State and policy failure concerning refugees in Bulgaria: Dynamics, trends and paradoxes

The change of political regime in Bulgaria after 1989 drastically altered the country’s migration picture. It can be asserted positively that the number of emigrating individuals still exceeds the number of immigrants who have made their choice of Bulgaria as a country of reception. However, material provided by researchers, demonstrating that immigration is radically different from the classical phenomenon in western Europe, is at sharp variance with the manner in which the topic has been reflected in the domestic political and public discourse. This article examines the refugee phenomenon of Bulgaria against this context, seeking to highlight the failures of Bulgarian politics and policy development process. Politicians have ruthlessly exploited the topic in their desire to generate an everpresent sense of crisis, and crisis management, which not only covers up their own shortcomings but also acts to prevent the making of real policies, creating a gap into which NGOs have been forced to step. These, in turn, pose the real threat to national security insofar as Bulgaria remains unprepared to face subsequent migration.