The Case of the Turkish Minority of Bulgaria
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ETHNICITY AND POLITICS: THE CASE OF THE TURKISH MINORITY OF BULGARIA by SERGUEY VASSILEV MAKARINOV B.A., The Higher Economic Institute, Sofia, 1984 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Political Science) We accept the thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August 1992 © Serguey Vassilev Makarinov, 1992 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of ?QL |T IC^LSC! EhJCB The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date DE-6 (2/88) n ABSTRACT This thesis is a study of the relationship between ethnicity and politics in a democratic society. Taking Bulgaria and its Turkish minority as a test case, the thesis reflects on how the presence of ethnic minorities affects governmental and political structures, how or under what conditions minority groups benefit from their ability to influence, or to integrate into, the political system, and, vice versa, how the existing constitutional and political structures affect the minorities' political choices. The thesis reviews the cleavages pertaining to language, religion, race, origin, and culture, which serve to identify Bulgaria's major ethnic groups. Two analytical models are utilized in order to test whether the political conditions are favorable to a change in the interethnic relationship from assimilation under the authoritarian regime to integration by accommodation of the Turkish minority under the new, democratic rule. The first model -- the concept of communication and social mobilization of Karl Deutsch — is used in the evaluation of the integrative capacity of the Turkish minority to accommodate to the present political reality. The second one — the consociational model of i i i stable democratic government in plural societies of Arend Lijphart -- is utilized in the assessment of the possible outcomes resulting from the mounting ethnic pressures on Bulgaria's unitary character. The thesis arrives at the following general conclusions: first, under democratic conditions, the impact of ethnicity on Bulgaria's politics has increased; the presence of minorities has affected the parties (toward perpetuating the nationwide ideological divide), the electoral system (toward less vote fluidity), and the governmental structures (toward interethnic coalition building). Second, the constitutional framework of the country is conducive to interethnic moderation and elite coalescence; integrative behavior is rewarding for the Turkish minority, despite Bulgaria's constitutional ethnocentrism. And third, partial federal solutions in the ethnically mixed regions appear to be a conceivable option in the future. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ii List of Tables v List of Figures vii Key to Abbreviations of Parties and Political Movements viii Acknowledgement ix Introduction 1 I Cleavages Affecting the Turkish Minority of Bulgaria 9 Geography 9 History 10 Demographic Data 16 II The Effect of the Turkish Minority on Political Structures 31 Effects on the Constitution 31 Effects on the Party System 34 Effects on Elite Cooperation 57 III The Effect of Democratic Rule on the Turkish Minority 63 Effects of the Constitution 63 Effects of the Governmental and Political Structures 69 Conclusion 77 Bibliography 82 V LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. National Composition According to Ethnic Background (in %): Bulgaria 1880-1965 16 Table 2. Turkish population: Bulgaria, 1975 19 Table 3. Major Cleavages among Bulgaria's Ethnic Groups 24 Table 4. Proportion of Bulgarian and Turkish Population in Bulgarian Cities (in %) 25 Table 5. Educational levels of the Turkish Population: Bulgaria, 1975 27 Table 6. Parliamentary Elections in Bulgaria, June 1990 37 Table 7. Shift in Political Allegiance between October 1991 - March 1992, Bulgaria (in %) 40 Table 8. Political Parties Votes: Opinion Polls, November 1990 - March 1992 (in %) 43 Table 9. Elections in Bulgaria, 13 October 1991 50 Table 10. Percentage of Mayors Elected in Villages and Municipalities according to Party Affiliation, 13 October 1991 51 Table 11. Political Preferences according to Ethnicity (in %): Opinion Polls, July 1991 53 Table 12. DPS Membership according to Ethnic Affiliation, January 1992 Table 13. Turkish Representatives in the Bulgar Parliament Table 14. Political Affiliation according to Ethnicity: Opinion Polls, July 1992 vi i LIST OF FIGURES Page Fig. 1. Physiography of Bulgaria 10 Fig. 2. The Republic of Bulgaria 20 v f i i KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS OF PARTIES AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS BBB — Bulgarian Business Bloc BCP — Bulgarian Communist Party BDC -- Bulgarian Democratic Center BSP — Bulgarian Socialist Party BZNS — Bulgarian Agrarian Party BZNS(e) — Bulgarian Agrarian Party (united) BZNS(NP) — Bulgarian Agrarian Party (Nikola Petkov) DPS — Movement for Rights and Freedoms SDS — Union of Democratic Forces SDS (c) — Union of Democratic Forces (center) SDS(l) — Union of Democratic Forces (liberals) NODTB — National Liberation Movement of the Turks in Bulgaria ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am most grateful to my thesis advisors, Jean Laponce and Diane Mauzy, who spared no efforts to guide me until the final completion of this thesis. I am especially indebted to professor Jean Laponce whose graduate seminar on comparative government and politics was of great help in conceptualizing the material related to the thesis. Special thanks are due to my wife, Vesela Makarinova, who collected and mailed to me a huge amount of empirical data and shared with me her analytical suggestions. I thank Paul Marantz and Iza Laponce for their valuable help in complementing the information necessary for the thesis. 1 INTRODUCTION Europe and the world today are undergoing dynamic changes. With the end of the Cold War, the hostilities between the East and the West have ended. New challenges, hitherto less apparent, have emerged and ethnic issues in Eastern Europe have become a chronic source of political instability in the region. Finding political solutions to ethnic tensions is, therefore, a task of prime concern both for politicians and scholars. Taking Bulgaria as a case study of the relationship between ethnicity and politics, this thesis will consider the effects of the governmental and political structures on the largest minority group in the country, the ethnic Turks, and vice versa, the increased capability of the Turkish minority to influence Bulgaria's political system. For the purposes of the thesis, the term "ethnicity" will be used in relation to the cleavages pertaining to language, origin, race, religion, and culture, which, combined in various clusters, will serve to identify Bulgaria's major ethnic groups. Ethnic cleavages have proven to be extremely difficult to manage because of their 2 ascriptive nature. They are explicit, intense, endurable, and "always an obstacle to communication" . Different situations produce different clusters of ethnic loyalties, which form the group's specific identity. In ethnically diverse societies, ethnic loyalties turn into a political force which can rival the state. Hence the salience of the issue of ethnicity in plural societies. Ethnic minorities are likely to be affected by the political system within which they are set; and conversely, the structure of government is affected by their presence. But the second effect is sometimes not as obvious as the first. Regimes are likely to vary considerably in their resistance or accommodation to ethnic pressures. Democratic governments are likely to be more affected than authoritarian regimes. In order to study the multivaried effects of ethnicity in democratic societies, the thesis will be guided by the analytical models of two students of ethnic relations, Karl Deutsch and Arend Lijphart. Their models will also be utilized in order to test whether the political conditions in Bulgaria allow for a change in the country's ethnic relationship from a policy of assimilation under the authoritarian regime to a policy of integration by allowing diversity under the new democratic rule. In his concept of -•-J.A. Laponce, Languages and Their Territories (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987), p. 189. 3 communication and social mobilization, K. Deutsch defines nations as communities held together by intense p communication. Each community is coherent because the communication efficiency among members creates better probabilities of social ascension. The modern market industrial economy involves people in more intensive mass communications. It intensifies social mobilization and consequently, in multiethnic societies, it fosters competition among communities that can no longer ignore one another. Each group is pressing to acquire a measure of effective control over communication channels and equips itself with power and means of compulsion through political organization.J According to Deutsch, the mobilization of individuals for more intense communication easily turns one's consciousness of nationality "into a political weapon, a powerful pattern to organize