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Slavov, Atanas (2016) Towards Participatory Political Theology: Democratic Consolidation in Southeastern Europe and the Role of Eastern Christianity in the Process

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Slavov, Atanas (2016) Towards Participatory Political Theology: Democratic Consolidation in Southeastern Europe and the Role of Eastern Christianity in the Process Slavov, Atanas (2016) Towards participatory political theology: democratic consolidation in Southeastern Europe and the role of Eastern Christianity in the process. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7337/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Towards Participatory Political Theology: Democratic consolidation in Southeastern Europe and the Role of Eastern Christianity in the Process Atanas Slavov, LLM, PhD (Sofia) Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD University of Glasgow School of Law College of Social Sciences 2016 1 ABSTRACT This thesis defends the position that the Eastern Orthodoxy has the potential to develop, on the basis of its core concepts and doctrines, a new political theology that is participatory, personalist and universalist. This participatory political theology, as I name it, endorses modern democracy and the values of civic engagement. It enhances the process of democracy-building and consolidation in the SEE countries through cultivating the ethos of participation and concern with the common good among and the recognition of the dignity and freedom of the person. This political-theological model is developed while analyzing critically the traditional models of church-state relations (the symphonia model corresponding to the medieval empire and the Christian nation model corresponding to the nation-state) as being instrumentalized to serve the political goals of non-democratic regimes. The participatory political-theological model is seen as corresponding to the conditions of the constitutional democratic state. The research is justified by the fact the Eastern Orthodoxy has been a dominant religious- cultural force in the European South East for centuries, thus playing a significant role in the process of creation of the medieval and modern statehood of the SEE countries. The analysis employs comparative constitutional perspectives on democratic transition and consolidation in the SEE region with the theoretical approaches of political theology and Eastern Orthodox theology. The conceptual basis for the political-theological synthesis is found in the concept and doctrines of the Eastern Orthodoxy (theosis and synergy, ecclesia and Eucharist, conciliarity and catholicity, economy and eschatology) which emphasize the participatory, personalist and communal dimensions of the Orthodox faith and practice. The paradigms of revealing the political-theological potential of these concepts are the Eucharistic ecclesiology and the concept of divine-human communion as defining the body of Orthodox theology. The thesis argues that with its ethos of openness and engagement the participatory political theology presupposes political systems that are democratic, inclusive, and participatory, respecting the rights and the dignity of the person. The political theology developed here calls for a transformation and change of democratic systems towards better realization of their personalist and participatory commitments. In the context of the SEE countries the participatory political theology addresses the challenges posed by alternative authoritarian political theologies practiced in neighboring regions. 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Along the course of my research I am indebted to Professor Emilios Christodoulidis as my principal supervisor for his always challenging and inspiring collaboration and for encouraging me to engage more profoundly with the more conceptual issues of political theology. I am also grateful to Professor George Pavlakos as my second supervisor who shared valuable methodological insights and provided suggestions and literature much relevant to my studies. In addition to their expertise in constitutional and legal theory, I have also benefited from their deep knowledge of the historical and socio-political context in the South East European region. I am grateful to the University of Glasgow School of Law for allowing me to undertake part-time studies and for developing flexible and student-friendly rules and procedures thus giving me opportunity to continue my academic career at the University of Sofia (Bulgaria) while writing my dissertation. I would like to thank Professor Mark Godfrey and Susan Holmes for their patience while answering my numerous enquiries and helping me to cope with the university procedures without always being present at the university. I am indebted to the scholarly community at the School of Law, especially to its legal and constitutional theory group, in particular Dr. Marco Goldoni, as well as fellow researchers active in the Legal Theory reading group – Pablo Marshall, Nikolas Vagdoutis, Su Bian, who continue their successful research and academic careers in their home countries. I have enjoyed our vigorous discussions which stimulated original insights and approaches. I am thankful to Professor Christodoulidis and Professor Hans Lindahl (Tilburg University) who invited me to participate in the collaborative PhD ‘Globalization and Legal Theory’ workshops and to benefit from the research intensive atmosphere, challenging lectures, presentations and lively discussions. During my studies I benefited from several institutions and organizations which helped me in different ways: the University of Sofia and the colleagues from Public Administration Department (Faculty of Philosophy) which encouraged my studies and granted me flexibility and reasonable workload so much needed to complete my studies; the Center for Advanced Study Sofia (Bulgaria) which granted me a research fellowship (2014-2015) which allowed me to develop some sections of this research. 3 I am grateful to Professor Kallin Yanakiev (University of Sofia) and Professor Michail Nedelchev (New Bulgarian University) for our academic collaboration and friendship throughout the years as well as for the invaluable chance to share and discuss participatory and personalist aspects of Eastern Orthodoxy and political philosophy related to my research. Without enjoying the unconditional love, trust, and encouragement on behalf of my family – Donka, Vladislav, Nedyalka and Sonya, this research would have not been completed. They have always inspired me and to them I dedicate this work. DECLARATION I declare that, except where explicit reference is made to the contribution of others, that this dissertation is the result of my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree at the University of Glasgow or any other institution. Signature: Printed Name: Date: 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………. 2 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... 3 Declaration ………………………………………………………………………… 4 Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………. 5 Introduction …………………………………………………………………........... 9 Part I. Democratic Consolidation and Church-State Relations in South East Europe. Historical Trends and Contemporary Issues 1. Chapter One. Democratic consolidation in Southeast Europe: concept, context, experience ………………………………………………………… 17 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………17 1. Democratic consolidation in South East Europe: the concept …………………..18 1.1. Defining the concept………………………………………………………………...18 1.2. Application of the concept and critique………………………………………….20 2. Democratic consolidation in South East Europe: the context…………………....24 2.1. Democratic institution-building: constitution-making process after 1989….24 2.2. Types of constitutionalism in CEE/SEE countries …………………………… 28 2.3. Risks of early constitutionalization in CEE/ SEE countries …………………..31 3. The liberal democratization in South East Europe reconsidered ………………...32 4. Challenges to democratic consolidation in South East Europe: a comparative overview ……………………………………………………………. 36 4.1. Comparative data and trends …………………………………………………………...36 4.2. Country-specific cases: Romania and Bulgaria …………………………………….41 4.2.1. Romania …………………………………………………………………………….41 4.2.2. Bulgaria …………………………………………………………………………….42 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………..45 2. Chapter Two. Church-state relations and the public presence of Orthodox churches: historical perspectives and contemporary issues …………........... 47 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………… 1. Democratic consolidation and the public presence of Eastern Orthodoxy in SEE countries …………………………………………………………………………………. 48 5 2. State- and nation-building in SEE region and Eastern Orthodoxy: an overview…...52 3. Church and Politics in SEE countries: from state independence to modern nation-state ……………………………………………………………………………..58 3.1. Greece ……………………………………………………………………………………58 3.2. Bulgaria ………………………………………………………………………………….61 3.3. Serbia ………………………………………………………………………….………….64 3.4. Romania …………………………………………………………………………………..67 4. Eastern Orthodox churches and the communist regimes: between formal cooperation and tacit resistance ………………………………………………………………………70 4.1. Soviet Russia as a model of church –state relations during communism ………..71 4.2. Bulgaria …………………………………………………………………………………..72
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