Commentary
Democratic Security
Decoding the Aliberal Temptation
23 October 2026
24 October 2026
Bulgaria’s presidential candidates offer different answers to the tension between Rumen Radev’s calls for restraint towards Russia and his government’s requests for NATO protection in the Black Sea. Who will reap the benefit?

Bulgaria’s presidential election this Sunday comes less than three weeks after drone attacks on merchant shipping off the country’s Black Sea coast.
For the candidates, the attacks raise the question of how Bulgaria should reconcile Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s calls for restraint towards Russia with the extra NATO protection his own government is requesting.
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Asen Hristov is a journalist based in Sofia, Bulgaria, covering business, economic and political developments in Bulgaria and Southeast Europe. A graduate of the University of Amsterdam, he explored post-Soviet conflicts, the Middle East and Lebanon’s political system in his academic work. Before entering journalism, he worked in public diplomacy.
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