Publications
Special Report: Three Seas Partnership
The Three Seas Partnership – a think tank platform, organized by the Warsaw Institute and featuring IGA as a founding member, has released its special report outlining the key trends and developments concerning the Three Seas Initiative. The document presents recommendations for policymakers within the Three Seas region and charts out the progress and achievements …
Conference Report: Europe on Edge
IGA has published a report based on the international conference the Institute conducted in partnership with Free Press for Eastern Europe: “Europe on Edge: Tackling Hybrid Warfare amid Elections, Foreign Influence, and Unfinished Europeanization”, which took place on January 28-29, 2025 in Sofia. The analysis features: The key points of debate and main takeaways that …
Article: How Moscow and Its Allies Are Undermining the Non-Proliferation Regime
In his new article, Dr. Andreas Umland provides an analytical overview of the key ways in which Russia has been undermining the global nuclear nonproliferation regime: The paper showcases how the Kremlin has consistently violated the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons ever since the mid-1990s and how it has been aided in this …
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Article: Chinese Influence in Bulgaria. Bubbling Under the Surface
Dr. Rumena Filipova has published a new article titled “Chinese Influence in Bulgaria. Bubbling Under the Surface” in China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE). The paper argues that although Chinese influence in Bulgaria may not be very conspicuous, it is nevertheless growing and is being promoted by willing local facilitators in politics, business, …
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Report: Hacking Minds and Machines. Foreign Interference in the Digital Era
The Chaillot Paper Hacking Minds and Machines. Foreign Interference in the Digital Era, published by the European Union Institute for Strategic Studies, delves into the phenomenon of foreign interference and the risk it poses to democratic societies. It explores the interplay between information manipulation and disruptive cyber operations, revealing their role as complementary components within …
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Report: MEPs from Central Europe. A Bulwark Against Authoritarianism
IGA has contributed to the newly released report MEPs from Central Europe: A Bulwark Against Authoritarianism, published by Political Capital (Hungary). The publication examines the voting stances of MEPs from 7 Central European countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Austria, Bulgaria and Romania) on resolutions condemning authoritarian regime actions around the world, particularly the regimes in Russia …
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Briefing Paper 6: Bulgarian Public Opinion, 2024
IGA has released its new briefing paper Bulgarian Public Opinion, 2024: Increasing Commitment to Allies and Improving Perceptions of Media Freedom amid Continuous East-West Ambivalence. The study presents the results of in-depth public opinion polling conducted in Bulgaria in partnership with GLOBSEC. Key attitudinal measures include views of the EU, NATO, the Kremlin’s war against …
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Publication: Charting the Radical Right’s Influence on EU Foreign Policy
In the run-up to the European Parliament elections, Dr. Rumena Filipova contributed to Carnegie Europe’s newly released publication on the impact of the radical right on the foreign policies of a range of EU countries. Her chapter on Bulgaria details the ways in which pro-Russian, nationalist far-right party Revival has acted as a disruptor that …
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Article: The Alarming Embrace of Anti-Democratic Ideas by Young Europeans
In an article for CEPA, Dr. Rumena Filipova makes the case that a worrying trend is emerging, whereby youth in Central and Eastern Europe turn out to harbor less democratic and pro-Western views than usually expected. The article provides a cross-country comparative perspective, identifies the reasons for these dispositions and offers recommendations for reclaiming young …
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Commentary: Can the Far Right in Europe be Contained?
In a commentary for Carnegie Europe, Dr. Rumena Filipova argues that in order for the far right to be contained, especially ahead of the European Parliament elections, three remedies need to be implemented: 1) revitalizing democratic, results-oriented political leadership; 2) empowering youth as a harbinger of progressive change; and 3) reclaiming hearts and minds from Russia’s …
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Briefing Paper 5: Not One but Many Silver Bullets. Towards a Classification of Responses to Disinformation
IGA has released its new briefing paper “Not One but Many Silver Bullets. Towards a Classification of Responses to Disinformation”. The paper draws on the assumption that the corpus of countermeasures and analytical approaches has grown so extensive that actors who set out to build capacities or to reframe and elevate their anti-disinformation efforts are …
Briefing Paper 4: Countering Disinformation. An Evaluation of the Institutional Approach of Governments
IGA has released its new briefing paper “Countering Disinformation. An Evaluation of the Institutional Approach of Governments”. The study provides a comparative analysis of the most prominent state agencies established to counter disinformation and foreign influence, featuring examples from the US, the EU, Germany, France, Sweden, Ukraine, Taiwan. The analysis evaluates the institutional approach of …
Briefing Paper 3: Teetering on the Brink of Regional Convergence
IGA has released its new briefing paper “Teetering on the Brink of Regional Convergence. Bulgarians’ Stances on Russia’s War against Ukraine, Strategic Orientation, Democracy, Media and Values vis-à-vis Central and Eastern Europe”. The study presents the results of in-depth public opinion polling conducted in Bulgaria in partnership with GLOBSEC. The findings demonstrate that Bulgarians are …
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Briefing Paper 2: Effective Strategic Communications for Resilient State and Society
IGA has released its briefing paper “Effective Strategic Communications for Resilient State and Society. A Conceptual and Institutional Blueprint”. The publication details four main aspects that need to be taken into account when building strategic communications: Definition and scope; Institutional location; Wider and interlinked networks of collaboration; Тarget audience and appropriate range of strategic communications …
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Report: History Undone. Russia’s Historical Disinformation, Bulgaria’s Memory Politics and Lessons for Dealing with the Past from Central and Eastern Europe
IGA has released its newest report History Undone. Russia’s Historical Disinformation, Bulgaria’s Memory Politics and Lessons for Dealing with the Past from Central and Eastern Europe. The report focuses on the distortion and falsification of history as the crucial factor that underpins the Kremlin’s media influence campaigns in Bulgaria based on the narrative about the …
Ukraine Insider, Part 4: Invisible Hierarchies in Russian Cultural Domination of Ukraine
IGA has published the fourth part of its paper series “Ukraine Insider”, where international experts on Ukraine analyze the crucial political-historical, media, and economic developments taking place in the country since the start of the Kremlin’s invasion. The series aims to better acquaint the Bulgarian and international audience with trends on the ground and counter …
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Article: The Crimean Challenge to a Russian-Ukrainian Armistice
In his article, Dr. Andreas Umland argues that differentiating between Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of 2022 is not a viable way for peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, although surrendering to the peninsula’s annexed status as an ‘established fact’ may be presented as a pragmatic approach. Instead, Dr. Umland points …
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Article: Domestic Hindrances for a Russian-Ukrainian Truce
In his article, Dr. Andreas Umland highlights the range of domestic political factors in both Ukraine and Russia, which militate against a peace deal that would involve the swap of lands. Dr. Umland underscores that ‘pragmatic’ proposals for such a deal are unrealistic – albeit rooted in the Realist theory of International Relations, as they …
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Article: Bulgarian elections and the Indo-Pacific: Worlds apart
In an article for the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, Dr. Rumena Filipova highlights the crucial missing global element in the incessant Bulgarian election mode: the dynamics in the Indo-Pacific. Why and how to remedy the fact that Sofia neglects those dynamics to its own peril and increasingly so to that of its international …
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Article: Domestic Political Developments in Wartime Ukraine since February 2022
In their article, Petro Burkovskiy, Executive Director of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, and Dr. Andreas Umland, Analyst at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, provide an overview of domestic political developments in Ukraine since the start of the 2022 war. The authors point out that despite the significant nationally unifying tendencies and democratic …
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Ukraine Insider, Part 3: Russia against Ukraine on the Informational Front
IGA has published the third part of its paper series “Ukraine Insider”, where international experts on Ukraine analyze the crucial political-historical, media, and economic developments taking place in the country since the start of the Kremlin’s invasion. The series aims to better acquaint the Bulgarian and international audience with trends on the ground and counter …
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Article: Bulgaria: Drifting Apart from Europe
In her new article for Eurozine, Dr. Rumena Filipova assesses the state of democracy in Bulgaria in the context of the fifth election in two years. The foreign policy implications of the domestic impasse include a degree of self-isolation, insufficient European integration and perception of the country as a challenge to regional and allied security. …
Report: Beyond the Dumpling Alliance
IGA has contributed to the new study of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, which provides a comparative analysis of relations between Taiwan and 12 Central and East European countries. Each country-level chapter includes an overview of the key Taiwan-related developments across the political, economic and societal domain. Moreover, the analysis shows how different …
Briefing paper: Russian Media Influence in Southeast Europe
IGA’s briefing paper presents the key trends of Russian media influence in Southeast Europe and Bulgaria, specifically, further offering policy recommendations. Read the briefing paper
Ukraine Insider, Part 2: Catalyzing Change
IGA has published the second part of its paper series “Ukraine Insider”, where international experts on Ukraine analyze the crucial political-historical, media, and economic developments taking place in the country since the start of the Kremlin’s invasion. The series aims to better acquaint the Bulgarian and international audience with trends on the ground and counter Russian …
How the West Can Help Ukraine
Dr. Andreas Umland provides a comprehensive analysis and policy recommendations as to how the West can continue to support Ukraine in the military, humanitarian, political and economic field. The paper singles out, in particular, accelerating prospects for Kyiv’s EU and NATO integration, the importance of instituting guarantees against political risk for investments in the reconstruction …
Report: Authoritarians on a Media Offensive in the Midst of War
The Institute for Global Analytics – together with its partners the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Media Programme South East Europe and the European Council on Foreign Relations, have released a new report: Authoritarians on a Media Offensive in the Midst of War. The Informational Influence of Russia, China, Turkey, Iran and the Gulf States in Southeast …
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Ukraine Insider, Part 1: Why Russia Started the War, and How Putin Misunderstood Ukraine
IGA is launching its paper series “Ukraine Insider”, where international experts on Ukraine analyze the crucial political-historical, media, and economic developments taking place in the country since the start of the Kremlin’s invasion. The series aims to better acquaint the Bulgarian and international audience with trends on the ground and counter Russian disinformation’s misrepresentations and …
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China-Europe Academic Engagement Tracker
IGA participated in an international project, organized by the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS), mapping the academic interactions between universities in Central and Eastern Europe and their Chinese counterparts. A pioneering China-Europe Academic Engagement Tracker has been produced, which provides a comprehensive record of how European academic institutions engage with China, helps understand …
Article: Bulgaria’s Balancing Act
In her article for Eurozine, Dr. Rumena Filipova discusses how Bulgarian stances favoring ‘balancing’ and ‘neutrality’ resurfaced in the context of the Ukraine war. The longer-term explanations of Bulgaria’s identity and policy ambivalence and the possibilities for change draw on the findings of Dr. Filipova’s book ‘Constructing the Limits of Europe. Identity and Foreign Policy …
New Book: Constructing the Limits of Europe. Identity and Foreign Policy in Poland, Bulgaria, and Russia since 1989
Dr. Rumena Filipova’s new book has been officially released and is now available in libraries and bookshops. It examines the reasons for the differential Europeanization of Central and Eastern Europe since 1989, which ultimately culminated in the Ukraine war and the energy standoff between Russia and Poland and Bulgaria. The book asks: why have some …
Article: Conspiracy theories in Bulgaria
In an article for the GeoPost, Dr. Rumena Filipova discusses the root causes and popularity of conspiratorial thinking in Bulgaria as well as the key conspiracy narratives disseminated in the context of the Ukraine war. You can read the full article here.
Article: Romania – Determined Action on the Ukrainian-Russian Frontline
In her article for the GeoPost, Dr. Rumena Filipova argues that Romania’s response to the Russian war on Ukraine has represented an active stance in line with the established patterns of Romanian foreign policy and Russian-Romanian relations. You can read the full article here.
Article: Bulgaria’s Russia Dilemma
In an article for the GeoPost, Dr. Rumena Filipova argues that Bulgaria’s ambivalence about its positioning between East and West has been reactivated politically, societally and in foreign policy terms within the context of the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine. Calls for neutrality undermine the quality of Bulgaria’s membership in the EU and NATO. You can …
Blog post: Breaking theoretical and empirical boundaries in democracy research
In a blog post for the European Consortium for Political Research, Dr. Gergana Dimova argues in favor of overcoming the disciplinary clash between comparative politics and democratic theory. Accordingly, holistic knowledge can strengthen the rigor and link between theoretical assumptions and empirical evidence in democracy research. You can read the full article here.
Blog post: Towards a global and multi-dimensional response to disinformation
Dr. Rumena Filipova has taken part in the International Visitor Leadership Program on media responsibility in an age of disinformation, organized by the US Department of State. In a blog post for CRDFGlobal, she outlines key insights emerging from discussions among leading American media specialists and IVLP fellows from around the world on how to …
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Upcoming Book: “Constructing the Limits of Europe: Identity and Foreign Policy in Poland, Bulgaria, and Russia since 1989”
Dr. Rumena Filipova’s new book “Constructing the Limits of Europe. Identity and Foreign Policy in Poland, Bulgaria and Russia since 1989” is announced in the Columbia University Press Spring catalog (p.84). Release date: 30 April 2022. The author extends her special thanks to the editor Dr. Andreas Umland, foreword authors Professor Harald Wydra (Cambridge) and Dr. …
Article: Bulgarian Parliamentary Elections, Round Three
Dr. Gergana Dimova analyzes the victory of political newcomer “We Continue the Change” in the November 2021 parliamentary elections in Bulgaria. The article focuses on education as a factor in the electorate’s political choices and further discusses the budding transition from “personalities to policies and to process”. You can read the analysis here: Bulgarian-Elections-This-time-it-might-work-IGA
Report: Chinese corrosive capital in Bulgaria and Romania
The publication is produced as part of the Authoritarian Corrosive Capital in CEE series, edited by the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS), and prepared thanks to a financial contribution from the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). Read the Report