Bulgarians do not trust one another or the institutions, including the institution of marriage, and are disenchanted with the workings of democracy in the country but still believe it is better than any other form of governance. These are the findings of the fourth wave of a European Values Study (EVS).

The findings of the 2008-2009 wave of the EVS were presented in the last week of February at a conference on "Bulgaria and the European Values", organized by the Bulgarian Sociological Association.

The study showed that Bulgarians strive to be European citizens but lack a European identity, said Assoc. Prof. Petya Kabakchieva. She explained that Bulgarians tend to draw a clear-cut distinction between identity and citizenship.

In 2008, over 80 per cent of Bulgarians believed that one should beware of most people, and less than 20 per cent thought they could trust other people. Prof. Pepka Boyadjieva said this was a sign of a crisis of interpersonal trust.

The institutions are also strongly mistrusted, with the institutions of multiparty democracy at the top: the political parties, Parliament and the government. The international institutions, including the EU, trail the table. On the other hand, the education system is one of the most trusted national institutions.

Prof. Boyadjieva drew the conclusion that the widespread distrust of the institutions hampered the real functioning of society, which showed signs of a crisis.

Still, 70 per cent of respondents believe that democracy is better than any other form of governance, Assoc. Prof. Kabakchieva said.

Bulgarians are proud to be citizens of Bulgaria, but most of them identify with the place they live in rather than with Bulgaria as a State. Kabakchieva argued that Bulgarians tend to have ethnic rather than national identity, i.e. they identify with an ethnic group and not with a State.

Bulgarians also want to be EU citizens because they respect the EU institutions. Bulgarians are Euro optimists, generally support EU enlargement and are not afraid of EU membership, Kabakchieva said.

A growing number of Bulgarians consider marriage an outdated institution, said Dr Alexei Pamporov. Fewer marriages were registered, the number of divorces increased, and more than 50 per cent of children born in 2006 and 2007 were born out of wedlock. Pamporov said Bulgarian society was extremely tolerant of such couples and their offspring. Still, the family is an important unit of Bulgarian society, he said.

Source: BTA