In today's confused world, Bulgaria must know that in the choice it will make, it will not be led by the hand by parent 1 (the EU) and parent 2 (the USA). In other words: Bulgaria is entering its responsible years from adolescence.
Comment by Daniel Smilov:
"Thrasymachus: Listen to me, justice is nothing more than what is in favor of the stronger."
Plato, "The Republic"
Since the time of Thrasymachus in ancient Greece, many have believed that justice is actually what is in the interest and benefit of the stronger. Politics from this point of view is the protection of the interests of the stronger, which - out of courtesy - can be "dressed" in some "values" such as freedom, equality, fraternity, etc. But these values are just a camouflage, a label behind which the crude selfish interest of the stronger is hidden.
This (cynical) view has always been present in Bulgarian politics and has been dominant for most of the history of our modern state. Especially during the time of communism, "justice" was actually completely reduced to what the rulers, and especially their party leaders in Moscow and Sofia, wanted.
After 1989, the alternative view began to timidly and slowly impose itself, that values can be pursued in politics that are not simply the poorly disguised interests of the powerful of the day. The very idea that citizens have rights, that everyone has an equal voice of expression and participation, became part of Bulgarian publicity. Membership in the EU and NATO strengthened these processes by bringing Bulgaria into a family of countries sharing the same or similar values.
The pillars
Of course, Bulgarian politics has always differed from the ideal of values. And that is why little by little the vast majority of people have come to understand that politics in our country is seriously corrupt. That behind the claim that the public interest and the universal values of free democracy are being pursued, the powerful of the day are actually pursuing their own selfish interests. Numerous specific scandals have actually reinforced this feeling, and the dysfunctional and downright overwhelmed law enforcement and enforcement institutions have concreted it.
As a result of these attitudes, there were mass protests in Bulgaria in 1997, 2013, 2020, and in the period 2021-2024, the country went through seven parliamentary elections and serious political turmoil. All this was a demonstration that Bulgarians have not lost hope that there are values in politics, and not only the interests of the powerful of the day; the hope that the country will be able to deal with the problem of corruption, at least reducing it to acceptable levels.
One of the great pillars of the Bulgarians in upholding the value-based view of politics was the EU and the USA. In fact, adopting this value-based view was a condition for membership in the EU and NATO. It is no coincidence that Bulgaria and Romania were for more than a decade subjects of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which was simply a finding that the two countries had not yet dealt with the problem of corruption. Then, sanctions under the global "Magnitsky" law of the USA and similar sanctions by the UK were added to this mechanism.
Both the EU's attitude towards us and the "Magnitsky" measures were not and cannot be explained simply as imposing the interests of the stronger on the weaker. Yes, the EU had an interest in Bulgaria not being governed corruptly, the US had and has an interest in NATO's southeastern flank not being breached, but the Bulgarians had and have an even greater interest than that. Perhaps idealistically, but the EU and the US acted on the basis of the idea that democracy and good governance can be "exported" and transplanted to soils where they have not historically thrived very well. After all, this strategy has been successful from Japan and South Korea to post-war Germany - why shouldn't it be successful in Bulgaria too?
The Modern Thrasymachus: Donald Trump
The election of Donald Trump for a second time as US president can be read as an attempt to rehabilitate Thrasymachus in world politics. "America First" is a slogan that actually means that what is in the interest of the stronger is fair. In the world that Trump is trying to create, the stronger gets everything - or what he wants. Values are simply negotiating tools through which more can be obtained.
From this perspective, things related to corruption also change a lot. If it is accepted that "might makes right" (might makes right), then the stronger cannot be corrupt in principle. Power and money actually become an indulgence for corrupt actions and a bleaching agent for the perpetrator.
Second, "corruption" simply becomes a label that can be applied to a political opponent. There is no truth or lie about corruption - only the resources that one has at one's disposal in terms of applying labels are important.
And indeed, just as the strongest can impose the highest tariffs and duties on others, so too can they hand out "corruption" labels to them, regardless of the true state of affairs.
Finally, for a policy like "America First" corrupt leaders of individual countries can prove useful - the corrupt are vulnerable and ready to make big concessions. Or they are greedy and easily sell out the public interest.
Whether the world of Thrasymachus will be realized by Trump is not entirely clear. Attempts to force controversial policies on "weaker" - from Greenland, Panama and Harvard to Canada, the EU and China - are present and will surely increase. The question for Bulgaria, however, is - will it succumb to this international pressure and abandon the politics of values?
Bulgarian's fragile balance
In Bulgaria, there are majorities in support of EU membership, as well as majorities in support of democracy. But the latter in particular are quite fragile and weaker than those in other European countries. At the same time, the world's autocrats or semi-autocrats - from Putin to Erdogan and Orban - are attractive to Bulgarians. This intoxication with power shows that it can easily be recognized as justice.
Membership in the eurozone, which is now quite realistic, will be a kind of safety belt against autocratic temptations. Therefore, the successful completion of the country's accession to the eurozone is of utmost importance.
But EU membership alone cannot prevent the imposition of the cynical view that power and justice are the same. In the currently confused global world, many may be misled by ancient and modern incarnations of Thrasymachus, for whom values are simply a projection of power. And in the choice that Bulgaria will make, it will not be led like a child by the hand by parent 1 (the EU) and parent 2 (the USA).
In other words, Bulgaria is entering its years of responsibility from adolescence.
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This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and the State News Agency as a whole.