Trade Unions, Political Parties and Governments in Bulgaria, 1989–92

Abstract

In the unstable conditions of political change in Bulgaria there has been space for the trade‐union confederations ‐ both that stemming from the communist period and those created since 1989 ‐ to operate in the political arena as driving forces for economic and political change. The most important institutional mechanism for this has been tripartite negotiations involving government, the employer organizations and the trade unions. The development of tripartism in Bulgaria has not, however, been unilinear, but has expanded and contracted with changes in governments. The scope for tripartism has been greatest when there has been either a coalition or a non‐party government ‐ and such circumstances have been the outcome of failures by political parties to establish stable and enduring governments.