Bulgaria
As in other post-socialist states, the social contract underwent significant changes after 1989 in Bulgaria. Firstly, the transformations were negotiated in the Roundtable talks, which led to the first free multiparty elections and the adoption of a new post-communist constitution in 1991. The next step in studying the social contract is to trace the social and political transformations that shaped the pro-European consensus and steered the country on the path towards European integration (1997–2007). The CO3 project places a focus on the protest waves of 2012–2014 and 2020, and the political crisis of 2021–2024. Especially in the context of Bulgaria’s relations to the EU and the reforms agreed under the Recovery and Resilience Facility for Bulgaria, these crises offer an opportunity for renegotiating a stronger social contract.

