roma. For this purpose, specific events will be examined and analysed, and an attempt will be made to provide answers to several questions such as: What is the role of the Bulgarian minorities in these nationalist attitudes? Is it possible to build an identity based on the rejection of the other, and what are the manifestations of this rejection? How do such manifestations of intolerance and confrontation reflect on the identity of the minority itself? Who benefits from this rhetoric, and what are its consequences for the Bulgarian society?
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The article proposes to refine the periodisation of Russian and Russian-speaking immigration in Bulgaria. It examines the necessary context, describing changes in motivations and identity projects of these groups from (relatively) 2013 to 2023. The text outlines the specific tool - the blog, reinvented in a modern context – the text highlights the differences between it within the visual platform Instagram and its classical visual version. Thus, some of the main features of Russian-speaking users’ own online representations are brought to the fore through the implicit and (counterintuitively) explicit discourses of Russian-speaking users. They focus the analysis on their identifications and the specifics of adaptation and its dynamics, maintaining a sense of community but also accumulating social capital that directly reflects their plans and strategies for the present and future.
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The future of the European Union and its enlargement remains a topic of hot debate among all candidate countries and those who aspire to become one. Thus far, seven enlargement rounds have taken place, and now, ten years after the most recent enlargement in 2013 (when Croatia joined), the question being asked is whether it is time for the eighth enlargement. This is the question that has been the subject of fierce debate for decades, especially among the countries of the Western Balkans, but also Eastern Partnership countries, especially after the beginning of the war in Ukraine. A year and a half later, the war in Ukraine has left its mark on the history of the EU and the world. It has a ected Western Balkan countries both directly and indirectly by shaking the already fragile pillars of democracy and stability in this region. Even while being constantly reminded of the importance of maintaining peace and stability, and nurturing the beauty of a multicultural and multiethnic society, countries in the Western Balkans are always wary of the possibility of new conflicts.
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