What’s behind the Attitudes of the Ethnic Bulgarians in Reproductive Age towards Interethnic Marriages with Members of Bulgaria’s Turkish Community?

Lubomir Stoytchev; Ilona Tomova

doi:10.29333/ejecs/1902

Authors

Lubomir Stoytchev Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9264-6359
Ilona Tomova Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9553-239X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/1902

Keywords:

ethnic Bulgarians, Inter-Ethnic Marriage, Attitudes, Bulgaria’s Turks

Abstract

This piece of research investigates the determinants of ethnic Bulgarians’ attitudes towards interethnic marriages with members of Bulgaria’s Turkish community. A statistical analysis was conducted to examine the role of socio-demographic factors in shaping these attitudes. It discusses many factors but focuses on the statistically significant educational attainment, settlement type, family status, and net income. Higher levels of education do not necessarily lead to more tolerant attitudes towards interethnic marriages. Settlement type and family status emerge as influential determinants. Income is important in shaping attitudes, with the better-off households exhibiting higher approval rates to interethnic mixed marriages. These and other findings contribute to understanding interethnic attitudes and provide valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders working towards fostering social cohesion and inclusion.

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Author Biographies

Lubomir Stoytchev, Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Lubomir Stoytchev, Ph.D., is a senior assistant professor at the Institute for Population and Human Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He has held research fellowships at the University of Oxford, and the University of Oslo. Dr. Stoytchev has served as a consultant on ethnicity and race issues for international organizations, including the World Bank and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. He is a coauthor in two books and has published more than 40 articles on ethnicity and race, education, attitudes and distances, juvenile delinquency, and immigration in academic journals in Bulgaria, Slovenia, and the USA.

Ilona Tomova, Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Ilona Tomova, Ph.D., is a professor at the Institute for Population and Human Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She has held research fellowships at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Yale University, Collegium Budapest, and the University of Montreal. Prof. Tomova served as chief expert on ethnic and religious issues at the Office of the President of Bulgaria (1990–1997) and was deputy director of the Institute of Sociology at BAS (2004–2007). She has published seven books and numerous articles on race and ethnicity in academic journals across Europe and North America.

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