BB: Legislatures in Southeast Europe amid Global Political Regime Developments

This lecture explores the evolving role of parliaments in Southeast Europe amid ongoing political crises and democratic backsliding. Focusing on Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Serbia, it will showcase how legislatures in fragile democracies have both driven and resisted autocratization. The lecture will focus on dynamics related to a hung parliament (Bulgaria), parliamentary boycotts (North Macedonia), and an opposition-less parliament (Serbia, 2020–2022), and will seek to compare them to global trends within parliamentary democracy.

Venelin Bochev is a PhD candidate in political science at the Université libre de Bruxelles. His research focuses on processes of resistance to autocratisation with an institutional focus on legislatures and a regional focus on Southeast Europe.