'Europe' And The Post-Communist Public Discourse In Bulgaria
'Europe' And The Post-Communist Public Discourse In Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: By applying the mechanism of rhetorical action, this article argues that the pro-European stance of the Bulgarian electorate prior to the 2005 elections was due to the positive discursive narratives promoted by intellectuals and political elites. Constructed primarily upon ideas of cultural belonging and the correction of a historical wrong rather than in terms of rights, obligations, transposition and implementation of laws, this discourse grants European membership the ability to deliver Bulgaria of its current predicaments (be they economic through investments, social through jobs, political through guarantees of security or cultural by acknowledging its European identity). Though securing policy continuity and consensus, such discourse was vulnerable precisely because of its monolithic political accord and therefore susceptible to lead to a radicalization of an alternative discourse. It also contributed to unpreparedness of both the electorate and the political elite for the post-accession policies.

• Details
• Contents