Journals / Journal of Balkan and Black Sea Studies / 2026 / Issue: 16, June 2026

Rise of the Rhetorical Presidency in Bulgaria under Rumen Radev

Boyana Nikolova(University of Minnesota)0009-0000-4655-3311
Pages
—
Publication Date
2026-06-27
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The method will be Rhetorical Political Analysis (RPA) with a focus on deliberative stasis theory.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The rhetorical presidency framework has long been used to study the expansion of presidential influence and institutional power in government.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Although its application has only been used in the context of the US government, this framework could provide valuable insights on institutional power dynamics and the effects of executive rhetoric if applied to other governments, particularly ones that are similar to the US model.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:The method will be Rhetorical Political Analysis (RPA) with a focus on deliberative stasis theory.
🔬Design:Modeling & Simulation
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Bulgaria · presidential rhetoric · rhetorical presidency

Abstract

The rhetorical presidency framework has long been used to study the expansion of presidential influence and institutional power in government. Although its application has only been used in the context of the US government, this framework could provide valuable insights on institutional power dynamics and the effects of executive rhetoric if applied to other governments, particularly ones that are similar to the US model. This paper attempts to be the first to adapt the rhetorical presidency framework to a foreign government model – namely, Bulgaria’s government as a parliamentary representative democratic republic. It will specifically focus on presidential rhetoric used by former President Rumen Radev and its potential to strengthen executive authority, promote deliberation within the public, and activate other constitutive or instrumental effects. This paper will use former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev’s public statement on supporting a eurozone referendum as a case study for applying the rhetorical presidency framework. The method will be Rhetorical Political Analysis (RPA) with a focus on deliberative stasis theory.

🔖

Cite This Article

Nikolova, B. (2026). Rise of the Rhetorical Presidency in Bulgaria under Rumen Radev. Journal of Balkan and Black Sea Studies, Issue: 16, June 2026. https://doi.org/10.56679/balkar.1946229

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (34)

  1. Baylis, Thomas A. “Presidents versus Prime Ministers: Shaping Executive Authority in Eastern Europe.” World Politics 48, no. 3 (April 1996): 297–323. https://doi.org/10.1353/wp.1996.0007.
  2. Belov, Martin. “Executive Power Metamorphoses in the History on the Balkan Constitutionalism: Between the Imperatives of the Constitutional Teleology and the Potentia.” Revista Română de Drept Comparat, no. 02 (2017): 299–359. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=282798.
  3. Bradley, Curtis A., and Trevor W. Morrison. “PRESIDENTIAL POWER, HISTORICAL PRACTICE, and LEGAL CONSTRAINT.” Columbia Law Review 113, no. 4 (2013): 1097–1161. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23491837.
  4. Council of the European Union. “Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union,” 2012. http://data.europa.eu/eli/treaty/teu_2012/art_4/o.
  5. De Witte, Bruno. “Treaty Games--Law as Instrument and as Constraint in the Euro Crisis Policy.” Governance for the Eurozone, 2012, 139.
  6. Edmonds, Christian. “Prudence or Abdication? Prudential Ripeness and the Federal Forum Guarantee.” Illinois Law Review, August 27, 2025. https://illinoislawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Edmonds.pdf.
  7. Elgie, Robert. “A Fresh Look at Semipresidentialism: Variations on a Theme.” Journal of Democracy 16, no. 3 (2005): 98–112. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2005.0045.
  8. Elgie, Robert. “The Perils of Semi-Presidentialism. Are They Exaggerated?” Democratization 15, no. 1 (February 2008): 49–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510340701768125.
  9. Finlayson, A. (2007). From beliefs to arguments: Interpretive methodology and rhetorical political analysis. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 9(4), 545–563. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-856X.2007.00269.x
  10. The Constitution of Bulgaria: Sofia, 5th December 1947. H.M.S.O, 1955.
  11. Garding, Sarah. “Bulgaria: An Overview.” Congress.gov, 2025. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF11725.
  12. Gilia, Claudia. “The Role of the President in Semi-Presidential Republics in Center and Eastern Europe (I).” Revue Européenne Du Droit Social, no. 1 (18) (2026): 177–95. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=214363.
  13. International NGO Training and Research Centre. “PROCESS TRACING,” 2017. https://www.intrac.org/app/uploads/2024/12/Process-tracing.pdf.
  14. Krasteva, Anna, and Emilia Zankina. “Democratic Backsliding in Europe.” Edited by Melani Barlai, Christina E. Griessler, Martin R. Herbers, Ellen Bos, Peter Filzmaier, and Christina Hainzl. Democratic Backsliding in Europe, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748916031.
  15. Linz, Juan. “Democracy: Presidential or Parliamentary Does It Make a Difference?,” 1985. https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Linz-Presidentialism-sansserif.pdf.
  16. Moe, Terry M, and Michael Caldwell. “The Institutional Foundations of Democratic Government: A Comparison of Presidential and Parliamentary Systems.” Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE) / Zeitschrift Für Die Gesamte Staatswissenschaft 150, no. 1 (1994): 171–95. https://doi.org/10.2307/40753031.
  17. Morgenstern, Scott, Juan Javier Negri, and Aníbal Pérez-Liñán. “Parliamentary Opposition in Non-Parliamentary Regimes: Latin America.” The Journal of Legislative Studies 14, no. 1-2 (June 2008): 160–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572330801921166.
  18. Murphy, Chad. “The Evolution of the Modern Rhetorical Presidency: A Critical Response.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 38, no. 2 (June 2008): 300–307. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5705.2008.02641.x. Partington, Alan, and Charlotte Taylor. “The Language of Persuasion in Politics,” 2017.
  19. Otova, Ildiko, and Evelina Staykova. “Antiestablishment Populism in Bulgaria: Mainstreaming in the Digital Era.” Journal of Contemporary European Studies 32, no. 4 (January 23, 2024): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2024.2308105.
  20. Protsyk, Oleh. “Politics of Intraexecutive Conflict in Semipresidential Regimes in Eastern Europe.” East European Politics and Societies: And Cultures 19, no. 2 (May 2005): 135–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888325404270672.
  21. Radev, Rumen. “Обръщение на държавния глава Румен Радев към народа и Народното събрание.” president.bg, 2018. https://www.president.bg/speeches-and-statements8382/obrashtenie-na-darzhavniya-glava-rumen-radev-kam-naroda-i-narodnoto-sabranie.html.
  22. Ricks, Jacob I., and Amy H. Liu. “Process-Tracing Research Designs: A Practical Guide.” Political Science & Politics 51, no. 4 (July 9, 2018): 842–46. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1049096518000975.
  23. Schiappa, Edward. “Constructing Reality through Definitions: The Politics of Meaning,” 2003. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255497957_Constructing_Reality_Through_Definitions_The_Politics_of_Meaning.
  24. Schimmelfenning, Frank, and Hanno Scholtz. “Legacies and Leverage: EU Political Conditionality and Democracy Promotion in Historical Perspective.” Europe-Asia Studies 62, no. 3 (2010): 443–60. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27808711.
  25. Sofia News Agency. “Bulgaria’s President and ‘Vazrazhdane’ Argued about a Referendum on Joining the Eurozone - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency.” Novinite.com, November 9, 2022. https://www.novinite.com/articles/217469/Bulgaria%E2%80%99s+President+and+%22Vazrazhdane%22+argued+about+a+Referendum+on+Joining+the+Eurozone.
  26. Stuckey, Mary E. Political Rhetoric. Transaction Publishers, 2015.
  27. Tanchev, Evgeni, and Martin Belov. The Bulgarian Constitutional Order, Supranational Constitutionalism and European Governance. National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-273-6_23.
  28. Thavard, Blaga. “Populism over Principle.” Verfassungsblog, June 5, 2025. https://doi.org/10.59704/12b0b834da187d02.
  29. Todorov, Svetoslav. “Bulgarian Nationalists Stir up Opposition to 2026 Eurozone Entry.” Balkan Insight, June 2, 2025. https://balkaninsight.com/2025/06/02/bulgarian-nationalists-stir-up-opposition-to-bulgarias-2026-eurozone-entry/bi/.
  30. Venterink, Stef Lage, and Jelte Olthof. “The Public’s Premium: George W. Bush’s Symbiosis of the Rhetorical Presidency and the Unitary Executive.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 55, no. 2 (January 31, 2025): 103–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/psq.12899.
  31. Viktor, Milanov. "Direct democracy in Bulgaria." PÁZMÁNY LAW WORKING PAPERS 7, no. 1 (2016): 1-18.
  32. Yovcheva, Teodora, and Fernando Casal Bértoa. “Bulgaria Is the Latest Example of the Perils of Presidentialism.” LSE European Politics - Bridging research, policy and public debate on Europe, April 28, 2026. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2026/04/28/bulgaria-2026-election-rumen-radev-progressive-bulgaria/.
  33. Zarefsky, David. “Presidential Rhetoric and the Power of Definition.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 34, no. 3 (2004): 607–19. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27552615.
  34. The Constitution of Bulgaria: Sofia, 5th December 1947. H.M.S.O, 1955.