Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria
The growth of heterodox ideological configurations, or ideological inconsistencies, among the electorate of Western countries, has been offered as one explanation for recent momentous political events, such as Brexit or the election of Donald Trump as US President. Previous research, however, sugges...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/1/12 |
| _version_ | 1797342594890465280 |
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| author | Martin Konstantinov |
| author_facet | Martin Konstantinov |
| author_sort | Martin Konstantinov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The growth of heterodox ideological configurations, or ideological inconsistencies, among the electorate of Western countries, has been offered as one explanation for recent momentous political events, such as Brexit or the election of Donald Trump as US President. Previous research, however, suggests that ideological inconsistency has been typical for Central and Eastern European (CEE) states for the past thirty years after the fall of the Socialist regimes there. Based on a survey of 102 active members of local and national party structures in Bulgaria, followed by in-depth interviews with the same respondents, I develop a conceptual and methodological approach aimed at objectively measuring Bulgarians’ political values and ideological orientations. Building on previous research on the statistical independence of the social and economic dimensions of ideology, this study identifies three main models of ideological inconsistency at the party-elite level in Bulgaria, offering evidence of the “homogeneity in ideological inconsistency” in this post-Socialist country, with party elites and electorate following the same patterns of inconsistency. The existence of a conservative value complex, integrating traditionalist, statist, and nationalist attitudes regarding the social sphere, is another major finding of the study. I discuss the specific historical and socio-cultural background contributing to ideological inconsistency in Bulgaria and potential implications for the wider CEE region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:35:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8a307ab3e4dc4871bcab8f03f2ec1d6a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:35:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-8a307ab3e4dc4871bcab8f03f2ec1d6a2024-01-26T18:27:40ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602023-12-011311210.3390/socsci13010012Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in BulgariaMartin Konstantinov0Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia 1000, BulgariaThe growth of heterodox ideological configurations, or ideological inconsistencies, among the electorate of Western countries, has been offered as one explanation for recent momentous political events, such as Brexit or the election of Donald Trump as US President. Previous research, however, suggests that ideological inconsistency has been typical for Central and Eastern European (CEE) states for the past thirty years after the fall of the Socialist regimes there. Based on a survey of 102 active members of local and national party structures in Bulgaria, followed by in-depth interviews with the same respondents, I develop a conceptual and methodological approach aimed at objectively measuring Bulgarians’ political values and ideological orientations. Building on previous research on the statistical independence of the social and economic dimensions of ideology, this study identifies three main models of ideological inconsistency at the party-elite level in Bulgaria, offering evidence of the “homogeneity in ideological inconsistency” in this post-Socialist country, with party elites and electorate following the same patterns of inconsistency. The existence of a conservative value complex, integrating traditionalist, statist, and nationalist attitudes regarding the social sphere, is another major finding of the study. I discuss the specific historical and socio-cultural background contributing to ideological inconsistency in Bulgaria and potential implications for the wider CEE region.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/1/12ideological inconsistencypolitical valuespolitical orientationideological dimensionsleft–right ideological schemaCentral and East European states |
| spellingShingle | Martin Konstantinov Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria Social Sciences ideological inconsistency political values political orientation ideological dimensions left–right ideological schema Central and East European states |
| title | Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria |
| title_full | Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria |
| title_fullStr | Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria |
| title_short | Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria |
| title_sort | right wing leftists left wing rightists and traditionalist liberals core political values and ideological inconsistency at the party elite level in bulgaria |
| topic | ideological inconsistency political values political orientation ideological dimensions left–right ideological schema Central and East European states |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/1/12 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT martinkonstantinov rightwingleftistsleftwingrightistsandtraditionalistliberalscorepoliticalvaluesandideologicalinconsistencyatthepartyelitelevelinbulgaria |