site.bta90th Birth Anniversary of Sociologist Petar-Emil Mitev

Tuesday marks the 90th birth anniversary of prominent Bulgarian sociologist and political scientist Petar-Emil Mitev (1936-2023).

Born in Sofia on April 21, 1936, Mitev graduated in philosophy from Sofia University in 1958. He earned a PhD degree in 1972 and a doctorate in philosophical sciences in 1983. From 1960 to 2011, he was a lecturer at the University (as an associate professor from 1975 and a full professor from 1985), teaching courses in History of Philosophy, History of Sociology, History of Political Ideas, Political Ideologies, Political Analysis and Bulgarian Transition. He also headed the Centre for the Study of Ideologies at the Faculty of Philosophy (1988-1993 and 1995-2001).

He was a visiting professor at Yale University, the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of Oslo, the Andhra University in Visakhapatnam, India, the University of Surrey, England, and the Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Between 1972 and 1988, Prof. Mitev was director of the Research Institute for Youth with the Central Committee of the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union, known as a nest of dissidents under the totalitarian regime.

He was President of the Sociology of Youth Research Committee 34 of the International Sociological Association (ISA) (1982-1986), member of the Committee's Advisory Board (1998-2002), and member of the ISA Research Coordinating Committee (1986-1990).

From 1991 to 1995 and from 1997 to 1999, Mitev chaired the Bulgarian Association of Sociology, and between 2004 and 2010 he was chair of the Specialized Scientific Council for Political Science. In 1997 he was among the co-founders of the Ivan Hadjiiski Institute for Social Value and Structures and chaired the Institute's Board until his death.

Prof. Mitev was among the most prominent internationally acclaimed researchers of Karl Marx's theoretical legacy and one of the pioneers of Bulgarian sociology of youth, as well as a world renowned analyst of the Bulgarian transition to democracy. His analyses of current political affairs in Bulgaria and the world were extensively covered in the print, broadcast and online media. He led over thirty national and international research projects on issues of youth, contemporary political processes and social transformations, the history of philosophical, sociological and political ideas. Mitev authored and co-authored dozens of research works, including Social Progress and Youth (1969), Sociology Facing the Problems of Youth (1982), From a Social Problem to Worldview Discoveries (1984), Youth and Social Change (1988), Macedonia at a Crossroads (2008), Bulgarian Youth Facing Europe (1999), The Young People in European Bulgaria. Sociological Profile 2014 (2014), Bulgarians: Sociological Views (2016), The Transition. Political Science Perspectives (2017), Bulgarian Youth 2018/2019 (2019), Pushing Barriers (2021), and Karl Marx and After… (2023). Publications of his appeared in English, German, Russian and Serbian.

He was elected to the Seventh Grand National Assembly (1990-1991), where he chaired the Ethics Committee. He was a member of the presidency of the Supreme Party Council of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. In 2004, he was nominated for National Ombudsman by the Simeon II National Movement and backed by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, but ultimately lost to Ginyo Ganev.

Prof. Petar-Emil Mitev died in Sofia on September 12, 2023, aged 87.

Following is an English translation of the summary and excerpts of an interview that the sociologist granted to BTA in 2014, prompted by his latest in a series of studies on youth issues in Bulgaria:

"Prof. Petar-Emil Mitev: For First Time since Start of Transition, 'Freedom' Rather than 'Market Economy' Tops Young Bulgarians' Values Scale

 Sofia, December 5 [2014] (Lora Metanova of BTA) - For the first time since the start of the post-communist transition, young people in Bulgaria are ranking 'freedom' rather than 'the market economy' as the topmost European value, Prof. Petar-Emil Mitev said in a BTA interview. He is among the authors of Young People in European Bulgaria. Sociological Profile 2014, published in November. The book presents findings on Bulgaria as part of a large-scale youth survey by Gallup International, commissioned by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Speaking to BTA, Prof. Mitev outlined key trends emerging from several studies on youth. He finds growing evidence that a distinctly European generation is taking shape across the continent.

[…] Among his observations is a shift in European values: for the first time since the transition began, young people rank 'freedom' first, ahead of 'the market economy'. At the same time, business pursuits are increasingly shedding their association with quick or illicit gains, the sociologist noted.

The findings also include some worrying signals. Reported levels of corruption in the education system exceeded the pollsters' expectations, although they remain significantly lower than in countries such as Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo, he said.

Listening to music remains the top leisure activity among Bulgarian youth, just as in previous surveys conducted since the early years of the transition, followed by spending time with friends and watching television. 'The so-called "Gutenberg Galaxy" is facing a strong audiovisual challenge,' Mitev pointed out but added that 'society is still far from the bleak scenarios imagined by Ray Bradbury'.

The most significant shift identified by the study is the surge in internet use, which is now overtaking television as a preferred pastime. Young people primarily go online to communicate via social networks (81%). […] They also use the internet to download books and films (53%) and to read news (38%).

[…] The data produced quite a few surprises. Young Bulgarian Turks emerged as the most academically driven group. Meanwhile, the conservatism of young Roma respondents was reflected in the high importance they attach to a bride's virginity as a reason for marriage.

[…] Asked why two-thirds of respondents say they spend more than two hours a day online, with 80% primarily using social media, Mitev said that internet use is nearly universal among young Bulgarians (98%) and ethnic Turks (88%), and reaches about half of Roma youth (49%). Its primary function is communication and participation in social networks. Crucially, he noted, this tends to complement rather than replace face-to-face interaction. Going out with friends remains the second most popular leisure activity, underscoring the enduring importance of personal contact in shaping young people's identities.

[…] The broader trend, Mitev concluded, is toward greater independence among young people. The gradual decline of paternalism (the traditional reliance on parents) has been in evidence in sociological research since the 1960s. […] Unlike in many other European countries, young people in Bulgaria still tend to live with their parents, but largely for practical reasons. At the same time, they are increasingly making their own decisions on the most important issues in their lives."