Atanas Zhdrebev, PhD
e-mail:
atanas(dot)zhdrebev(at)ihist(dot)bas(dot)bg
atanasbobi(at)abv(dot)bg
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1293-8656
Web of Science Researcher ID: MXM-2291-2025
Areas of scientific interest
- Populism;
- Contemporary Bulgarian politics;
- Bulgarian political parties and institutions;
- Bulgarian political process;
- Conservatism;
- History of the right-wing political ideas in Bulgaria from the Liberation (1878) to the present days.
Education
2016 -2019 PhD degree in Professional field 3.3. Political Science (Political Science – Contemporary Bulgarian Politics), Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“
2004-2006 MA in Political Management, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Philosophy, Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“
2000-2004 BA in Political Science, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Philosophy, Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“
1995-2000 National School of Ancient Languages and Cultures „St. Constantine Cyril – Philosopher”
Position
2023 – ongoing – Historian, Contemporary History and Geopolitics Section, Institute for Historical Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Scientific publications
Monographs:
Populist Strategies as a Driver of Domestic Political Crises (2021-2023), Institute for Historical Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, in press.
Populism, Crises and Instability, East – West, S., 2024, ISBN – 978-619-01-1461-1.
Populism as a Factor for the Dysfunction of Political Institutions in Bulgaria (2001 – 2018), East – West, S., 2020, ISBN – 978-619-01-0567-1.
The Collapse of the Political System in Bulgaria, East – West, S., 2011, ISBN – 978-954-321-848-6.
Articles and studies:
A Disregard for the Institutional Roles in the Populist Strategy by Slavi Trifonov, Public Policy, issue 4, 2024, pp. 54-68, https://ejpp.eu/index.php/ejpp/issue/view/57
Populism from the Perspective of the Strategic Approach: A Case Study of Boyko Borisov’s Strategy After the Parliamentary Elections in Bulgaria on 4/04/2021, Journal of Dialogue Studies, Vol. 12, 2024, pp. 69-93,
Populist Mobilizations in the Latin American and in the Bulgarian Political Context. Bulgarian Historical Review, Vol. 52 (3-4), 2024, pp. 201-230,
https://bhr.ihist.bas.bg/landing_pages/2024_34/atanas_zhdrebev.html
Takis Pappas’s Concept of Populism as a Form of Democratic Illiberalism, Rhetoric and Communications, no. 59, 04.2024, pp. 85-106,
The Paradigmatic Populism of Hugo Chávez, Historical Review, no. LXXIX, 4, 2023, pp. 66-90, https://ipr.ihist.bas.bg/old/2023_4.html
Kurt Weyland’s Concept Regarding the Populist Strategy. Political Studies, no. 1-2, 2022, pp. 111-123, https://polstud.eu/bg/archive/year-2022/issue-1-2/koncepciyata-na-krt-ueyland-za-populistkata-strategiya
The problematic institutional interactions between the Prime Minister – being a party leader himself and the parliamentary group of National Movement Simeon II and the realization of changes in the government from 2003, Doktorantski Cheteniya 2018 (Doctoral Candidate Readings 2018), University Press „St. Kliment Ohridski“, S., 2019, pp. 107-119,
The Problematic Nature of the Ideological Approach for Research of the Populism, Political Studies, no. 1-2, 2018, pp. 78-93,
Populism as a Threat to Democracy in Europe, „Europe at a Crossroads. Western Balkans”, Veliko Tarnovo, 2017, pp. 183-197.
Anti-institutionality in the Populist Strategy of the Prime Minister, Public Policy, no. 1, 2018, pp. 85-104, http://www.ejpp.eu/index.php/ejpp/article/view/256
Populism as a discursive style, Doktorantski Cheteniya 2017 (Doctoral Candidate Readings 2017), University Press „St. Kliment Ohridski“, S., 2018, pp. 185-196,
Anti-institutionality in the Populist Discourse of the Prime Minister, Public Policy, no. 2, 2017, pp. 83-104, https://ejpp.eu/index.php/ejpp/article/view/236/0
Bulgarian Academic Debate on Populism. Rhetoric and Communications, issue 23, July 2016, https://rhetoric.bg/%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b0%d0%bd%d0%b0%d1%81-%d0%b6%d0%b4%d1%80%d0%b5%d0%b1%d0%b5%d0%b2-%d0%b1%d1%8a%d0%bb%d0%b3%d0%b0%d1%80%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%b8%d1%8f%d1%82-%d0%b0%d0%ba%d0%b0%d0%b4%d0%b5%d0%bc
The Limits of Freedom in the Political Theory of the 18th Century, Kultura.bg Portal, 24. 02.2014, https://kultura.bg/web/%d0%b3%d1%80%d0%b0%d0%bd%d0%b8%d1%86%d0%b8%d1%82%d0%b5-%d0%bd%d0%b0-%d1%81%d0%b2%d0%be%d0%b1%d0%be%d0%b4%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b0-%d0%b2-%d0%bf%d0%be%d0%bb%d0%b8%d1%82%d0%b8%d1%87%d0%b5%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%b0/
The Interaction of Parties and Institutions in the Political System of the Principality of Bulgaria (1879-1883), Razum (Reason), no. 1, 2007, pp. 55-82.
The Institutional Deficit of the NDSV Government, Novo Vreme (New Time), no. 5, 2005, pp. 17-24.
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and the Bulgarian Political System, Razum (Reason), no. 2, 2004, pp. 126-143.
Reviews and reports
Media, Politics and Truth in „My Right“, Kultura, issue 21, 03.06.2011, http://newspaper.kultura.bg/bg/article/view/18480
Timelessness and Melancholy, Kultura, no. 28, 23.07.2010,
http://newspaper.kultura.bg/bg/article/view/17291
Atanasov, D., A. Zhdrebev, Ancient Serdica – Excavations at Risk, Kultura, no. 16, 26.04.2013, https://newspaper.kultura.bg/bg/article/view/20901
Obsolete or Alternative, Kultura, no. 39, 16.11.2012, https://newspaper.kultura.bg/bg/article/view/20301
The conservative project – panacea or utopia, Kultura, issue 15, 22.04.2011, http://newspaper.kultura.bg/bg/article/view/18303
Media publications
2006 – 2025
Numerous analytical articles in print and electronic publications – Kultura.bg Portal, Dnevnik, Democracy Today, Novinar, Lechitel, Bulgarian Post, Ekipnews.bg.
Active links to e-pages with analytical articles:
Kultura.bg Portal:
https://kultura.bg/web/author/atanas-jdrebev/
Citations
Zdrebev, A., Populism, Crises and Instability, East – West, S., 2024. In: Kapriev, G., Bulgarian Rifts, East – West, S., 2025.
Zhdrebev, A., Populism as a factor for the dysfunction of political institutions in Bulgaria (2001 – 2018), East – West, S., 2020. In: Atanasov, D., The ideas for amendments to the Constitution: between populism and racism, Marginalia, 15.08.2020, https://www.marginalia.bg/ideite-za-popravki-v-konstitutsiyata-mezhdu-populizma-i-rasizma/
Zhdrebev, A., Populism as a factor for the dysfunction of political institutions in Bulgaria (2001 – 2018), East – West, S., 2020. In: Gluhcheva, T., The truth about populism – the way people understand it, Political Horizons, issue 4, 08.2020, pp. 87-96,
Zdrebev, A., Bulgarian Academic Debate on Populism, Rhetoric and Communications, issue 23, July 2016,
In: Mavrodieva, I., Methodology for Writing a Scientific Article, Rhetoric and Communications, issue 36, 2018, http://rhetoric.bg/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Mavrodieva-issue-36-September-project-FNI-2018-last.pdf
Zhdrebev, A., Populism as a factor for the dysfunction of political institutions in Bulgaria (2001 – 2018), East – West, S., 2020. In: Mihailova, K., Election Campaign in Political Agony, In: Jubilee collection dedicated to the 65th anniversary of prof. Georgi Lyubenov Manolov, Doctor of Political Science, VUSI Publishing Complex, 2023, pp. 625-653, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Katia-Mihailova/publication/378690775_Predizbornata_kampania_v_politiceska_agonia/links/c
Zdrebev, A., Bulgarian Academic Debate on Populism, Rhetoric and Communications, issue 23, July 2016, https://rhetoric.bg/%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b0%d0%bd%d0%b0%d1%81-%d0%b6%d0%b4%d1%80%d0%b5%d0%b1%d0%b5%d0%b2-%d0%b1%d1%8a%d0%bb%d0%b3%d0%b0%d1%80%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%b8%d1%8f%d1%82-%d0%b0%d0%ba%d0%b0%d0%b4%d0%b5%d0%bc В: Otova, I., E. Staykova, Europe under Question! Anti-elitism: The Populist Answer, Political Studies, no. 1-2, 2017, pp. 90-100, https://polstud.eu/bg/archive/year-2017/issue-1-2/evropa-pod-vpros-antielitizmt-populistkiyat-otgovor
Zhdrebev, A., Populism as a factor for the dysfunction of political institutions in Bulgaria (2001 – 2018), East – West, S., 2020. In: Otova, I., Rescue for Political Use: The Populist Consensus on the Fate of Bulgarian Jews During the Second World War, Eastern European Holocaust Studies, 2023, https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/eehs-2023-0040/html?lang=en&srsltid=afmbooriokm8tplsqnmgyfwazvyvgdd86jdcqxp8yg3ucnvl3gymescp
Zdrebev, A., Bulgarian Academic Debate on Populism, Rhetoric and Communications, issue 23, July 2016, https://rhetoric.bg/%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b0%d0%bd%d0%b0%d1%81-%d0%b6%d0%b4%d1%80%d0%b5%d0%b1%d0%b5%d0%b2-%d0%b1%d1%8a%d0%bb%d0%b3%d0%b0%d1%80%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%b8%d1%8f%d1%82-%d0%b0%d0%ba%d0%b0%d0%b4%d0%b5%d0%bc In: Raycheva, L., D. Peicheva, Populism in Bulgaria Between Politization of Media and Mediatization of Politics, Mediatization Stufies, Vol. 1, 2017, pp. 69-81, https://journals.umcs.pl/ms/article/view/4062/pdf
Zdrebev, A., Bulgarian Academic Debate on Populism, Rhetoric and Communications, issue 23, July 2016, https://rhetoric.bg/%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b0%d0%bd%d0%b0%d1%81-%d0%b6%d0%b4%d1%80%d0%b5%d0%b1%d0%b5%d0%b2-%d0%b1%d1%8a%d0%bb%d0%b3%d0%b0%d1%80%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%b8%d1%8f%d1%82-%d0%b0%d0%ba%d0%b0%d0%b4%d0%b5%d0%bc In: Todorov, A., The political hegemony of GERB, In: Collection in honour of prof. Peter-Emil Mitev,
The data are up-to-date as of 30.06.2025.