One of the greatest problems faced by rural areas in Bulgaria today is depopulation. The main research question posed in this paper is whether such depopulated regions can benefit from the social and economic integration of ethnic and immigrant communities. A survey on public opinion was conducted in two regions: one developed (Stara Zagora District), and one lagging (Vidin District). It focused on the willingness of local communities to "welcome" newcomers, to cohabit with them and their awareness of the possibility of enriching local cultures with their specific cultural traditions and experience. Results show varying tendencies, depending on the regional socioeconomic level of development and degree of integration of the group. The survey directs the attention to significant social distances emerging in various regional communities between local populations, ethnic and/or immigrant communities. Conclusions reached show that ethnic and immigrant communities can be an important social and economic resource for Bulgarian villages. Nevertheless, this requires work predominantly on the structural level for providing opportunities and eliminating disadvantages, involving the introduction of improved integration and discrimination policies, legal framework and market opportunities, in order to foster better interethnic communication and trust, as an intrinsic quality of social capital, for overcoming existing barriers.

The paper aims to present key issues in the International Romani Movement (IRM), related to the instrumentalization of ethnic identity and politicization of ethnogenesis. The main argument is that the idea of the transnational non-territorial Roma nation combines traditional and novel aspects in nationbuilding. Ethnic identity, according to the interactionist and circumstantialist approach of Frederik Barth (1969), is a form of social organization, produced in the process of ascription and self-ascription, defined by the ethnic boundary, not the cultural enclosure. Accepting identity as dynamic and relational, we need to consider the process of interaction of the Romani movement with macrosocial political agendas (local, regional, national levels), as well as with the supranational (e.g. EU) level, and the influence of such interaction on the distribution of material and symbolic resources and ethnic representation. The strategic choice of positions of Romani activists and intellectuals is crucial for the future development of the movement. The paper concludes that a hybrid, in-between integrationist position is more viable than isolationism, victimhood and ethnic segregation.

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Language and discourse are basic tools in political mobilization, interaction, negotiation, and legitimization. This article discusses discourse as a form of social action in the processes of politicization of Romani ethnogenesis and in the construction of Romani nationhood. The main research questions focus on the political language that the International Romani Movement (IRM) has been seeking to forge (mainly in the last two decades), on the alternative frames it can provide, and its unifying potential, serving as the basis for collective national identity. This new political discourse is viewed as performing several functions: creating a sense of homogeneity, devising strategies for interaction and self-reflexivity, providing collective coping mechanisms against internal divisions or external threats, and aiming at positive representation through normative transformation. Answers are sought to questions regarding how old and new values, meanings and traditions should be embodied in the language of Romani ethnonationalism, or when dealing with taboo and sensitive issues. A multiperspectival framework has been applied to analyse interviews, field data, and selected texts from Roma policy documents, media publications, and public speeches. Conclusions have been made regarding the choice of power relations Roma resolve to engage in and the contextual factors for achieving legitimacy.

Purpose and Methods: The paper traces the effects of the environment and other structural factors on individual health and illness, as analysed theoretically by Medical Sociology. More particularly, it focuses on the interplay between structural factors in sociology and individual agency, i.e. the extent to which one’s health is a matter of personal choice or affected by macrosocial factors, such as living conditions, social status, race/ethnicity, gender, age and etc. Results: An imaginary debate between an expanded economic view on health (Becker 1979) and a sociological perspective (Cockerham 2013) is staged to weigh out different standpoints and the insistence on the primacy of either of the factors. William Cockerham’s health lifestyles (2013) is analysed (an extension of the traditions of Max Weber and Pierre Bourdieu), as an interplay between life chances and life choices, stressing the primacy of structural factors, without disregarding individual agency, however, within the confines of particular structural restrictions. Discussion and conclusion: Criticism of Becker’s economic health perspective is provided. Additionally, the intersectionality of structural factors is examined and their mutual co-determination. Finally, a claim is made for the need to connect environmental health with preventive medicine.