From Europeanization to Patriotism. The Place of Nationalism in the Changing Identity of the Bulgarian Socialist Party

The paper aims to analyze the place of nationalism in the changing identity of the Bulgarian Socialist Party since 2014. The study is focused on three research questions: What kind of nationalism is voiced by the BSP and its expressions (ethnic; social; economic, geopolitical). The second is in what extend the maintenance of the party as a second national political force is due to the presence of nationalism? The third question is about the impact of nationalism on the party organization. One hypothesis is that because of the nationalism, the BSP maintains its relative success in national politics. Another hypothesis is that reinforcement of nationalism won’t guarantee the success of BSP but rather will plunge it in deeper crisis. The paper is based on analysis of party documents and positions. The BSP is the successor party of the former communist party. After short period of Social-democratization and Europeanization, since 2014 the BSP changed its leaders two times. The positions of new leaders are taking distance with pro-European and international commitments. The case is worth making a study because the BSP is one of the few still “successive” social democratic actors in Eastern and Central Europe.