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Article

Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria

by
Martin Konstantinov
Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13010012
Submission received: 7 October 2023 / Revised: 1 December 2023 / Accepted: 19 December 2023 / Published: 22 December 2023

Abstract

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.
Keywords: ideological inconsistency; political values; political orientation; ideological dimensions; left–right ideological schema; Central and East European states; Bulgaria ideological inconsistency; political values; political orientation; ideological dimensions; left–right ideological schema; Central and East European states; Bulgaria

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MDPI and ACS Style

Konstantinov, M. Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria. Soc. Sci. 2024, 13, 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13010012

AMA Style

Konstantinov M. Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria. Social Sciences. 2024; 13(1):12. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13010012

Chicago/Turabian Style

Konstantinov, Martin. 2024. "Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria" Social Sciences 13, no. 1: 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13010012

APA Style

Konstantinov, M. (2024). Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria. Social Sciences, 13(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13010012

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