Private Security Guards as a Socio-Professional Group in Bulgaria

Abstract

Under the process of democratization and development of a market economy in Bulgaria after 1989 the private security sector has grown up rapidly and covered many spheres of security services provision, which used to be exclusively dominated by the public security forces (police or militia before 1989). Some authors have described this process as the privatization of security and raised the question about the implications of this practice for state building and good governance (Schreier/Caparini 2005). These are extremely important questions particularly in the context of the transformation of Bulgarian society and general security sector reform.

The opinions expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors and do not necessary reflect the official position of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense.