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The individual think tank landscape of each CEE country is characterized by unique issues, characteristics, and opportunities facing national the think-tank sectors. This chapter addresses the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Namely, think tanks still lay a greater emphasis on Montenegrin domestic challenges, underscoring the importance and present characteristic of emphasising research on transparency and good governance as well as social policy. Further exploration of these spheres can positively influence the state of affairs, making it easier for Montenegro to become a more developed democracy. Nevertheless, one may also expect a shift towards a denser concentration on foreign policy and international relations when (and if) accession happens

This essay deals with the changing nature of Bulgarian defence policy from the beginning of the Cold War until its accession to NATO in 2007. Both secondary interpretation and original policy documents highlight the autonomy enjoyed by Bulgarian military policy even in front of a much mightier and authoritarian ally such as the USSR. This essay will, hence, conclude that the tradition developed by the military apparatuses from 1878 and, at an accelerated pace, between the two World Wars made Bulgaria more than a spoiler for the USSR, as well as for the US and the EU nowadays.

This paper indagates the "epistemic authority" of science and its political implications. To do so, it builds a comprehensive understanding of ecological relations between experts and the socio-political environment. Sometimes, it conflates the expert with the professional tout court. Other times, it is treated like the Weberian specialist vis-à-vis whom politicians are "in the position of a dilettante facing the expert." The peculiar way in which scientists interacted with politics under real-socialism is also highlighted. Finally, the paper tests the validity of this integrated theory on Bulgaria, a country little studied and deeply peculiar

The individual think tank landscape of each CEE country is characterized by unique issues, characteristics, and opportunities facing national the think-tank sectors. This chapter addresses the case of North Macedonia. Namely, North Macedonia fits many of the patterns typical of South-Eastern Europe. With the upward growth of the think tank sector, the country has a larger chance of transitioning towards a more developed democracy and a nation more receptive to the potential of think tanks. Undoubtedly, joining the EU could substantially aid these entities, providing the demand for expertise in areas of research that are currently not as popular among North Macedonian think tanks. Nonetheless, the financial crisis being caused by the recent pandemic might heavily impact trends observed in our set of statistics, altering them as a substantial percentage of think tanks might face hardships staying afloat.

The individual think tank landscape of each CEE country is characterized by unique issues, characteristics, and opportunities facing national the think-tank sectors. This chapter addresses the case of Bulgaria. Namely, the Bulgarian think tank community is one of the most dynamic, developed, and active in Eastern Europe. Yet, it faces an uphill battle against government corruption and underfunding.688 Think tanks in Bulgaria have played a significant role in the initial emergence of democracy following the country's departure from a communist regime and they serve as the logical answer to the prominent bottleneck in public life, addressing immediate needs of the new civil society.

Before being analysts, scholars, practitioners, bureaucrats or policymakers most of the people on this planet are 'citizens'. Even those who do not hold any citizenship are somehow affected by the scope of the non/agenda of the State they live in. Therefore, discussions on the cultural features of citizenship as a proactive contribution to States' functioning should not constitute a niche interest or an esoteric matter. In the case of South-Eastern Europe, political cultures' standing at the intersection of culture and politics is of extreme interest. This chapter provides some useful definitions to reads the current state of citizenship's development in SEE: What is the cultural legacy of real socialism? What was the impact of digitalization? What is e-citizenship? Finally, it argues that States need to provide media- and information-literacy for their citizens to be effectively and willingly engaged.

This paper deals with the role of gratitudue in Catholicism's political theology in search for an equivalent in the power relations involving the Bulgarian and Serbian Orthodox Churches through the cults of Ivan Rilski and the canonised monk Sava. To do so, it analyses Medieval West Europe's theology of gratitude starting from Marsilius of Padua's Defensor Pacis (1324). The text concludes that Marsilius's criticism have little pertinence to South-East Europe for both theological and political reason, paving the way to a better mutual understanding of Eastern and Western European histories and culture

In 2015 a US-based think tank wrote that societies around the world were "discarding democracy." (Freedom House 2015) Those who, for the most varied reasons, feel the urge to uphold liberal-democratic values argue that the situation has worsened ostensibly since then. Meanwhile, massive flux of migrants and the Great Recession fueled xenophobic sentiment. (Moffitt 2015) In 2020, grievances regarding how fearmongers stake tensions within and between polities are a daily ritual. In this context, the rise and the tenure of the Ataka party offers an insight in to how ethnicity can be construed and exploited as a toolbox for nationalism

International audience ; Преди да станат анализатори, учени, практици, бюрократи или политици, повечето хора на тази планета са "граждани". Дори и тези, които нямат гражданство, по някакъв начин са засегнати от обхвата на не/програмата на държавата, в която живеят. Ето защо обсъждането на културните характеристики на гражданството като проактивен принос към функционирането на държавите не бива да представлява нишов интерес или езотеричен въпрос. В случая на Югоизточна Европа позицията на политическите култури в пресечната точка на културата и политиката е от изключителен интерес. В тази глава са дадени някои полезни определения, за да се прочете настоящото състояние на развитието на гражданството в ЮИЕ: Какво е културното наследство на реалния социализъм? Какво е въздействието на цифровизацията? Какво е електронно гражданство? И накрая, в нея се твърди, че държавите трябва да осигурят медийна и информационна грамотност, за да могат техните граждани да бъдат ефективно и с желание ангажирани. ; Before being analysts, scholars, practitioners, bureaucrats or policymakers most of the people on this planet are 'citizens'. Even those who do not hold any citizenship are somehow affected by the scope of the non/agenda of the State they live in. Therefore, discussions on the cultural features of citizenship as a proactive contribution to States' functioning should not constitute a niche interest or an esoteric matter. In the case of South-Eastern Europe, political cultures' standing at the intersection of culture and politics is of extreme interest. This chapter provides some useful definitions to reads the current state of citizenship's development in SEE: What is the cultural legacy of real socialism? What was the impact of digitalization? What is e-citizenship? Finally, it argues that States need to provide media- and information-literacy for their citizens to be effectively and willingly engaged.

The individual think tank landscape of each CEE country is characterized by unique issues, characteristics, and opportunities facing national the think-tank sectors. This chapter addresses the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Namely, after the full-scale interethnic and interreligious conflict which Bosnia and Herzegovina faced in the 1990s, the country is still going through a process of shaping its own identity. This implies the need for more tailored civil engagement initiatives and more multicultural dialogue, which may be delivered by the Bosnian think tank network that has already accumulated the experience of dealing with reconciliation issues in the early 2000s. Another prospective policy area whose significance cannot be underestimated is EU integration. Although present day accession to the EU is foreign policy priority number one, truly little research effort has been channelled so far to evaluate the current situation hindering the accession process and to support national policymakers. Foreign policy and international affairs constitute as little as 8.3% out of the total policy area distribution.

International audience ; The OECD has recently launched an epochal reform of the international tax law framework originally established in the early days of the twentieth century. Through its two pillars, the change aims at smoothing the remaining anachronistic assumptions which have made this corpus's approach ineffective. Namely, it addresses the issue of companies' trans-national reach to reduce the room that big corporations have to engage in base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) to reduce their overall tax burden and gain an undue competitive advantage on less tentacular organisations. Against such a complex background, this paper deals with the need for Bulgaria, one the 130 countries and jurisdictions that accepted the OECD's proposal, to rethink its domestic tax laws. Styling itself as a policy paper, the text analyses two possible policy alternatives: (i) simply propping up the flat corporate-tax rate from 10% to 15% and (ii) restructuring the corporate-tax regime on the American Tax Code's model through higher rates, a detraction for asset depreciation, and other tweaks. The effect of these reforms is evaluated through an appositely ideated model with a neo-classical backbone and a Keynesian Tax-Feedback component. Purpose of the article the article aims at investigating the impact of the recent OECD proposal to reform corporate tax rates on Bulgaria with specific focus on how fiscal policy can both adjust to these changes

Tax analysis and forecasting of revenues are of paramount importance to ensure fiscal policy's viability and sustainability. However, the measures taken to contain the spread of the recent pandemic pose an unprecedented challenge to established models and approaches. This paper proposes a model to forecast tax revenues in Bulgaria for the fiscal years 2020–2022 built in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's recommendations on a dataset covering the period between 1995 and 2019. The study further discusses the actual trustworthiness of official Bulgarian forecasts, contrasting those figures with the model previously estimated. This study's quantitative results both confirm the pandemic's assumed negative impact on tax revenues and prove that econometrics can be tweaked to produce consistent revenue forecasts even in the relatively-unexplored case of Bulgaria offering new insights to policymakers and advocates. ; Porezna analiza i predviđanje prihoda je od izuzetne (najveće) važnosti kako bi se osigurala održivost fiskalne politike. Međutim, mjere poduzete za suzbijanje širenja nedavne pandemije predstavljaju neviđeni izazov za ustaljene modele i pristupe. Ovaj rad predlaže model za predviđanje poreznih prihoda u Bugarskoj za fiskalne godine 2020-2022. izrađen u skladu s preporukama Međunarodnog monetarnog fonda o skupu podataka koji pokriva razdoblje između 1995. i 2019. Studija dalje razmazra stvarnu pouzdanost službenih bugarskih prognoza, suprotstavljajući te brojke odgovarajućim procijenjenim modelima. Kvantitativni rezultati ove studije potvrđuju pretpostavljeni negativni uticaj pandemije na porezne prihode i dokazuju da se statistika može prilagoditi kako bi se proizvele dosljedne prognoze prihoda čak i u relativno neistraženom slučaju Bugarske koja nudi nove uvide kreatorima politike i zagovornicima.

International audience ; Тази статия подчертава "епистемичния авторитет" на науката и неговите политически последици. Това става чрез изграждане на цялостно разбиране на екологичните взаимоотношения между експертите и социално-политическата среда. Понякога той бърка експерта с професионалиста. В други случаи той е третиран като Веберов специалист, спрямо когото политиците са "в позицията на дилетант спрямо експерта". (Weber 1922, 991) Подчертава се и особеният начин, по който учените взаимодействат с политиката в условията на реалния социализъм. Накрая, статията проверява валидността на тази интегрирана теория върху България, една малко изследвана и дълбоко специфична страна. ; This paper indagates the "epistemic authority" of science and its political implications. To do so, it builds a comprehensive understanding of ecological relations between experts and the socio-political environment. Sometimes, it conflates the expert with the professional tout court. Other times, it is treated like the Weberian specialist vis-à-vis whom politicians are "in the position of a dilettante facing the expert." (Weber 1922, 991) The peculiar way in which scientists interacted with politics under real-socialism is also highlighted. Finally, the paper tests the validity of this integrated theory on Bulgaria, a country little studied and deeply peculiar. ; Cet article met en évidence l'"autorité épistémique" de la science et ses implications politiques. Pour ce faire, il construit une compréhension globale des relations écologiques entre les experts et l'environnement socio-politique. Parfois, il confond l'expert avec le professionnel tout court. D'autres fois, il est traité comme le spécialiste wébérien vis-à-vis duquel les politiques sont "dans la position d'un dilettante face à l'expert." (Weber 1922, 991) La manière particulière dont les scientifiques ont interagi avec la politique sous le socialisme réel est également mise en évidence. Enfin, l'article teste la validité de cette théorie intégrée sur la Bulgarie, un pays peu ...

In the thirty years since the end of real socialism, Bulgaria has gone from having a rather radically 'different' tax system to adopting flat-rate taxation with marginal tax rates falling from figures as high as 40% to 10% for both the corporate and personal income tax. Crucially, the econometric forecasting models in use at the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance hinted at an increase in tax revenue compatible with the so-called 'Laffer curve'. Similarly, many economists held the view that revenues should increase. However, reality fell short of those expectations based on forecasting models and rooted in mainstream economic theory. Thus, this paper asks whether there are better-performing forecasting models for personal and corporate income tax revenues in Bulgaria that are readily implementable and overperform the ones currently in use. After articulating a constructive critique of the current forecasting models, the paper offers readily implementable, transparent alternatives and proves their superiority.