@ivodinev.bsky.social
Multi-Method Data Laboratory | Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) @zois.bsky.social Party systems, protest and social movements, trade unions in #EasternEurope. Triangulation of methods and data. https://ivaylodinev.com
Democracy without protests? In parts of Europe, that’s unimaginable. Protest is not an isolated episode – it has shaped the political order for almost four decades through recurring cycles of crisis, mobilization, and renewal.
I call it protest democracy.
Read it here in @zois.bsky.social Spotlight👇
Our new article is out in Social Movement Studies!
We compare workers’ protests in Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy & Romania – from protest tactics to building alliances after Covid-19. It presents the first comparative data of workers’ protests since Covid-19, based on local sources.
Discuss Data in Bremen and Göttingen provides a ‘safe haven’ for research data on and from the countries in Eastern Europe thus establishing an interactive, community-led platform for like-minded researchers. Eduard Klein tells more about Discuss Data’s history and activities.
16.09.2025 10:49 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
In the last issue of the Swiss Forum RGOW – Religion & Society in East and West, I examine the repeating cycles of anti-corruption protests in Bulgaria (available in German).
08.09.2025 15:16 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
In 2013, we rose against the oligarchic model in Bulgaria and demanded morality in politics — what dreamers we were! For months we occupied universities and filled the streets. The Balkans carry a long tradition of student movements. An interview for the Bulgarian National Radio.
19.08.2025 10:48 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
The protests against the way the judicial system is being weaponised are a part of a new protest cycle – but won’t be the peak of it,” predicted Ivaylo Dinev, a researcher at the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin.
19.08.2025 08:32 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Gave an interview to Bulgarian National Radio on the ongoing anti-corruption protests and the previous in 2013 and 2020.
In summary: Bulgaria is stuck in a repeating cycle—political crisis, protests, new formations, new crisis, more protests. This has continued since the transition.
Students and citizens in #Serbia are being arrested, beaten, and declared enemies of the state for opposing Vučić's authoritarian regime.
Academic colleagues anywhere in the world, please sign this petition in solidarity with them & spread the message.
New publication in the DataLab Blog by Guenola Inizan!
03.07.2025 07:49 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Our new publication by Gaëlle Le Pavic (Ghent University and United Nations University – CRIS).
10.06.2025 12:35 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0My analysis of the presidential election in Romania:
Simion's high results in the first round are a signal for further restructuring of the political landscape across the region. The multiple crisis creates an opportunity for anti-establishment parties.
How many people protested?
It's not just a matter of numbers—it’s a question of legitimacy and power.
🎙️ New episode of Roundtable Osteuropa with Kerstin Bischl, Felix Herrmann (DiscussData), and me — on the goals, opportunities, and challenges of researching Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Group photo from KoDaNetOst, 17 people looking at the camera.
Photo from KoDaNetOst kickoff workshop at the ZOiS library, ZOiS researcher Sabine von Löwis is standing on the stage with a microphone, holding a powerpoint presentation, the photo is taken from the perspective of the audience, some audience members are in the image, listening to the presentation.
#KoDaNetOst, a new project by @centremarcbloch.bsky.social, @ecmiflensburg.bsky.social & ZOiS, was launched with a workshop & website.
Its aims: making #data for social sciences & humanities accessible & discussing means for sustainable collaboration with partners in Eastern Europe: bit.ly/4liXXor
Link for registration: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
15.04.2025 13:37 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
The people' - the use of this term is often a signifier of one's political position. Researcher Bojidar Kolov scrutinises how this reference can have several political implications.
Read more in his text for the #KonKoop DataLabBLOG👇
📢 New publication!
Constructing ‘the people’ often signals a political stance. Bojidar Kolov examines how this reference carries different political implications—illustrated through the migration debate in Europe and the political theology of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Reminder for the #CfA for our very first #DiscussDataLab on „Challenges of Data Collection, Re-use, and Analysis: Public Opinion, Political Debates, and Protests in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War“ that will take place in Bremen from 25-27.08.2025.
Info & application: discuss-data.net#datalab
As a Bulgarian who studied Albanian history, I found Free truly impressive. It offers a much-needed, nuanced perspective on our shared past in the former communist countries. I’m looking forward to the Bulgarian edition!
21.03.2025 14:09 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0I'm glad to contribute to this new blog, which aims to explore Eastern and Central Europe, as well as the Balkans, from a scientific perspective. My first essay focuses on the recent developments in Serbia.
views-from-central-and-balkan-countries.eu/the-largest-...
Protests in #Serbia are more than political demonstrations; they fuel a ‘cultural explosion’. Symbols like #Pumpaj and #Ćaci have evolved from peripheral phenomena to central political symbols, shaping collective memory & the political landscape, @katarina-damcevic.bsky.social writes on our blog. ⬇️
21.03.2025 11:47 — 👍 12 🔁 11 💬 1 📌 0Both cases are very similar, still the protest in Serbia is much larger. We wanted morality, transparency, accountability, no corruption etc. www.iwm.at/transit-onli...
19.03.2025 11:55 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Sure, but systemic change requires political power. We believed we could change the country through ideas and leading by example, driven by strong anti-party sentiments. Twelve years later, Bulgaria remains in political deadlock.
19.03.2025 11:19 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0When I was a student and we occupied universities in Bulgaria, we said the same—we weren’t offering an alternative political party, but an alternative way of life. Yet, years after that, another movement emerged, and soon, there will be another. The cycle continues, and dissatisfaction remains.
19.03.2025 11:09 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 0
📢 New public research resource!
Looking for data on conflict & cooperation in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus? I compile key datasets and platforms on armed conflicts, public opinion, elections and more.
Explore now: konkoop.de/index.php/da...
New book out! "Handbook of Progressive Politics", ed. by Alice Mattoni.
What does progressive politics look like across Central & Eastern Europe? In our chapter with Julia Rone, we explore the Baltic states, the Visegrád Group, the Western Balkans, Bulgaria and Romania.
doi.org/10.4337/9781...
Very proud to be in this cool new collection.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
The new book "Power and Protest in Central and Eastern Europe" takes a post-transition view on protest movements.
With 11 case—incl. our chapter on Bulgaria—it covers Albania, Belarus, Czechia, Georgia, Hungary, N. Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia & Ukraine.
doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-77888-9
Very interesting topic! In Bulgaria, the last major anti-corruption protests coincided with Covid-19, yet authorities didn’t use restrictions to suppress them. Instead, ruling parties even staged their own protest. Perhaps its depending of what majority views about Covid-19.
04.03.2025 08:52 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
All data available here: crta.rs/en/massive-s...
28.02.2025 15:48 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
