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165 7 Bulgaria: Perception and Reality Organized crime is highly context dependent.1 The Bulgarian type is different in important respects from the Italian Mafia, from Mexican and Colombian drug lords, and from other criminal networks. By extension, there are also variations in the impact that organized crime has on the political process , including political finance. At a sufficiently abstract level, one could of course discuss organized crime as a single phenomenon with global dimensions. Standardization of meaning comes at the expense of important embedded local understandings and perceptions , however. This chapter argues that perceptions, at least in certain societies, are crucial to understanding the problems associated with organized crime as well as to elaborating successful policies to fight it. In terms of public opinion—both within and outside the country—Bulgaria stands out as a polity seriously affected by organized crime. This view emerges from domestic sociological surveys and from external monitoring exercises conducted and published by the European Commission.2 Bulgarian society and external observers are convinced that the fight against organized crime and corruption constitutes the gravest challenge for the country. Yet Bulgaria does not face quite the same level of problems as countries like Italy, Mexico, and Colombia. For one, there are no extensive, socially based criminal networks exercising open control over whole regions. Second, the economic output of 1. The use of the concept of organized crime to describe a global phenomenon, essentially removing each case from their specific national contexts, has become commonplace, but it is a theoretically and practically problematic exercise.For a critical assessment of the globalization of the usage of organized crime terminology, see Beare (2003), especially the chapter by Woodiwiss (Woodiwiss 2003). 2. For an analysis of the monitoring exercised by the EC in the justice and home affairs area (which covers corruption and organized crime), see the publications of the EUMAP project (EUMAP, 2001, 2002). See also Smilov (2006). daniel smilov 166 Daniel Smilov criminal groups, although impressive, is not of a magnitude that would allow these groups to seriously challenge the state. Finally, and possibly most important , the interpenetration of state officials and alleged criminals takes on a very unique form, which has given grounds for Misha Glenny to suggest that while there is mafia in many states, in Bulgaria the mafia has a state.3 This is a gross exaggeration, of course, but it reflects what many people in Bulgaria think and the way in which they conceptualize the problem of organized crime. Taking a clue from these widespread perceptions, one could argue the following. Organized crime is an umbrella term, which covers a broad array of other problems. The narrow meaning of the term refers to the activities of organized criminal groups, such as drug dealing, smuggling, extortion, and prostitution. The broader meaning is more popular in Bulgaria, and it refers to the spread of corruption among the political elite, its distancing from the people, and the continuing political influence of former members of the now defunct communist secret services. The narrow and broad meanings of the term are not usually analytically distinguished in their public usage, which in part explains the perceived elevated status of the problem of organized crime in Bulgaria. In terms of the link between organized crime and political finance, one should distinguish between the narrow and the broad concepts in order to better capture the problem. Following the narrow definition, the fact is that there is a dearth of hard evidence pointing to criminal funds being channeled into politics. Allegations abound, but almost none of them have been substantiated. There are good reasons to believe that during the revolutionary reforms of the 1990s the flow of dirty money into politics faced few obstacles. Since the 2000s, however, regulations have been tightened, political parties and state institutions are generally stronger, and state subsidies for political parties have been introduced. Consequently, the incentive to resort to funds of suspicious origins should have decreased. At present, the alleged links between organized crime and politicians are not so much related to campaign or party donations as to sophisticated and ingenious links between the political establishment and the criminal world. These links are implicit in the broader meaning of the concept of organized crime. The typical scenarios that fall under the second meaning are the following: —The political protection of shady businesses in return for financial support and other resources —Kickbacks to political parties and politicians for specific favors, especially during the privatization process of the...

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