Civil Society and Party Politics in Bulgaria after 2013: A Gramscian Look
| Author | Veronika Stoyanova |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929916667367 |
| Published date | 01 May 2018 |
| Date | 01 May 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929916667367
Political Studies Review
2018, Vol. 16(2) 136 –147
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929916667367
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Civil Society and Party
Politics in Bulgaria after
2013: A Gramscian Look
Veronika Stoyanova
Abstract
In 2013, Bulgaria was shaken by two waves of mass protests, which seemed to mobilise distinct
social groups and put different, and often conflicting, demands on the table. In the midst of the
turbulence of the protests, new political formations emerged which aimed to capitalise on the
mobilisations. The mushrooming of new political projects in the wake of the mass protests
seems to mark an apparent re-politicisation following the post-political turn after 1989. Yet the
language and identities of these new civic and party formations point to a more complicated
dynamic between civic movements, political parties and the state. Drawing on Gramsci’s theory of
hegemony, this article scrutinises the links between the newly emerged political projects and the
civic mobilisations of 2013 to unravel the new social cleavages underpinning them and consider
how these are played out in a context of a changed relationship between civil society and party
politics 25 years after the fall of the socialist regime in Bulgaria.
Keywords
civil society, political parties, hegemonic struggles, Antonio Gramsci, Bulgaria
Accepted: 15 July 2016
Bulgaria saw two waves of mass protests in 2013 – one in February–March and one
which started in June and lasted a year.1 The two waves appeared different – mobilising
distinct social groups and making divergent, and often conflicting, demands of power-
holders. What is more, at the same time as both contending a wide circle of elites, the two
protest waves seemed to engage in a contentious struggle between each other. During and
in the aftermath of the protests, several new political formations emerged, all of which
attempted to capitalise on the protest mobilisations. These new political actors are par-
ticularly interesting as they aimed specifically to address some of the protesting groups’
grievances, and to distance themselves from others. Some looked to represent the voice
School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Kent, UK
Corresponding author:
Veronika Stoyanova, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, Cornwallis Building, University of
Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NF, UK.
Email: vs230@kent.ac.uk
667367PSW0010.1177/1478929916667367Political Studies ReviewStoyanova
research-article2016
Article
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