Identity and Subjective Sense of Cohesion and Unity: The Bulgarian Case

Abstract

This article examines the various dimensions of the identity of Bulgarian citizens and its ethnic specificities. The main consequences of identity are the states of cohesion and unity of people, which are prerequisites for well-being and quality of life. The current analysis focuses on the sense of connectedness and identification that people have with the 'national', 'regional', 'local' or 'European'/'global'. The empirical basis of the article is a nationally representative sociological survey conducted in Bulgaria in 2022, which was subjected to a secondary analysis within the framework of the project "Quality of life and well-being in the context of professional communities and their activity", financed by the National Fund for Scientific Research - 2023. The purpose of the development is to show how Bulgarian citizens perceive themselves today - more like Bulgarians or more like Europeans, where they look for their identity along the local-national-supranational axis. The results of the national survey show several specific findings regarding identity: 1) most people self-identify as "Bulgarian citizens". 2) they are followed by people who identify with "the place they live in". 3) in third place are people who identify with their "friend circle". 4) in next place are the persons who define themselves as "citizen of the EU", and after them are the people who define themselves as "citizen of the world". These results outline the main areas of cohesion of Bulgarian citizens, which determine a certain quality of life at the relevant level (state, settlement, circle of friends, European Community).

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Author Information
Albena Nakova, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Valentina Milenkova, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Emilia Chengelova, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Karamfil Manolov, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria

• Category: Ethnicity, Difference, Identity

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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