On Bulgarian Protest Wave II

Only hours after the mass demonstrations across Bulgaria, the government resigned.

Across several conference reports, articles, and chapters, I have argued that protest movements and civil society in Bulgaria are not weak or passive, as the long-standing stereotype suggests, but remarkably powerful.

The unresolved challenge remains the same: transforming the grievance and hope expressed on the streets into electoral outcomes and deep institutional reforms. This gap between civic energy and political consolidation continues to define Bulgaria’s democratic trajectory.

This protest wave demonstrate again and again (as the previous ones in 1989, 1997, 2013, 2020) what I called “protest democracy”: regime logic in which protest, whether on the streets or at the ballot box, serves as a routine mechanism for political renewal and legitimisation.