Is degrowth emerging in Bulgaria? A case study on degrowth practices and ideas at the local level

Abstract: Degrowth scholars have been criticised for focusing too much on theory and macro-level of analysis, giving less attention to actual degrowth practices that happen at the local level. This thesis aims to make a contribution to this second field of degrowth research. Drawing on a practice theory approach, the objective of the study was to find whether degrowth practices and ideas have the potential to disrupt existing institutional arrangements in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Plovdiv is currently one of the two European Capitals of Culture for 2019 and has introduced degrowth-related ideas and practices in its Programme of events. This curious emergence of degrowth prompted the conduct of this study, which was explored by conducting onsite interviews, analysing official documents, and making field observations. The empirical evidence was analysed via the thematic analysis approach. The findings show the existing institutional arrangements could indeed be disrupted by connecting the Plovdiv concept of ayliak with notions of wellbeing and by tapping into the local mentality of Plovdiv and using existing degrowth-related practices to propagate degrowth. It was also found that the European Capital of Culture currently has negligible effects on degrowth implementation despite the promotion of degrowth in its Programme.