ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on a study about perceptions of corruption in Bulgaria, and therefore focuses more on the empirical results of this study than on abstract theoretical reflections. It shows the representatives of six target groups: politics, judiciary, media, police and prosecutors, civil society and business. The issue of corruption was defined as a grave social problem in Bulgaria towards the end of the 1990s. Similarly to Western democracies, the issue of corruption in Bulgaria was first studied and brought to the social agenda by non-governmental actors. Gradually, the anti-corruption agenda pervaded the programmes of political parties and governments, while some of its main principles were converted into legislation. Furthermore, the widespread and dominant character of the inflated corruption discourse in Bulgarian politics did some permanent damage to the political parties and the political process in the country. The emergence of populist, light-on-ideology and organizationally structured parties profoundly changed the Bulgarian political landscape.
