Sunday, February 24, 2008

Emil Kazakov and Bulgarian Geopolitics


The Bulgarian diplomat Emil Kazakov has recently published a book titled The Bulgarian Geopolitics in 20th Century: A National, European and Global View, Faber, 2007, 252 p. (The book is in Bulgarian); Preface by Prof. Beatrice Giblin.
It is an original study of the geopolitical permanencies (perceptions and material factors) that have shaped Bulgarian politics from the end of Ottoman rule in 1878 until the end of the post-communist period in 1997-2000.
The first part of the book is dedicated to the historical and geopolitical conditions that have contributed towards the formation of the individual identity of Bulgarian politics: the three wars in 1913, 1919 and 1947; the Macedonian Question and the formation of a territorial perception of national unity.
The second part investigates the specifics of contemporary Bulgarian politics "inherited" from the national geopolitical pattern. The third part concerns the different perceptions of the Bulgarian geopolitical position and their impact on the decision making process. The final part analyzes the influence of the global geopolitical ideas over Bulgaria's position as a NATO and EU member and defends the need of a pragmatic approach towards the formulation of Bulgarian politics.

Emil Kazakov has a PhD in geopolitics and is an expert in external relations. He was born in Varna, Bulgaria in 1960 and has been posted in Paris and he is currently at the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria to the European Union in Brussels.