Prospects for a Democratic Transformation of Postcommunist Society: The Case of Bulgaria

The road to integration of Bulgaria with the European Union has been generally successful if accession to the EU is considered the end goal. But if we broaden our analytical lens, it is clear that the road has been uneven. The achieved objective of accession has been followed by ten years of unevenly paced reform and backsliding. This article aims to explore the possible explanations for this unsatisfactory development from the perspective of informality.

The case study is structured in three thematic parts. Firstly, political and social developments in Bulgaria in the postcommunist decades are discussed from an empirical point of view, with particular focus on corruption, electoral participation, citizen trust, and rule of law. Secondly, an attempt is made to examine communist power networks in search of an explanation for the trends of state capture observed today. A key contribution of the article is the conclusion that informal relationships and clientelism are not merely a byproduct of the functioning of the communist system but its very essence.

Thirdly, on that basis, conclusions are drawn regarding the possibility for the democratic transformation of Bulgaria and other countries with a similar background. The author's findings are that such a transformation is only possible through a fundamental change in the mode of public governance—from a weak captured state and informality of power structures to public policies through partnership.