The political culture surrounding systems of government in two different countries can provide valuable insights to their status as states. One would expect two different countries, like the United States and Bulgaria, to have different factors and roles of institutions, but ascertaining the extent of those factors can help one understand HOW those norms and institutions cause a society to function the way it does.

In a developed democracy like the United States, classical liberalism characterizes the basis of most institutions. While welfare does exist in the US, the attitude of most political settings is such that the government should take a back-burner position in most situations. The most basic forms of legislation have their roots in the belief that the people ultimately have autonomy in controlling their affairs. Rights of the individual are the emphasis. This concept can be observed in the immense faith placed in our family and religious structures. Many US citizens approach their affairs from a “help yourself” perspective. The unequal nature of our capitalistic economic structure emphasizes a political culture of classical liberal thought as well. Citizens in the US perceive the government as more of a hindrance that should, in most circumstances, not control the intricacies of people’s lives.

An emerging democracy like Bulgaria approaches its political affairs from a different perspective. Bulgaria has enjoyed its existence as a democratic state for less than two decades. The principles and philosophy surrounding a totalitarian variation of communism only fell from ting the political structure in 1990. With the memory of the Soviet Union still fresh in the minds of the middle-aged population, the approach to dealing with issues in a democracy is both new and largely unexplored. Unlike the United States, Bulgaria still has a substantial population favoring a socialist system of government controlled by an elite few. Therefore, the means and institutions used to deal with issues in this relatively new democracy are different from that of the United States. As depicted in the video below, Bulgarians don’t perceive the same level of autonomy in controlling their institutions. Therefore, it is necessary for them to become more proactive and involved in changing political activity through petitioning their government. One of the most influential and prominent changes in Bulgarian political culture occurred during the 1997 political protests in the capital city of Sofia. Tens of thousands of people were protesting daily against the government of former Communist (now Socialist) Zhan Videnov, and calling for early elections to maintain democracy.