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The article is dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the great German thinker and philosopher Immanuel Kant and analyzes his conceptions of the moral category of freedom. Based on a review and analysis of the philosopher's ideas in the three "critiques" and his other writings, an attempt is made to determine the specificity of Kant's under- standing of moral freedom, as well as to find the connections it makes to some modern dimensions of the problem. Comments of Bulgarian and foreign philosophers on the relevant topic, which enrich the existing knowledge on the problem, are also examined. Conclusions concern the enduring importance of Kantian ideas for modern notions of freedom, publicity, independence, and the significance of truth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital public sector differs significantly from the „classical“ public sector. Its virtual existence makes its association with real phenomena and processes particularly difficult, and with that, its theoretical understanding is also difficult. This necessitates a strategic view to understand the processes, shaping the still emerging digital public sector. For this purpose, through a descriptive, comparative, and rationalistic approach, a group of interrelated notions and the change as a result of digitalization in the relations between them are examined, which necessitates the need for a new understanding of what they actually mean in the new conditions. The publication presents part of the scientific results of the research project „Digital Public Sector“ (NID 21-2020, UNWE), also parts of various previous studies by the same authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper elaborates on a specific contradiction in the cultural policies of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Even after 1956 (year of the April Plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, which initiated a post-Stalinist liberalization in the government's treatment of people in the creative sphere), art-making practices remained under the communist doctrine's institutional pressure. At the same time, over the 60s, the 70s, and the 80s, the government imported a substantial number of cultural products from the West. In other words, a few decades before 1989 - the year associated with the fall of communism in Bulgaria - two tendencies, controlled by the communist authorities, co-existed in Bulgaria's public sphere: socialist realism was constantly re-asserted, but there was also an attempt at dialogue with the cultures behind the Iron Curtain. The upshot of this ambivalent attitude of the government is particularly intriguing when it comes to familiarizing the Bulgarian public with foreign cinema. Not only did movies from the West mold perceptions, desires, and behavioral models that differed from those officially prescribed; these movies (especially when created by world-famous directors) have left their imprint on totalitarian-era literary texts which we value to this day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic has posed serious challenges to all spheres of public, economic and political life. This necessitated the development and implementation of a number of measures related to the new organization of work of companies and institutions. Communications – with external and internal audiences – have begun to play a key role not only in the immediate survival of organizations, but also in their successful recovery from the crisis. Crisis communications are especially important in this process. One of the sectors facing the biggest challenges during the Covid pandemic was education. Those working in the field had to prepare completely new communication programs aimed at process management. They also had to adapt their current communication strategies to meet the requirements of the environment. The material will consider the main characteristics in the communication of the restrictive measures of educational institutions in Bulgaria in the period 2020 – 2021. Some techniques and methods of rhetoric applied during this period will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quotation from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick, placed in note 1 in this article, seems to be especially topical today, when astronomy and ethics are very different from what they were in the second half of 19th century. The present-day situation, subjected to the dynamics of development in the realm of social media, suggests that our notions of personal identity and the self-directing moral determination of identity are under the sway of fluidity and the variety of moral discourses in the public sphere. In the 1870s, in his The Methods of Ethics, Sidgwick greatly contributed to the formation of original discussion on that same issue. He was also the moral philosopher who thus proposed a proper interpretation of the philosophical issues regarding person and morality left as a legacy of Early Modern thought in the conceptions of writers such as Locke, Hume, and Kant. The present article discusses all these topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main thesis of the article is that the nature of the concept “public opinion” is strictly related to its functions in social processes. It is a complex, dynamic, factor-driven communication process that can be defined as rationality, as social control, as conversation, and as counting, and is characterized by its dependence on publicity, mass communications and democratic practices. Its active function in modern social processes increases the pressure of influence on the formation of public opinion, which leads to the latter’s artificial construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The people against Oliver Frljić, or Poland after The Curse In the spring of 2017, the play entitled The Curse, directed by Oliver Frljić premiered at one of Warsaw theatres. It was not the first attempt to perform in Poland on the part of the Croatian director, well known as a controversial artist whose plays discuss social and political issues. His previous appearances on Polish stages usually evoked an air of scandal. The content of The Curse, too, had its producers investigated by the state prosecutors soon after its premiere; and blasphemy and incitement to crime in the theatre were discussed in the public sphere. The Curse is a loose adaptation of Stanisław Wyspiański’s drama, originally written in 1899. It deals provocatively with questions about modern religiousness and non-religiousness, touching upon relations between the Polish Catholic Church and the state, and upon national identity in contemporary Poland. This paper is focused on reactions to Frljić’s play, especially on different ways of expressing public anger as the most frequent reaction; it shows how politicians, members of religious and nationalist groups and other protesters became part of the performance. It aims to explain the success of one of the most scandalous theatrical ventures in Poland, describes the peculiarity of the Polish context, the dynamics of reaction of opponents and students of Frljić’s activities, and shows the lasting consequences as well as the performative potential of the Croatian director’s presence in the Polish public sphere. A very important circumstance in researching The Curse is that – as emphasized both in the performance itself and in the public debate – Polish national values were criticized by an outsider, in other words, by the Other. The article pays particular attention to two contexts: one is engaged theatre’s potential to transcend its own boundaries and influence the social and political reality; the other is the author’s personal participation in Frljić’s performance. Naród przeciwko Frljiciowi albo Polska po Klątwie Wiosną 2017 roku w jednym z warszawskich teatrów premierę miał spektakl Klątwa w reżyserii Olivera Frljicia. To nie był debiut reżysera w Polsce, jego poprzednim działaniom na polskich scenach towarzyszyła atmosfera skandalu. Frljić jest znany jako kontrowersyjny artysta, którego sztuka dotyka sprawa społecznych i politycznych. Wkrótce po premierze prokuratura wszczęła postępowanie przeciwko realizatorom spektaklu, w związku z jego treścią; namawianie do zbrodni i bluźnierstwo w teatrze zdominowały dyskusje w sferze publicznej. Klątwa to luźna adaptacja dramatu Wyspiańskiego, napisana w 1899 roku. Prowokuje pytaniami o współczesną religijność i niereligijność, dotyka relacji między Kościołem katolickim a państwem, porusza także kwestie związane z tożsamością narodową we współczesnej Polsce. Artykuł koncentruje się na reakcjach na spektakl Olivera Frljicia, zwłaszcza na temat różnych sposobów wyrażania publicznego gniewu; pokazuje, jak politycy, członkowie grup religijnych i ugrupowań nacjonalistycznych oraz inni protestujący, stali się częścią przedstawienia. Tekst ma na celu wyjaśnienie sukcesu jednego z najbardziej skandalicznych przedsięwzięć teatralnych w Polsce, opisuje specyfikę polskiego kontekstu, dynamikę reakcji przeciwników i badaczy działań Frljicia, ale pokazuje także trwałe konsekwencje oraz performatywny potencjał obecności chorwackiego reżysera w polskiej sferze publicznej. Istotnym dla badań czynnikiem jest eksponowany i w spektaklu, i w debacie publicznej fakt, że polskie wartości narodowe zostały skrytykowane przez Innego/Obcego. Rozważania zostały przedstawione w kontekście oczywistego dla teatru zaangażowanego potencjału do przekraczania własnych granic, ingerowania w sprawy społeczne i polityczne, ale także w kontekście osobistego udziału autorki artykułu w spektaklu Frljića.

The article deals with changes that have taken place in the public sphere as a result of the digital revolution in the dissemination and processing of information. The term “public sphere” is used here in the sense it has for Habermas. Habermas, however, bases his conclusions mainly on studies of the printed media. The digital media have radically changed the way in which information is perceived, systematized, disseminated, analyzed, etc. The changes brought about by the social networks, their impact on the public sphere, are particularly significant. The article attempts to describe the different dynamics of the connection between private and public in the context of the global digital networks, and addresses the question as to how these networks change the very content of the public sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accession of the ten countries of Central and Eastern Europe to the European Union has unanimously been pronounced by political and economic researchers as the most significant success of European integration in the field of foreign policy. Nevertheless, the escalation of the problems in the fights against corruption and in the reform of the judiciary system in countries like Bulgaria (but also Hungary and Poland) puts into question the argument of the mainstream theories about a gradual and irreversible process of Europeanization as a result of EU accession. The recent process of Brexit and the reactions to the refugee crisis in some Member States also show that Europeanization can be problematized even beyond the Central and Eastern European context. The academic discussion needs to continue to search an answer to the questions as follows: what is the role of EU membership as regards the quality of democracy and governance, under what conditions are informal rules and cultural norms adopted in an accession country, and are there any perspectives when conditionality policy loses its effectiveness. This paper is a small step in this direction. It aims to outline the trends of development of the civic and media debate in Bulgaria in the context of EU membership as the basis for problematizing our understanding of the Europeanisation process. It does not seek a solution but rather systematizes questions regarding the preconditions for low representativeness of the civil sector, low effectiveness of the engaged civic action, limited public debate and deteriorating media environment in Bulgaria, ten years after EU accession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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At the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, socialist democracy and harmony was defined as part of China's national modernisation goal to be accomplished within the first two decades of the 21st century. China has since developed a series of new regulations and initiatives aiming at increasing governance transparency and encouraging citizenry participation. This article discusses citizenry participation under the backdrop of the contemporary Chinese society. Drawing on recent internet development and application data, the article discusses opportunities and challenges of using internet as a platform to promote political democracy in China. Strategies to deal with the perceived challenge are articulated based on critiques on Habermas's ideal of public sphere and Paulo Freire's theory of participatory communication. The proposition this article argues for is that participation is not a gift bestowed by the government to its citizenry. It is a societal action performed by the citizen. The perception of participation as a societal action implies two crucial aspects of constructive participation, namely responsibility and capability of participation.