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2. A Special Part of Europe: Nation, State and Religion among Orthodox Slavs
- Author:
- Biljana Vankovska and Håkan Wiberg
- Publication Date:
- 06-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The paper studies how nation, state and religion – in particular: churches – are related among Orthodox South Slavs: Bulgarians, Serbs, Macedonians and Montenegrins. The close relations between (self-conceived) nations and churches go back to the Ottoman Empire, and seem to have been strengthened by the conflicts in Former Yugoslavia since 1990. The close relation between state and nation go back to how the Ottoman empire was dissolved and have also been strengthened by the same conflicts, even though all states proclaim themselves as non- discriminatory in this respect. The close relation between church and state also has long historical roots, but is more ambiguous today, with elements of competition as well as cooperation – and the latter is seen by many as having gone too far under communism. It is notable that where there are attempts to stabilise a separate identity – in Macedonia and Montenegro – establishing separate churches is a part of this on par with defining separate languages, rewriting history, etc. and the churches are seen as important national symbols even among quite secularised groups; and the same is true for the resistance against separation from the Serbian Orthodox Church.
- Topic:
- Development, Government, and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Montenegro
3. Management of National Security Sector - Bulgarian Experience
- Author:
- Anyu Angelov
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The notion of national security could be perceived in a narrow meaning or in an exceptionally broad meaning. Using this term in broader sense creates opportunities of binding mutually the functions and the responsibilities of almost all state institutions, local administration and municipalities in almost all spheres of public life. But such a perception hides a danger of dilution and chaotic shift of responsibilities between agencies for some of their paramount activities. And sometimes the broader sense could mislead even governments in their decision-making process. Let me give you a brand new Bulgarian example. Recently the Supreme Administrative Court stopped temporarily one of the biggest privatisation deals- those on Bulgarian tobacco holding known as "Bulgartabac". Striving for acceleration of the privatisation process and finding no other opportunity to overrule the court's decision about a concrete buyer, the government passed a bill, in which only the parliament is authorised to make decisions on the privatisation of fifteen of the biggest state companies, among them Bulgarian Tоbacco Holding, Bulgarian Railways, Bulgarian Airlines. Those decisions cannot be protested by the prosecution and overruled by the court. The only motivation of such exclusive procedure was the "exceptional importance of these companies for the national security". The bill was adopted by the National Assembly with shake majority, but was vetoed by the President.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Bulgaria
4. Security Sector Reform in Bulgaria
- Author:
- Velizar Shalamanov
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Security Sector Reform (SSR) is an essential part of transformation of the totalitarian states to democratic ones. Security was motive, tool and excuse for the Communist Parties to control totally the state, economy and society at all. As a result security sector - named Armed Forces was extremely large, powerful, secret (un-transparent), under communist party control and separated from society even using all the resources of the society, including young men for 2-3 years.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Bulgaria
5. The Role of Civilians in National Security Structures - The Bulgarian Experience
- Author:
- Velizar Shalamanov
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The strengthening of the democratic and civilian control of the security sector has been an important policy issue on the agenda of the international community throughout the last decade. A key dimension in this respect is the role of civilians in the formulation and conduct of national security policy.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Bulgaria
6. Mobility in Bulgaria and the European Union: Brain Drain, Bogus Asylum Seekers, Replacement Migration, and Fertility
- Author:
- Kristen Ghodsee
- Publication Date:
- 11-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Wilson Center
- Abstract:
- The collapse of communism in 1989 in Bulgaria was initially uneventful. Todor Zhivkov, the longest ruling leader in the Eastern Bloc, simply resigned. Democratic elections were held. Bulgaria had none of the wide-scale violence and chaos that characterized the transitions of the other Balkan states, most notably Romania and Yugoslavia. The effects of the social, political, and economic changes in Bulgaria, however, were just as devastating. The communists renamed themselves “socialists” and won the elections as the Bulgarian economy began a drastic contraction from which it has never recovered. The standard of living for ordinary Bulgarians dropped severely and new criminal elements appeared in society for the first time. The so-called “robber Barons” of Bulgaria pillaged what was left of the state's assets and set themselves up as the country's new elite. Meanwhile, the nearby wars and embargoes in the former Yugoslav republics gave the new Bulgarian Mafia ample opportunities to solidify their positions by smuggling arms and fuel into neighboring Yugoslavia.
- Topic:
- Government, International Organization, Migration, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria