Playing the EU: The logic of mythmaking in Bulgaria's foreign policy toward central Asia

Emilian Kavalski focuses on the logic of mythmaking in Bulgaria's foreign policy toward central Asia. The media reports of the trip by the Bulgarian foreign minister to Central Asia have been framed not so much by Kalfin's EU-posturing but by the 'discovery' of a 'Bulgaria in Central Asia' represented by the Bulgarian community in Kazakhstan. The dynamics of their Europeanization have provided the context for explaining and understanding the international relations of European integration. The integration setting has tended to assume the uniformity of the post-communist experience by focusing primarily on the 'topdown,' 'elite-focused' socialization of candidate countries. The focus on Central Asia is taken to indicate that the logic of mythmaking informs the domestic articulation of Sofia's foreign policy stance, not only toward neighboring countries but also toward regions that are not geographically proximate. The Europeanization of Bulgarian foreign policy reflects neither convergence with nor divergence from EU-promoted rules.