Abstract
Bulgaria is due for accession to the European Union in 2007. According to most international reporting mechanisms the country has reached the final stages of democracy, and is ready to proceed with accession. While on many levels, such as economically and politically, Bulgaria may have achieved democracy, on others, for instance, judicial functionality and minority discrimination, the nation has room for improvement. Because democracy cannot simply be defined along one line, be it political, economic, or any others, this research undertakes to apply the transition towards democracy in Bulgaria against the theoretical framework of democracy as defined by Linz and Stepan. This theory examines the five different spheres considered to constitute democracy, political, economic, legal, societal, and bureaucratic. In order to decide whether or not, and by what process, Bulgaria has achieved democracy, this work is divided into six parts; the Linz and Stepan model constitutes five, and the last is a special focus on treatment of minorities. Each of these parts is further divided into subchapters, which, when applicable, have been arranged chronologically, and focus on several different important historical and present periods of Bulgarian transition. In some cases, historical examinations begin during the Second World War, and progress through the communist period, into the major period of transition, 1989-1997, and conclude with the current post transitional state. In each part, as with the general conclusion, analysis will focus on whether or not democratization has been achieved within the given sphere, and by what means transition has taken place.
