Abstract

Doctrinal design of the main foreign­policy directions of Bulgaria has undergone some changes during the 1998­2013. The main influencing factors were the progress of European and Euro­Atlantic integration, foreign­policy preferences of ruling governments, changes in the international and regional security environment. Succession was dominated in the process of identifying of Bulgaria’s foreign­policy directions. Key periods in the process of doctrinal design of the foreign policy of Bulgaria were 1998­2005 and 2009­2011 years. The main features of the first period were the creation of a complex of official documents defining principles of the foreign policy of Bulgaria, the gradual formation of the structure of foreign­policy priorities. During the second period change of the structure occurred as a result of adoption of new doctrinal document. It was fixed and increased trends of the previous period (division of the European and Euro­Atlantic directions, their proclamation as paramount foreign­policy priorities, reducing of the priority of South­Eastern Europe). It was introduced new provisions (the Black Sea region as a foreign­policy priority, relations with Russia are considered in the framework of cooperation with the EU and NATO). At the moment, the main directions of the foreign policy of Bulgaria according to the doctrinal documents are (in order of priority) EU (1) NATO (1), South­Eastern Europe (2), the Black Sea region (3), North Africa, Middle East (4), Russia (5).