ABSTRACT
The central thesis of this chapter is that the national space – understood as the nation’s imaginary ethnic and historical area, and as geopolitics directed towards this area and its individual components – demonstrates non-linearity from the longue durée perspective. This non-linearity manifests itself mainly in the practical aspects of implementing the maximalist geopolitics of unifying lands.
The development of the Bulgarian spatial imaginations is a non-linear process which has been going on for at least 200 years. It manifests itself mainly in the practical aspects of implementing the maximalist geopolitics of the unification of lands, which has only achieved short-term successes, even if on several occasions. The classical notion of ‘right’, ‘natural’, and ‘indivisible’ space in the form of the San Stefano Bulgaria remains a constant ideal. Unlike some neighbouring national communities, instead of geopolitical doctrines and military strategies, Bulgarian imaginations of space appear as representations in the media; in the arguments of geopoliticians, ethnologists, and linguists; and in popular and traditional culture, as well as in the rhetoric and activities of some political parties.
The results have shown that the geopolitical imaginations of space represent a conglomerate of ideas, visions, and codes which are rooted in the nation’s geopolitical culture and public consciousness. This chapter also formulates the main aspects of the contribution of research conducted in the field of critical geopolitical studies of the geopolitical imaginations of national communities.
