Date of Award

5-2013

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Sociology

Advisor/Committee Chair

Aaron Major

Abstract

This paper will focus on the nature of the Bulgarian anti-communist movement, with particular attention devoted to understanding the different meanings and social constructions held by the people during the time of communist demise in the early 1990s. The main objective of this paper is to analyze whether or not the promised changes toward a democratic system were fulfilled in the eyes of the people living in the country at the time, and whether or not the people’s apprehended notions of a democratic nation were consistent with the policies and nature of the state during the breakdown of the communist regime. The first part of this paper outlines the chronological timeline of events that transpired leading up to the protests and revolts of the people of Bulgaria against the 50 year old system of oppression. It considers the role of certain leaders whose presence and policies epitomized the despised system and its many limbs of manipulation and greed. It outlines the roots of the anti-communist movement from a few different sociological perspectives in order to set up a context for the subsequent qualitative portion of the paper. The remaining part of the paper focuses on understanding the subjective meaning of individuals living within this time of transition and how their interpretations of a democratic nation was and was not fulfilled by the changes following the official collapse of communism.

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