Abstract:

This study aims to examine the changes in the field of minority rights in Bulgaria after it gained the status of the European Union (EU) membership. It has argued that important developments in the field of minority rights have been experienced in Bulgaria after the EU membership and the EU has played a leading role in these changes. To investigate these phenomena, this study poses the following questions: How has the EU contributed to Bulgaria in the democratization and its progress on minority rights? What are the changes in minority rights in Bulgaria after EU membership and what role did the EU play in these changes? This study utilizes Europeanization and Rational Choice Institutionalism as its theoretical framework. Hence, it is aimed to contribute to the literature of Europeanization and Rational Choice Institutionalism in general, and to the EU-Bulgaria relations and the EU's role in the democratization of Bulgaria in particular.

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