Journal articles on the topic 'Ethnic conflict – Bulgaria'

Bulgarian majority and Turkish minority relations have remained peaceful in the post Communist era despite a significant potential for civil strife. These antagonisms were a product of Bulgaria's historical political development. The most recent episode of forced assimilation policies under the Communist regime was a critical grievance contributing to the democratic transition in 1989. Unlike in neighboring Yugoslavia, communal ethnic conflict did not escalate to violence with political liberalization and the emergence of democratic political competition. A critical factor in the political formula for maintaining interethnic peace in Bulgaria has been Turkey's comparatively constrained behavior as a “motherland state” with regard to the Turkish Diaspora in Bulgaria.

The article aims to analyse Bulgaria’s provisions of the laws and international treaties that regulate the use and functioning of languages in the country since the restoration of the Bulgarian statehood at the end of the 19th century to the present day (that is, monarchical, socialist and modern periods). The evolution of this aspect of the Bulgarian national law is analysed depending on the form of government in the particular era of the state’s existence. The article examines Bulgaria’s relations with neighboring Balkan countries throughout their development, including numerous wars, which were primarily based on attempts to solve ethnic problems. Based on the results of the censuses of the population of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, data are provided on the dynamics of the absolute and relative number of Bulgarians and major national minorities and on the number of those who indicated their native languages. The significance of the study is due to the fact that the Balkan Peninsula, although being on the periphery of current processes in the modern geopolitical paradigm, not being their actor and being divided into a dozen states, still played and is playing one of the leading roles in the European and world histories. The study of language legislation, as one of the key elements of language policy, makes it possible to identify a variety of aspects of interethnic relations both in the historical, retrospective and long-term perspective. In addition, the study of this issue may be in demand when considering interethnic conflict situations in other problem areas. The article concludes that the language legislation of Bulgaria is characterized by significant minimalism in comparison with similar aspects of law in many European countries, and the linguistic rights of national minorities in Bulgaria are minimally reflected in the considered laws of the state.

Infamously, the 1991 Bulgarian Constitution contains a provision banning political parties “formed on an ethnic basis.” In the early 1990s, the neo-communist Bulgarian Socialist Party invoked this provision when it asked the country's Constitutional Court to declare unconstitutional the political party of the beleaguered Turkish minority. In this article, Venelin I. Ganev analyzes the conflicting arguments presented in the course of the constitutional trial that ensued and shows how the justices’ anxieties about the possible effects of politicized ethnicity were interwoven into broader debates about the scope of the constitutional normative shift that marked the end of the communist era, about the relevance of historical memory to constitutional reasoning, and about the nature of democratic politics in a multiethnic society. Ganev also argues that the constitutional interpretation articulated by the Court has become an essential component of Bulgaria's emerging political order. More broadly, he illuminates the complexity of some of the major issues that frame the study of ethnopolitics in postcommunist eastern Europe: the varied dimensions of the “politics of remembrance“; the ambiguities of transitional justice; the dilemmas inherent in the construction of a rights-centered legality; and the challenges involved in establishing a forward-looking, pluralist system of governance.

During the first years of the Bulgarian transition to democracy, all indicators seemed to point towards an impending explosion of interethnic hatred. Located at the crossroads of Islam and Christianity, this predominantly Orthodox country harbors a 13.1% strong Muslim minority, which was subjected to forcible assimilation under communist rule. The assimilation policy reached a climax in 1984–1985, when around 800,000 Bulgarian Turks were forced to renounce their Turkish-Arabic names in favor of Slavic patronyms within the framework of the so-called “Revival Process,” a campaign that aimed at precipitating the unification of the Bulgarian nation. Far from achieving the intended result, the authorities' move not only fostered a reassertion of distinct ethnic and religious identification among the Turks, but also succeeded in durably upsetting intercommunitarian relationships. Significantly, the Communist Party's announcement on 29 December 1989 that it would restore Muslim rights met with sharp resistance in mixed areas, where large-scale Bulgarian protests rapidly gathered momentum. Against this background, in 1990–1991, few analysts would have predicted that Bulgaria could avoid religious conflict, especially as the country was faced with growing regional instability and a belated shift to a market economy—two conditions often said to be conducive to the exacerbation of ethnic tensions.

The 1919 Convention for Emigration of Minorities between Bulgaria and Greece was an important prototype for minority handling and population exchange in Eastern Europe after World War I. Based on research in Bulgarian and Greek archives, this article offers a comparative analysis of the conflicting pursuits of the two countries and the multiple opinions of various groups affected by displacement. Despite the optimism of the League of Nations that the Convention would solve ethnic conflict by bolstering individual rights, people's unwillingness to prioritize nationality undermined the execution of voluntary exchange. Instead, emigration occurred as an “actual exchange,” and refugees fled their birthplaces under harsh circumstances. Yet individuals inventively navigated their nationality and often defied the priorities of the nation-states to further their personal strategies. Because of the failure of this first international experiment of voluntary exchange in Eastern Europe, future proponents of population management adopted the principle of compulsory exchange.

The history of the emigration of Bulgarian Muslim Turks to Turkey is more than a century old. The violation of the human rights of ethnic Turks by the totalitarian regime during the 1980s resulted in the most massive and unpredictable migration wave ever seen in that history. This article examines the complexity of factors and motivations of the 1989 emigration which included almost half of the ethnic Turks living in Bulgaria and constituting until that time 9 percent of the total population. The author considers the strong and long-lasting effect of this emigration—followed by the subsequent return of half of the emigrants after the fall of the regime—both on Bulgaria's economy and on the political life of the society. The article aims also at providing a better understanding of the character of ethnic conflicts in posttotalitarian Eastern Europe.

In the research article titled «Balance of Power in the Black Sea» was analyzed the balance of power in the Black Sea, which emerged because of the geopolitical changes and the geo-strategic moves of the superpowers after the Cold War. In the backyard of the political events that took place in the Black Sea riparian countries (political crisis in Ukraine, the war in Georgia) until today, the games of the superpowers to dominate the Black Sea and not to lose the balance of power lie. After Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania after the Cold War joined the Western powers as NATO members. On the other hand, conflicts arose because Russia did not want Georgia and Ukraine to turn to the West in the same way. Because Russia continues to maintain the balance of power in the Black Sea thanks to Georgia and Ukraine. If Russia loses the balance of power, Russian security in the Black Sea may be shaken. The West has successfully secured itself in this regard. Georgia and Ukraine attempts made by the West with the aim of pushing Russia into a corner emphasized that Russia will not remain silent in any way. By incorporating Crimea into its territory, Ukraine secured its military base on the Crimean Peninsula and used its energy trump cards for Ukraine. The Georgian leader failed because of his move to be closer to the West and even caused ethnic conflict in the country. Sakashvili’s position in power has been shaken. As a result, the West issue was closed. So nowadays balance of power in the Black Sea continuing keeping its peace at the world.

Moldova is a multi-ethnic state. One third of the country’s population is national minorities, including the Gagauz and Bulgarians. There is material evidence in history that negative stereotypes and conflicts existed between two ethnic groups in the region in the early 19th century. But over time, relations between the Gagauz and Bulgarians lost their former acuteness. The article substantiates the need to study ethnic heterostereotypes of the Gagauz and Bulgarians as a brandtheir ethnic identity. The results of the conducted empirical study of ethnic heterostereotypes of the Bulgarian and Gagauz youth prove that in the sphere of intergroup perception, these ethnic groups have a problem - distance from each other. There is a certain tension in the relationship between the Gagauz and Bulgarians, which manifests itself in a hidden, smoldering form. It is expressed in social competition, achieved by ethnocentric evaluative comparison of one’s own and another’s group in favor of one’s own. But, nevertheless, they also have a powerful resource - a positive ethnic identity, which includes not only a positive self-identification, but also a positive image. The authors conclude that it is necessary to strengthen the positive ethnic identity of the Gagauz and Bulgarian youth. Increasing intercultural communication and competence is the main way to bring these two closely adjacent ethnic groups closer together.

AbstractThe Republic of Bulgaria is one of the smallest countries in southeastern Europe and has little experience with terrorist acts. During the past 20 years, only nine terrorism-related events have been recorded in Bulgaria, and no unconventional weapons have been used. Factors contributing to terrorism in Bulgaria have been: (1) Communist Party domination of the government and political process from 1944 to 1989; (2) ethnic and religious conflicts between the Bulgarian Orthodox Christian majority and the Turkish Muslim minority from 1983 to 1987; and (3) the relatively high level of organized crime after the Communist regime ended in 1990.The structure and function of the Disaster Relief System in Bulgaria not only are focused on the prevention of terrorism, but also on preparedness for the emergency response to terrorism-related events. Institutional components of the Disaster Relief System structure responsible for the emergency response to terrorism-related events include: (1) the Government of Bulgaria; (2) the State Agency for Civil Protection with 28 regional directorates; (3) the Ministry of Health with five national hospitals, 28 regional hospitals, and 28 EMS systems; (4) the Ministry of Defense with special military units for response to unconventional terrorist events, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons; (5) the Ministry of Internal Affairs with 28 police departments, 28 fire departments, and specialized anti-terrorist units; and (6) the Bulgarian Red Cross.A major future challenge in Bulgaria is the prevention of terrorism through political stability, economic prosperity, ethnic and religious tolerance, and more effective measures against organized criminal activities. A related challenge will be to improve the level of preparedness of all components of Disaster Relief.

AbstractThe Republic of Bulgaria is one of the smallest countries in southeastern Europe and has little experience with terrorist acts. During the past 20 years, only nine terrorism-related events have been recorded in Bulgaria, and no unconventional weapons have been used. Factors contributing to terrorism in Bulgaria have been: (1) Communist Party domination of the government and political process from 1944 to 1989; (2) ethnic and religious conflicts between the Bulgarian Orthodox Christian majority and the Turkish Muslim minority from 1983 to 1987; and (3) the relatively high level of organized crime after the Communist regime ended in 1990.The structure and function of the Disaster Relief System in Bulgaria not only are focused on the prevention of terrorism, but also on preparedness for the emergency response to terrorism-related events. Institutional components of the Disaster Relief System structure responsible for the emergency response to terrorism-related events include: (1) the Government of Bulgaria; (2) the State Agency for Civil Protection with 28 regional directorates; (3) the Ministry of Health with five national hospitals, 28 regional hospitals, and 28 EMS systems; (4) the Ministry of Defense with special military units for response to unconventional terrorist events, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons; (5) the Ministry of Internal Affairs with 28 police departments, 28 fire departments, and specialized anti-terrorist units; and (6) the Bulgarian Red Cross.A major future challenge in Bulgaria is the prevention of terrorism through political stability, economic prosperity, ethnic and religious tolerance, and more effective measures against organized criminal activities. A related challenge will be to improve the level of preparedness of all components of Disaster Relief.

Abstract In the beginning of the 21st century, the international community tries to do its best in order to guarantee that our civilization, entering the new millennium, puts an end to any form of domination of one peoples over another, to the reasons for such domination, and to the whole idea of inequality. Ethno-political conflict appears to be a permanent form of social and political struggle in the modern world. No major region is free from it. In its more acute manifestation, it may turn into murderous, destructive violence. Bulgarian ethnic model is a concrete historical concept. This is a specific way to find a way out of the impasse of Interethnic relations in which the “revival process” was plunged the country. Bulgarian ethnic model is a transformation of the ethnic contradictions and conflicts in the political process, which neutralize them and makes it possible to restore good neighborly relations in the everyday life of Christians and Muslims before the start of the conflict situation.

A sensitive topic for decades (for ideological reasons), Dobruja is still a challenge for many Romanian and Bulgarian historians. A peripheral and hardly populated region, this territory lying between the Danube and the Black Sea became the major source of dispute between Bucharest and Sofia at the dawn of the last century. After 1878, legal history and statistics were the pillars of the new identity of this former Ottoman territory di?vided between Romania and Bulgaria, as a result of a decision made by the Great Powers. In order to meet the specific requirements of young national states, Dobruja underwent a colonisation process (whose intensity differed in the two parts of the region). Ethnic diversity caused much concern, particularly in the critical moments that endangered the relations between the two neighbouring countries. The Balkan Wars represented the moment when the Dobruja question officially emerged. Romania?s decision to annex South?ern Dobruja would traumatise Bulgarian society, which would look forward to retaliating. This moment occurred earlier than many Romanian politicians expected. The spirit of revenge explains why the fighting on the Dobrujan front was so intense in the autumn of 1916. Dobruja was the first province of the Romanian Kingdom that fell under the Central Powers? occupation. The documents stored in Romanian archives are too few to make it possible to accurately reconstruct the history of this province during its military occu?pation by the Central Powers. This is not an easy challenge: Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Serbia, Germany, Turkey and Austro-Hungary were in some way involved in the events in Dobruja in the autumn of 1916.

Abstract: The articles presents training methods and results from an observation experiment in cultural sensitivity training of 39 Bulgarian teachers from a multi-ethnic secondary school in Vetovo, Ruse region. School children belong to 5 ethnic groups: Bulgarians, Bulgarian Christian Roma, Bulgarian Muslim Roma, Bulgarian Turks and Gagauz. The teachers were trained for 3 days in developing their cultural sensitivity, digital literacy and pedagogical competence. They were trained by 4 university professors and were divided into 4 groups of 10 people each, where each group had to switch training to go through all modules. The author's module included developing cultural sensitivity among teachers of all ages. The training included 6 tasks employing the following pedagogical methods: role play, discussion, feedback and group work. The following skills were developed: team work, creative thinking, conflict reconciliation, negotiation skills, adaptability, cultural intelligence, cultural self-awareness. Teachers shared in the course briefing that they felt it was difficult to adapt and use newly developed cultural sensitivity skills in the classroom because of the bureaucratic requirements in their daily work routine. They also expressed concern about the cultural distance between them and their pupils, which could become an obstacle to applying the newly learned skills in the classroom. Key words: cultural sensitivity, multicultural education, digital literacy, pedagogical competence, cultural intelligence.

The First World War launched a tremendous restructuring of the international system. One of its major outcomes was a transformation of the small states of Central and South-Eastern Europe from objects to subjects of international relations. Having emerged or enlarged their territories in wake of multinational empires’ collapse, the small states became key players on the regional level. Reshaping of the Balkan regional order is of a particular interest to researchers as the Balkan instability triggered destruction of the previous international system. The purpose of the article is to understand how a world conflict, which had broken out in South-Eastern Europe, transformed the region. To do this the author dwells upon three sets of question. The first is the Balkan contribution in the origins of the First World War. The second is an interplay of factors which caused reshaping of the Balkan political space during the war years. The third is a new landscape of the postwar order in South-Eastern Europe. Methodological approaches applied here define new and actual character of this article. The author uses conceptual tools of the theory of international relations to analyze a process of region «building» which took place in circumstances of «tectonic» shifts within the international system in the early decades of the 20th century. Thus, the author applies the analytical model of the regional order as well as key definitions of the theory of international relations – great power, small state (the article focuses on Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece), principle of self-determination. It is concluded that the regional order emerged in the Balkans in wake of the First World War was a result of multi-dimensional interaction of factors. They are as follows: 1) the military, strategic and foreign policy planning of hostile coalitions of powers (the Entente and the bloc of the Central powers), seeking to win the loyalty of regional allies; 2) demonstrated by the small states understanding that the war had opened a «window of opportunity» to put into life their national interests and programs; 3) the decline of traditional multi-ethnic empires, which had formed political atmosphere in the Balkans. It is stated that a landscape of post-war regional order in the Balkans was determined with cooperation and competition of the local national states in the situation when the multi-ethnic empires had disappeared from the Balkan political space while the architects of the Versailles system – Great Britain and France seemed to be less interested in South-Eastern Europe in after war years. It meant that the new Balkan order enjoyed a relative autonomy compared to the previous one.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, various religious processes can be observed among the Roma community and other ethnic minorities in Bulgaria. In parallel with the conversion of Orthodox Christian and Sunni Muslim Roma to evangelical Christianity, processes of re-Islamization have also been taking place. Based on a series of legislative and judicial decisions taken by local and state institutions, cases of re-Islamization have been presented to the public as examples of the spread of radical Islam, a trend that could lead to ethnic conflicts and to the perception that the Roma are a threat to national security. Contrary to this already popular notion, the results of my ethnological study (2018-2020) among various local Roma Islamic groups in Southern Bulgaria led to a different conclusion. This paper draws attention to small groups of newly converted Turkish-speaking Roma and focuses on the emic perspective of the members of the studied groups regarding the interpretation of the new religious ideas they more or less adhere to.

Melting the ice is the project which aim is resolution of ethnic conflicts between Serbs and Albanians from Kosovo. The idea about the project came from several students of American University in Bulgaria (AUBG). The original idea of the project was to organize the series of panel discussions with participation of students, Serbs and Albanians. The main aim of the project is to help remove in confidence and prejudices and preparation of students to work on the same issue after coming back to their communities.

This article examines the nature of group identity in order to gain insight into the character and quality of intergroup contacts, particularly the conditions for positive contacts between members of different ethnic groups. An important conception underlying the discussion is that identity is not a stable construct or fixed essence, but rather is discursive in nature and turns upon how individuals and collectivities distinguish themselves in their relations with other individuals and collectivities. Both resemblance and difference are thus essential principles of social identity, while ethnic identity is distinct from culture and may be analyzed as a form of social organization. This heightens the importance of the degree of permeability of group boundaries, and of one’s relation with their own ethnic group, in minimizing prejudice and fostering interethnic relations. Analysis of field interviews with members of Bulgarian and Bulgarian Turkish ethnic groups provided the basis for the theoretical discussion concerning intergroup contacts. The interviews also serve to illustrate the inverse relationship between intergroup contacts and prejudices, as well as the fact that insofar as intergroup ethnic conflicts and perceived differences occur between narrative constructs, they can be transformed and resolved through openness towards differences and dialogue.

Although clinical ethics consultation has existed for more than 40 years in the USA and Europe, it was not available in Bulgaria until recently. In introducing clinical ethics consultation into our country, the Modular, Ethical, Treatment, Allocation of resources, Process (METAP) methodology has been preferred because of its potential to be used in resource-poor settings and its strong educational function. This paper presents the results of a METAP evaluation in a hospital palliative care ward in the town of Vratsa. The evaluation was based on Beauchamp and Childress’ four principles of biomedical ethics and involves implementation of specific instruments for clinical ethics decision-making. Research tasks emphasised analyses of ethics meetings in the ward. Data were processed by SPSS v.24 using descriptive statistical analysis. Altogether, 32 ethics meetings of an average duration 20.63 min were conducted on cases involving critically ill patients. Most of the participants (86.0%) expressed satisfaction with the ethics process. The principlist approach supported resolution of conflicts between autonomous patients and their relatives, clarified definitions of “medical benefit” and “social good,” and enabled assessments of the risk of unequal treatment. Even as the specific research tasks were achieved, further participant follow-up is necessary to identify any improvement in healthcare personnel’s ethical competence. METAP worked well in end-of-life care settings. Participants experienced several benefits, including improved team communication, better understanding of patient preferences, and confidence in the correctness of decisions. Despite the significant educational potential of METAP, the need for additional and ongoing ethics training of health professionals should not be underestimated.

The article examines the circumstances of the foundation and the process of formation in the Caucasus of the New Athos Monastery of St. Simon the Cananaean — a branch of the Athos Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery. It is shown that the appearance of the Caucasian monastery was one of the results of the “Greek-Russian Panteleimon process” — a major conflict that arose in the first half of the 1870s. on Mount Athos due to the aggravation of contradictions between different ethnic communities in St. Panteleimon Monastery, the general rise in the Greek environment of anti-Slavic and anti-Russian sentiments caused by Russia's position in the Greek-Bulgarian church issue, as well as due to the actions of British diplomacy, which sought to weaken Russian influence in the Balkans and the Middle East. The role of the Russian ambassador to Constantinople N. P. Ignatiev in the settlement of the conflict and in the appearance of the New Athos Monastery in the Caucasus is considered. The origin and development of the Caucasian monastery, its situation during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877—1878, the spiritual life and missionary activity of the New Athonite monks are studied. It is emphasized that the New Athos Monastery, having emerged as a supposed “refuge” for Russian Athonians in the event of new troubles in the East, soon turned into a pearl of the Black Sea coast, a major spiritual and missionary center in the south of the Russian Empire.

In the post-reform period, the Katerynoslav province was used as a locomotive of capitalist transformations, and on the other hand represented polyethnic and poly-denominational territories inhabited by Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Germans, Poles, Greeks, Tatars, Bulgarians. etc. Such diversity could not but affect the ethnic relations in the region, which left a significant imprint on them. These relationships, in turn, were characterized by both relationship development and mutual influences, and a sufficiently high level of conflict. In particular, the author analyzes the causes and manifestations of superechtas between representatives of different ethnic groups that inhabited Katerynoslav region at the end of XIX - early XX centuries.Thus, it is emphasized that the rupture of social ties and impoverishment of a large part of the population during the transition from traditional to industrial society objectively created the basis for the spread of xenophobic and nationalist sentiments. At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that at this time tsarism continued to build its intrinsic policy on the principles of the great power, the basis of which was known the «Uvarov» triad – «autocracy, Orthodoxy, nationality», in particular, when the official ideology was counted ethnic Ukrainians to Russians. Therefore, in the confines of a large-scale, chauvinistic policy, the Ukrainians were demolished and assimilated, and the rights of the Jewish population and representatives of other ethnic groups inhabiting the empire were restricted at the legislative level.Conflicts on the national soil in the region have seen an increase in the number of riotous actions against the local Jewish population, as well as the launching of anti-German campaigns, especially during the First World War. In addition, numerous disputes in Katerynoslav province have arisen between Ukrainians and Russians, as well as between local workers and foreign management personnel, who appeared in large numbers at the factories and mines of the region in the modern period. All this led to the destabilization of the socio-political situation, becoming a significant component of the revolutionary crisis that swept the Russian Empire in the early twentieth century.

Throughout the 550 year Ottoman rule over the Balkan lands, where even today internal dynamics threaten peace and justice, how and through what means the Ottoman Empire achieved consistency, security and peace is a question to which a number of political scientists, sociologists, communication scientists and history researchers have sought an answer. The most interesting point of the question is that the peoples of the Balkans, a living museum comprising a number of different ethnic groups and religious beliefs, have reached the point where the culture of coexistence has been internalised and dynamics have moved from the conflict of identities to cultural integration. The Balkans are a bridge to the East from Europe and indeed to the West from Turkey, incorporating a patchwork political and cultural geography, the geopolitical location and a richness of culture and civilization, being one of the areas attracting the attention of researchers from different disciplines and capturing the imagination of the peoples of the world throughout history. Balkan studies are almost as difficult as climbing the peaks in the areas and meaningful answers cannot be reached by defining the area on a single parameter such as language, culture or traditions, while the phenomenon of the other can also be observed within the culture of coexistence in this intricate and significant location. Different ethnic groups with different cultures, such as the Southern Slavs (Bosniaks, Montenegrans, Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) as well as Turks, Albanians, Bulgarians, Balkan Jews, Balkan Romany and Wallachians (Romanians and Greeks). Although these peoples may have different religious beliefs, in the ethnically rich Balkan region, religion, language, political and cultural differences are vital in the formation of a mosaic, making the discourse of coexistence possible and creating common values and loyalties, breaking down differences. The Serbian and Montenegrin peoples, belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church, the Croat and Slovene peoples belonging to the Catholic Church and the Muslin Bosniaks have shared the same lands and livee in coexistence throughout the historical process, despite having different beliefs. However, in some periods the other and the perception of the other have replaced common values, leading to conflicts of interest, unrest and religion based wars. After the breakup of the Yugoslavian Federal Socialist Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo, defined by the European Union as the Western Balkans, have established themselves as nation states of the stage of history. The scope of our study is these Western Balkan Countries, and we will use the terminology Western Balkans throughout.

The article examines a wide range of the problems associated with the boundless enlargement of the European Union which makes it possible to place the Balkans in the context of general European development. To become a member of the EU is the important goal of the post-socialist countries of the Balkans/South-Eastern Europe. Bulgaria, Romania, and the post-Yugoslavian states of Slovenia and Croatia became full members of the EU. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania are still at different stages of integration into the European community. This accession is the logical completion of the processes of social, political, economic and legal transformation of the Balkan countries, in which they themselves and the European Union as a whole and its individual member states are interested for reasons of geopolitics and geoeconomics. However, the accession to Europe (or the return to Europe) of the Balkan states with their authoritarian and socialist past includes not only the reform of the economic, political and legal systems, but also a change in value orientations. While in the states of the so-called «founding fathers» of the EU a Western European corporate civic identity is being formed, in the countries of the former Eastern Europe and the Balkan region, ethnic identity remains remains largely in the mainstream of public consciousness. The author examines axiological, ideological and psychological aspects of the accession of post-socialist countries to the EU, and also analyzes specific foreign policy problems associated with this process and the role of regional international organizations in the «europeanization» of the Balkans and in the settlement of ethnic and interstate conflicts in the region that still remain acute. Negative tendencies, first of all - the strengthening of populist sentiments and the coming to power of politicians reflecting these sentiments, pose challenges and threats not only to the European Union, but also to Russia.

This article explores the problems of Ukraine's integration into the European security system. Special attention is given to the questions of cooperation with the European Union, NATO and the OSCE that play an important role in promotion of security in the European continent. Emphasis is made on the analysis of the Ukrainian normative legal framework responsible for inclusion of Ukraine into the core structures of European security. Since 1991 to the present, all presidents of post-Soviet Ukraine from L. Kravchuk to V. Zelensky contributed considerably to the country’s integration into the European security system. With the development of relations with NATO, EU and OSCE, Ukraine sought to cooperate with the Eastern European countries within the framework of the key institutions of European security. Ukraine’s relations with certain Balkan states have experienced intense contradictions, for example dispute over the plan to liquidate Bolhradsky district in Odessa Region that was predominantly populated by ethnic Bulgarians. Since 2004, the territorial dispute between Ukraine and Romania pertaining to delimitation of continental shelf around the Snake Island has not been fully settled. The conflict between the two countries also aggravated due to the policy of reducing the Romanian-language educational establishments in Ukraine. Ukraine’s inclusion into the key structures of the European security is also impeded by Donbass armed conflict, the fact that the government of Ukraine does not recognize the Republic of Crimea's claim to sovereignty, as well as regularization of relations with the Russian Federation. The acquired results allow determining the motives underlying the foreign policy course of Ukraine that is aimed at its accession to the European Union and NATO, as well as the attempts to take its place within the European security system.

In the scientific article, the author conducted a scientific study of the foreign experience of legal regulation of the adoption of children by foreigners, primarily according to the legislation of the European Union states and states adjacent to Ukraine. Based on the conducted research, the author came to the conclusion that in the practice of states adjacent to Ukraine and states members of the European Union, there are three approaches to determining the procedure for adopting children by foreign citizens: through the definition of a national regime for foreigners, similar to that which exists for citizens of the relevant state (Latvia); through the determination of conflicts of laws with respect to the law applicable to adoption, which are defined in civil codes (Germany, France, Czech Republic) or separate laws on international private law (Spain, Switzerland); due to the establishment of a separate procedure for adoption (Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova, Ireland) or an exceptional case of adoption of a child by foreigners using the same procedure for adoption, as with national adoption (Poland, Hungary). In the latter case, the possibility of international adoption is provided, if the child, after being transferred to a foster family, was not adopted in the state of his/her citizenship, because the measures taken to adopt the child were not successful, moreover, in Poland, exceptions to this rule are provided when there is a kinship relationship between the adopter and the adopted child or if the adopter has already adopted a brother or sister of the child being adopted. In the Republic of Bulgaria, foreigners wishing to adopt a child must obtain a permit for international adoption from the Minister of Justice, in the Republic of Belarus - in addition to the written permission for adoption from the Minister of Education, it is also necessary to obtain the child's consent for adoption, the child's stay in the relevant register for a year and the absence of an initiative by citizens of Belarus to adopt a child. In the case of international adoption of citizens of the Republic of Moldova, the ethnic origin of the child, his/her belonging to a certain culture, religion, language and other features that deserve attention must be taken into account; persons wishing to adopt a child must submit a special application - for international adoption, to the Ministry of Health, of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova and the Department of Social Security and Protection of Family Rights as territorial guardianship bodies carry out preliminary and final selection of foreigners who wish to adopt a child who is a citizen of the Republic of Moldova.

During the First World War Macedonia in its ethnic borders was a space of bloody fights of the Great Powers and their struggle for world domination and colonial empires. The front line on the territory of Macedonia, known as the Front of Macedonia, whose length was several hundred kilometers long, stretched predominantly through the mountainous areas at an altitude of over 2,000 meters where the armed conflicts, between the forces of the Entente and the Central Powers took place. The immediate cause of the formation of the Macedonian Front was the failure of the Dardanelles Operation, when troops from Galipola were transferred to Thessaloniki. The Macedonian front was the only allied front where the only command had been operating throughout its existence. At the beginning, the main command was held by the General Moris Saraj. The paper deals with the tragedy of the cities and the population, and the mountain heights that were located on the first frontline of the Macedonian Front, with huge destruction and devastation from everyday artillery and air strikes. Bitola as an important communication point was constantly exposed to bombardment, and many of the surrounding villages disappeared forever. Only a few kilometers southeast of Bitola is the top Kajmakcalan, where there were also fierce fighting with many casualties and terrible devastation. The Battle of Kajmakcalan as part of the military operations of the Macedonian Front is one of the great battles of the First World War. In the history, the Battle of Kajmakchalan has been observed according to the great number of dead and wounded and the altitude where it took place. The breathtaking legendary city of Dojran and its surroundings, located in the center of the demarcation (front line), was completely destroyed. The residents of Dojran, on the orders of the Central Forces who were stationed there, left their homes and left in other Macedonian cities, but also in Serbia and Bulgaria, before the very beginning of the "Dojran Front".

Within contemporary geopolitical processes, respect for the rights of national minorities is no longer the discretion of a state, but rather is an indirect or direct international regulation of the minority issue. In the beginning of the 1990s, the political economical crisis and disintegration of the former SFRY opened the national question, that was considered to be permanently and successfully solved, in the most dramatic way, and ethnic conflicts and clashes followed the desintegration of the country. With the formation of a new states on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, the existence of numerous and different national minorities ("old" and "new") required a different approach to their protection and integration in complex political circumstances. Thus, the position of the so called new minorities drastically changed since they formed constituent nations in the former SFRY, while after secession they remained separated from their home nations and became national minorities almost overnight. Out of Serbia, in former Yugoslav republics live nearly half a million persons belonging to Serbian nationality as new national minority. The paper discusses the position and rights of the Serbian minority in the post Yugoslav states (Slovenia, Croatia, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro) as well as in some neighboring member states of the European Union (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria). In addition to the analysis of basic demographic indicators (number and spatial distribution) that determine the realization of the rights and freedoms of each minority, the paper examines the issue of protecting the national, cultural and linguistic identity of Serbs, as well as the ways of its preservation and improvement. Although the social and legal status of the Serbian minority is determined by European standards, the analysis points to their undefined status, since they still do not recognize the status of a national minority in some countries, and that they are in practice faced with more or less assimilation. In order to fully realize minority rights and improve the position of the Serb minority, ratified international documents, bilateral agreements, national laws, as well as well-designed policies and assistance from the home state are of great importance.Respecting basic human rights and freedom, as well as national minority protection, represent the basic factors of stability, security and democratic and socio-economic development of every country.

Aromanian-armân, (Weigand, 1895) is an oral Eastern-Romance language spoken by the Aromanians (armâni, or armãneashti), an ethnic group historically known for transhumance, dispersed over a wide area of the Balkans in what is present-day Peninsular Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Southern Romania, Serbia, and Albania. These people have been noted as Aromanians or Vlachs sometime since the eighth century AD. (Caranica, 1990). Their ethnicity (Eriksen, 2010) is controversial with Greeks believing them Latinised Greeks, Romanians considering them Romanian, others as Balkan natives from Wallachia (Ruzica, 2006). In Greek, the current word for Aromanian is in fact ‘Vlach’ believed to originate from the Latin terms Volcae, Volci (Volks, Wolks) referring to a Celtic tribe from Gaul that had learnt Latin and become Latinized. The Volks-Wolks were the closest neighbors to Germanic tribes in the area, which resulted in Germans referring to all Latin speakers as ‘Volks,’ the same way they did with their language. For clarification, in this study: Aromanian, Vlach (-) Aromanian and Vlach will all be used to refer to this ethnic group and language. The word Volci was adopted by Germanic speakers and took different forms over time: Walachen, Welchland, Wallis, Wallais, Wallons, Wales, Welschme etc. These terms are still visible in different European languages today and refer to ‘Latin speaker.’ The Slavic speakers borrowed the word from the Germans as: Olahy, Olahi, Valachi, Voloh, Vloh whereas the Byzantines borrowed it as ‘Vlachs’ (Tapanikos, 2020). Their isolated modus vivendi, between pastoral valleys and high mountains, confined them to hardship and socio-cultural periphery, and allowed relative immunity from major European conflicts and periods of unrest spanning short of a millennium. From 1975 when the modern Greek Republic is finally consolidated, the ideology of ‘one people, one language’ is an intrinsic part of Greek nationality and nationalism (Moschonas, 2004). Lacking written, standardized forms, Aromanian has been transmitted orally from generation to generation in the Epirus, Macedonia and Thessally regions of Greece. With profound socio-economic changes and rewards, Aromanians left their pastoral lifestyle in large numbers (Beis, 2000) attracted by prospects of a better future in Greek urban centers and Western European countries, USA, or Australia. In modern times, with Greek being the only language of instruction and communication in the wider society (Chomsky, 1971), the generational language-transfer cycle has been broken, and Aromanian is now endangered (Dinas et al., 2011). On the other hand, Aromanian folklore and traditional festivals are very much alive through associations like the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Cultural Associations of Vlachs, while many self-identified Aromanians do not speak a word of their ancestral language, by choice (Kahl, 2004). How did this (apparent) contradiction come to be? What drove Aromanians away from their language and led to the assimilation into Greek society, language, and culture so completely that it will lead to the death of Aromanian in Greece?

Abstract: Bulgarian society is multicultural and multiethnic, a fact very much linked with the historical and cultural roots of the country. The current paper outlines the main problematics linked with the concept of social cohesion in Bulgaria. Social cohesion is discussed in three main contexts: (1) cohesion for the sake of a national cause, where the unique "Chitalista" cultural and community system plays a key role; (2) reconciliation between ethnic groups, who live in peace and avoid conflicts; and (3) social stratification, difficult economic conditions, and absence of a middle class as serious burdens for building a cohesive society. The paper also discusses the role of voluntary organizations, media, and education in encouraging social cohesion in a time of democratic change. Résumé: La société bulgare est multiculturelle et multiethnique, un fait étroitement lié aux racines historiques et culturelles du pays. Cette étude trace les grandes lignes des problématiques principales reliées au concept de cohésion sociale en Bulgarie. Elle décrit la cohésion sociale dans trois contextes: (1) la cohésion comme cause nationale, où le singulier système culturel et ethnique « Chitalista » joue un rôle clé; (2) la réconciliation entre groupes ethniques, qui vivent en paix et évitent les conflits; (3) la stratification sociale, les conditions économiques difficiles et l'absence d'une classe moyenne comme sérieux obstacles à la cohésion sociale. Cet article décrit aussi le rôle des organismes bénévoles, des médias et de l'éducation à encourager la cohésion sociale dans une période de transition démocratique.

In the first decade following the annexation of Bessarabia, the Russian authorities simoultaneously pursued two different approaches without fully realizing their contradictions. On the one hand, they sought to win support of the Bessarabian nobility by recognizing their land titles in the former Hotin reaya and proclaiming local autonomy based on the law of the land. On the other hand, they sought to colonize the underpopulated lands of Southern Bessarabia by inviting transdanubian Bulgarians and other ethnic groups. Although both approaches envisioned the transformation of the new province into a new homeland for the co-religionist Balkan peoples, their combination provoked social tensions between the the Bessarabian landowners and the colonists. The paper argues that the prolonged conflict between the two groups ultimately illustrates the uncertainty of Bessarabia’s status in the political geography of the Russian empire during the first decades after 1812.

The aim of the research is to present the meaning and the scope of the phrase “krivorazbrana tolerantnost“ (misunderstood tolerance), which functions as a cliché in everyday communication. The corpus is excerpted from the largest Bulgarian forum platform – bg-mamma and investigates the use of 55 phrases between 2006 and 2017. “Krivorazbrana tolerantnost” is used in public communication to express disagreement with someone’s behaviour/point of view or fear of the changing habits or traditions. Using the cognitive ethnolinguistic approach as well as corpus-based discourse techniques, the paper focuses on the corpus uses of the phrase, its pragmatic influence on the dialogue and the people or the topics which are usually an object of misunderstood tolerance according to bg-mamma forum users. The results show that the context meaning of the phrase usually is over-tolerance or too much permissiveness and it is used in conversations, discussing the rights and liberties of different groups and minorities. As the tolerance itself is a kind of forcing oneself to accept something one does not support or believe in, its meaning and the contextual meaning of the investigated collocation are close. References Arias, R. and Bryla, M. (2018) Orientation towards otherness in the social and literary spaces of today’s Europe. Palgrave Communication, 4(18), Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-018-0070-3. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-0070-3. Bartmiński, J. (2009) Aspects of Cognitive Ethnolinguistics, Sheffield: Equinox. Bartminski, J. and Chlebda, W. (2008) Jak badac jezykowo-kulturowy obraz swiata Słowian i ich sasiadów?, Etnolingwistyka, 20, 11–27. Brindle, A. (2016) The Language of Hate: A Corpus Linguistic Analysis of White Supremacist Language. Abingdon: Routledge. Добрева, Е. (2009) Толерантност, нетолерантност и нулева толерантност в съвременния български печат (Критически лингвосемиотичен анализ). В. Търново: Фабер. Ефтимова, А. (2016) Двойственият език в медиите: езикът на политическата коректност vs езика на омразата. София: Парадигма. Kreytchova, El., Stalyanova, N. (2017). The Power of Public Speech. Sofia: Paradigma. Kyuchukov, H. (2019) Aquisition of Turkish Grammatical Categories in Bilingual Context. East European Journal of Psycholinguistics, 6(1), 32-46. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3375406. Musolff, A. (2017) Language aggression in public debates on immigration. Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, 5(2), 175–177. https://doi.org/10.1075/jlac.5.2.01mus. Niebrzegowska-Bartmińska, S., (2018) What data are relevant to ethnolinguistic analyses?, Ethnolinguistics, 29, 11–29. https://doi.org/10.17951/et.2017.29.11. Nizah, M., Jawan, J., Singh, Sarjit, S., Samsu, K. (2015) Framing Ethnic Tolerance, Political Tolerance and Voting Behaviour. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 365-373. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s1p365. Steinbrich, P. (2016) Creating Academic Text: The Use of Lexical Syntagms by L2 Undergraduate Students of English. In: H. Chodkiewicz, P. Steinbrich, (Eds.). Working with Text and Around Text in Foreign Language Environments, (pp.125-141). M. Krzemińska-Adamek. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33272-7_8 Tateo, L. (2008) The "fascist" discourse in computer mediated communication: the "dual strategy" model of the Italian Extreme Right. Psicologia & Sociedade, 20(2). Тодорова, Б. (2019) Някои наблюдения върху концепта ТОЛЕРАНТНОСТ в българския език. In: Ed. by S. Niebrzegowska-Bartmińska & D. Pazio-Wlazłowska, (Eds.). Wartości w językowo-kulturowym obrazie świata Słowian i ich sąsiadów. Jedność w różnorodności. Wokół słowiańskiej aksjosfery. (pp. 307-320). Lublin: UMCS. Van Dijk, T. (2015) Racism in the Press. In: N. Bonvillain, (Ed.). Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology. (pp. 384-392). London: Routledge. Wodak, R. & K. Savski (2018) Critical Discourse–Ethnographic Approaches to Language Policy. In: J. W. Tollefson and M. Pérez-Milans, (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Language Policy and Planning. (pp. 93-112). NY: Oxford Univ. Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190458898.013.4. Wodak, R., Meyer M. (2001) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis. London: SAGE. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9780857028020. Wodak, R., Reisigl, M. (2001) The Semiotics of Racism. Approaches in Critical Discourse Analysis. Vienna: Passagen Verlag. References (translated and transliterated) Arias, R. and Bryla, M. (2018) Orientation towards otherness in the social and literary spaces of today’s Europe. Palgrave Communication, 4(18), Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-018-0070-3. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-0070-3. Bartmiński, J. (2009) Aspects of Cognitive Ethnolinguistics, Sheffield: Equinox. Bartminski, J. and Chlebda, W. (2008) Jak badac jezykowo-kulturowy obraz swiata Słowian i ich sasiadów?, Etnolingwistyka, 20, 11–27. Brindle, A. (2016) The Language of Hate: A Corpus Linguistic Analysis of White Supremacist Language. Abingdon: Routledge. Dobreva, E. (2009) Tolerantnost, netolerantnost i nuleva tolerantnost v savremennia balgarski pechat (Kriticheski lingvosemiotichen analiz). V. Tarnovo: Faber. Eftimova, A. (2016) Dvoystveniyat ezik v mediite: ezikat na politicheskata korektnost vs ezika na omrazata. Sofia: Prosveta. Kreytchova, El., Stalyanova, N. (2017). The Power of Public Speech. Sofia: Paradigma. Kyuchukov, H. (2019) Aquisition of Turkish Grammatical Categories in Bilingual Context. East European Journal of Psycholinguistics, 6(1), 32-46. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3375406. Musolff, A. (2017) Language aggression in public debates on immigration. Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, 5(2), 175–177. https://doi.org/10.1075/jlac.5.2.01mus. Niebrzegowska-Bartmińska, S., (2018) What data are relevant to ethnolinguistic analyses?, Ethnolinguistics, 29, 11–29. https://doi.org/10.17951/et.2017.29.11. Nizah, M., Jawan, J., Singh, Sarjit, S., Samsu, K. (2015) Framing Ethnic Tolerance, Political Tolerance and Voting Behaviour. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 365-373. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s1p365. Steinbrich, P. (2016) Creating Academic Text: The Use of Lexical Syntagms by L2 Undergraduate Students of English. In: H. Chodkiewicz, P. Steinbrich, (Eds.). Working with Text and Around Text in Foreign Language Environments, (pp.125-141). M. Krzemińska-Adamek. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33272-7_8. Tateo, L. (2008) The "fascist" discourse in computer mediated communication: the "dual strategy" model of the Italian Extreme Right. Psicologia & Sociedade, 20(2). Todorova, B. (2019) Nyakoi nablyudenia varhu kontsepta TOLERANTNOST v balgarskia ezik. In: Ed. by S. Niebrzegowska-Bartmińska & D. Pazio-Wlazłowska, (Eds.). Wartości w językowo-kulturowym obrazie świata Słowian i ich sąsiadów. Jedność w różnorodności. Wokół słowiańskiej aksjosfery. (pp. 307-320). Lublin: UMCS. Van Dijk, T. (2015) Racism in the Press. In: N. Bonvillain, (Ed.). Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology. (pp. 384-392). London: Routledge. Wodak, R. & K. Savski (2018) Critical Discourse–Ethnographic Approaches to Language Policy. In: J. W. Tollefson and M. Pérez-Milans, (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Language Policy and Planning. (pp. 93-112). NY: Oxford Univ. Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190458898.013.4. Wodak, R., Meyer M. (2001) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis. London: SAGE. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9780857028020. Wodak, R., Reisigl, M. (2001) The Semiotics of Racism. Approaches in Critical Discourse Analysis. Vienna: Passagen Verlag.