Political Exploitation of Traditional Wrestling

By Petar Petrov
English

This paper focuses on wrestling competitions organized within the framework of public festivities in Bulgaria. Despite formal changes imposed by the State after 1944, wrestling is still perceived as a tradition by promoters and public. It is instrumentalized by political elites who try to pose as the guardians of “traditions” in order to gain prestige and faithfullness from the population. It is also used to convey political messages and to represent metaphorically antagonisms between politicians.

Keywords

  • sport
  • wrestling
  • tradition
  • politics
  • Bulgaria
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