Построяване на "Европа" или приобщаване към Европа
Building "Europe" or integrating in Europe

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the efficiency of the two strategies for European enlargement: top — down (the political elite makes the decision) and down — up (looking for groups and institutions who spontaneously develop European ideology and contacts from the point of view of their needs). The thesis is that the top — down strategy will be successful only if it is grounded on down — up strategies. This thesis is based on the methodological concept of institutional culture, which is understood as comprising two levels — the level of formal rules and the level of everyday values and norms. The paper discusses the specificity of Bulgarian and of European institutional cultures, considered as ideal types. On the basis of a qualitative research project carried out in the Smolian region, the paper discusses the institutional mediators cultivating European institutional culture and those which strengthen the traditional Bulgarian culture. The former include NGOs, especially the professional and business associations, and different decentralization mechanisms. Bulgarian traditional culture is strengthened by the currently existing system of centralized governmental control over local authorities and also by the possible effects of the newly starting European programs ISPA and SAPARD. The paper also examines the existing images of Europe among the local elite of Smolian ^Europe" as „high standard" and ,,Europe" as ,,a. well-functioning business firm"), and the appearance of a regional ideology, seen as a peripheral reaction to the political center, which opposes the idea of the nation state and is tolerant to possible regional unions with Northern Greece.

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