Liberalismus in feindlichen Ländern: der bulgarische Fall. Verbreitung österreichischer Ideen in Bulgarien zwischen Unabhängigkeit und dem Zweiten Weltkrieg[Liberalism in hostile lands: the Bulgarian case. Diffusion of Austrian ideas in Bulgaria between independence and World War II]

From independence in 1878 until World War II, Bulgaria meets the urgent need to solve issues of modernisation in the economy, institutions and political system. Liberal ideas are not always welcome, yet play an essential role in determining tastes of Bulgarian elites and economic policies. Such ideas spread from France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as from Russia and Germany. Two periods of development see liberal ideas become determinant. The first, from the independence to the Balkan wars (1878-1912), covers the reestablishment and construction of a modern Bulgarian State. Ideas of classical French liberalism are a major tool to frame the economy. During the Interwar period (1919-1939), the strong influence of the Austrian economic school is solid in departments of political economy in universities. This process is further amplified by the activity of many Bulgarian and Russian immigrants who studied under Menger or Peter Struve or who received their influence.