Ivaylo Dinev

Call for Expressions of Interest for the #KonKoop Early Career Lab (ECL) Looking for a research community focused on conflict and cooperation (South)Eastern Europe, Central Asia, or the Caucasus? The free ECL, coordinated by the IOS, provides various opportunities for PhDs & early post-docs! 👇 1/3

The project 'Collaborative Data Network with Eastern Europe' #KoDaNetOst serves as a platform for anyone conducting research in, with and on Eastern Europe. One milestone recently went online: the KoDaNetOst Catalog of Conflict and Cooperation Datasets! 🔗 Try it out: konkoop.de/kodanetost-c...

Happy to have contributed to a feature in De Groene Amsterdammer on Gen Z protest movements around the world. We discussed youth-led protests in the Balkans, the historical role of young people, and how Gen Z differs from the Occupy generation.

My thoughts for the mass protests in Albania in an interview for Deutsche Welle: These protests are an attempt to renegotiate the social contract. The key question is not only how large the protests are, but whether this unprecedented civic energy can be transformed into lasting political change.

Glad that our paper on workers’ protest in Europe is part of this fascinating special issue on new insights into global labour. We are in great company, with papers covering South Africa, Sweden, Belarus, Brazil, Lebanon, Germany, Italy, and beyond. Introduction 👇

This is how Bulgaria welcomes its Eurovision winner - DARA. Absolutely incredible. ❤️

🇧🇬 It seems like for the first time ever, #Bulgaria could win the #Eurovision Song Contest! Amazing performance by #Dara — and so much love from our Balkan neighbors in the YouTube comments. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mxq...

Read our new #KonKoop DataLab Blog post ⤵️ Celebrating diversity does not always equate to agency for ethnic minorities, researcher Tinatin Khomeriki finds. In her anthropological exploration of the Tbilisoba festival in #Georgia’s capital, she questions the 'souvenirisation' of cultural heritage.

My thoughts on the political situation in Slovenia ↓

Missed the last ipb debate on #GenZ in the Streets – #Protest, #Mobilisation, and Success in #Bulgaria and #Serbia? Here are a few impressions. Once again, many thanks to our speakers @ivodinev.bsky.social and Iskra Krstić, and Johanna Raphaela Wahl for the moderation 💐 More events: buff.ly/agLyHMc

We’ll be discussing the results of the Bulgarian elections on May 7th in the company of great scholars. Join us by writing to jean-michel.de.waele@ulb.be

Recent elections in Bulgaria make this debate especially timely. Join us!

Join us to discuss what is going on in Bulgaria and Serbia.

Let’s discuss two massive protest waves reshaping political dynamics in Serbia and Bulgaria and what they reveal about contemporary movements worldwide.

Upcoming ipb debate 📣 On 23 April at 4:00 pm, @ivodinev.bsky.social ( @zois.bsky.social ) will speak about the #GenZ #protests in #Bulgaria and #Serbia, focusing on their aims and outcomes. Please register by April 22nd to participate in this online event: buff.ly/9acWinZ More info: buff.ly/eU9ChGS

“Serbia’s youth are protesting with a strategy that the West has almost forgotten.” I said this in an interview with the German outlet Krautreporter. More and more, I am convinced that the rest of the world has much to learn from the civic energy and democratic resilience of Balkan societies.

It will be a pleasure to discuss the protest waves in the Balkan region at the American University in Bulgaria.

Our open-access article in @socmovstudies.bsky.social presents new dataset of workers’ protests in Europe since Covid-19. We find: • High levels of protest • Two alliance patterns • Diverging protest repertoires • Cross-national differences in public vs. private sector mobilization

2025 was a year of the protest in the Balkans. From Serbia to Greece, N Macedonia and Bulgaria, to name the most massive waves. A short summary in Greek.

Thursday the 5th of February at 18:00 Registration: jean-michel.de.waele@ulb.be

Some Gen Z protest waves fail to translate into political outcomes, while others succeed. Bulgaria’s ended with a government resignation in under 3 weeks. I discuss the key factors that made this protest a success story: from organisation to political opportunity. Spotlight for @zois.bsky.social

What is going on in Bulgaria? An in-depth article by the independent Spanish media CTXT, including an interview with me, on the mass protests, the role of Gen Z, and the current political crisis.

Mass protests in Bulgaria forced a government resignation, showing their effectiveness. Yet resignations often act as safety valves, letting ruling parties to regroup. Since 1989, this has locked the country in a recurring cycle of crisis and protest without breaking underlying power structures.

Tonight, Sofia is seeing its largest demonstration since 1990. Rallies are unfolding across the country against state capture and corruption, demanding the government’s resignation and new elections.

The law of Bulgarian democracy: the arrogance of the political class is restrained only by mass protest. At least 50,000 people marched yesterday in Sofia, with several thousand more in cities across the country.

Democracy without protests? In parts of Europe, that’s unimaginable. Protest is not an isolated episode – it has shaped the political order for almost four decades through recurring cycles of crisis, mobilization, and renewal. I call it protest democracy. Read it here in @zois.bsky.social Spotlight👇

Our new article is out in Social Movement Studies! We compare workers’ protests in Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy & Romania – from protest tactics to building alliances after Covid-19. It presents the first comparative data of workers’ protests since Covid-19, based on local sources.