Abstract

The Bulgarian citizenry’s behavioral expectations that associate with post-Communist Bulgarian nationalism show comparatively weak consensus beyond joining Europe, represented by the EU. Bulgarian social movements against corruption are more likely to be effective with the emergence of an EU-oriented relative consensual agreement within Bulgarian society upon the social contractual meaning of Bulgarian citizenship. The EU as an external norm entrepreneur lacks a strong Bulgarian national cultural institutional interlocutor with which to negotiate to assist in translating EU ideals into the Bulgarian domestic context. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) is comparatively politically weak as a domestic norm entrepreneur. Bulgaria lacks an organized national religious institution that effectively claims to articulate prescriptions for national wellbeing. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is comparatively weak because of its historically dependent relationship in relation to modern Bulgarian nationalism. Relevant comparisons with Roman Catholic Poland as well as other Orthodox Slavic communities illustrate these differences.