This article seeks to address this gap in the literature by looking at the case of Bulgaria where organised crime emerged on the political agenda in the 1990s and since then has become one of the most politicised issues in domestic affairs. The interpretation of these developments which is presented here is based on analysis of the transformation of the Bulgarian state in the 1990s and particularly the reforms introduced under the neoliberal programme implemented in that period. The article suggests that the politicisation of organised crime cannot be solely explained with the rise of this type of criminality in the 1990s, or the external pressure to adopt anti-organised crime policies.

It argues that other factors related to the on-going political processes in Bulgaria also need to be taken into consideration. In such an expanded framework of analysis the anti-organised crime policies developed in Bulgaria between 1997 and 2007 can be interpreted as a result of an ideologically driven relocation of policies on crime from the social to the security policy area which may also explain their political exploitation and limited impact.