The Bulgarian political elite in the period of transition

Abstract

The main objective of the research of the political elites in Bulgaria is to analyze the processes of genesis and regeneration of the political elites since the change of the political system in the 90-ies of the twentieth century. The relevance of the topic is largely determined by the very characteristics of the object of the research itself - the political elite. An elite is a dynamic community that almost continually undergoes changes in its structure, especially in periods of transition from one political system to another. The structure and role of the political elite in Bulgaria during the period under consideration suffer considerable changes, the majority of which cause a qualitative change in both the managerial potential of the elite and the public attitude towards its role. The elite has been changing much faster than the societies in the two countries and the analysis of the processes proves it. Another reason for the relevance of the topic is the fact that the Bulgarian political elite has not been included in any comparative studies of the political elites worldwide. In that line of thought, this comparative study will be the first of its kind and a serious contribution to political science.