No description available.

M.A. / The aim of this dissertation is to illuminate critically the political implications of Bulgaria’s membership of the European Union (EU) from a domestic perspective. In particular, this research paper will focus on the political implications of Bulgaria’s EU membership with regard to citizenship, identity and the development of Bulgaria’s future relationship with the EU. This research paper will be explained by the theoretical tradition of the multi-level governance approach, which assumes the involvement of multiple levels of governance (supra-national, national and sub-national) in the process of European integration.

This thesis is devoted to an unsuccessful mission to Sofia undertaken in the fall of 1914 by Noel Buxton, a Liberal British M.P., who aimed to win Bulgaria over to the side of the Triple Entente. Although referred to on occasion in works having to do with the conduct of British foreign policy during the First World War, the affair has never before been described in full. Through a close examination of hitherto unexploited material from Buxton's own archive, it has been possible to reconstruct the evolution of the mission, analyze its contemporary significance, and suggest its relevance to current trends towards the moralization and democratization of diplomacy.

No description available.

Fondée en 1878 par le traité de San Stefano, mutilée par celui de Berlin, la principauté autonome de Bulgarie voit ses destinées confiées en 1887 à Ferdinand de Saxe-Cobourg et Gotha. Le nouveau knyaz est contraint dès son avènement à imposer sa personne et les ambitions de son pays dans l’arène internationale. Après une lutte de longue haleine pour obtenir la reconnaissance de son titre par le concert européen, il s’évertue à mener les Bulgares vers la réalisation de leurs idéaux nationaux. Il se heurte aux blocages dus aux liens unissant Sofia à Constantinople, à la rivalité des États environnants et aux politiques balkaniques contradictoires des puissances. Le prince aiguise au fil des ans son sens de la diplomatie et déploie une politique extérieure visant à tirer profit à la fois de la position stratégique de son pays et des rivalités des forces en présence, tout en exploitant à bon escient les circonstances successives. Sa politique de bascule aux ressorts progressivement définis est mise en œuvre, et à l’épreuve, au cours des secousses qui rythment les deux premières décennies du XXe siècle. Si elle permet à la Bulgarie d’accéder à l’indépendance, et au statut de royaume, dans le sillage de la crise bosniaque de 1908, ses revers sont patents pendant les Guerres balkaniques et le premier conflit mondial. Pourtant, force est de constater que ses échecs ne sont pas imputables au seul Ferdinand dont l’examen des faits tend à atténuer les responsabilités dans les « Catastrophes nationales », les deux défaites vécues par les Bulgares en 1913 et 1918, conséquences d’un écheveau de causes d’une grande complexité. / The boundaries of an autonomous Bulgarian principality established by the provision of the San Stefano Treaty in 1878 were substantially reduced by the Great Powers at Berlin. Many unresolved problems between Sofia and Saint-Petersburg led to suspension of the bilateral relations and the abdication of Alexander of Battenberg. Ferdinand of Saxe-Cobourg and Gotha was elected Prince in 1887. After a “controversial” accession to the Bulgarian throne, the young knyaz was committed to impose himself and his country’s national interests to the international scene. After a long-term efforts aimed at recognition of his title of king amongst European chancelleries, he tried hard to realise Bulgarian national ideas. However, it undermined relationship between Sofia and Constantinople but also contributed to the rivalry between surrounding States and the Great Powers in the Balkans. Due to his diplomatic experience, Ferdinand opted for a new foreign policy strategy designed to benefit both from the Bulgaria’s strategic position and the rivalry between powers. Thus, the first two decades of the 20th century were marked by the tumult of Balkan politics. However, it allowed Bulgaria to gain independence, the status of the Kingdom in the wake of the Bosnian crisis in 1908, and the defeats during the Balkan Wars and the First World War. The defeats are not attributable entirely to Ferdinand who was the most responsible for the “National Catastrophes” in 1913 and 1918. This research has shown that fact-based analysis provides a more nuanced picture of Ferdinand’s reign which was effected by a complexity of contributing factors that inevitably plunged the country into international isolation and defeat in the Great War.