Transfers and Learning in the Framework of Bulgarian Legal Reforms (1990–2013)
In: Southeastern Europe: L' Europe du sud-est, Band 40, Heft 3, S. 317-345
ISSN: 1876-3332
Since the fall of communism and all the way up to the present day, various international initiatives aimed at influencing justice reform in Bulgaria have sought to compel domestic actors to abandon inherited practices characterised by patrimonialism and political clientelism through imported professional and organisational standards. On the basis of an extensive qualitative study of the implementation of international technical assistance initiatives in the Bulgarian judicial system, we revisit the theory of relations between transfers and learning as it has been elaborated in studies of Europeanisation. Starting with an examination of specific reforms to modify the methods of recruiting, appointing and promoting magistrates, the article tackles the construction of an alternative conceptualisation that understands learning as the emergent and cumulative effect of a conjunction of social processes. This effect not only puts into play the process of appropriating exported elements but also carries with it endogenous dynamics, in particular political struggles between groups of justice professionals.