This paper will analyze the transformation processes in Bulgaria in order to determine which are the most influential factors leading to the sharp decline in the defense industry, and its costs—and benefits in the form of military conversion—to Bulgarian development. Secondly, it will analyze options for the re-deployment of the VPK’s infrastructure and potential. It will identify opportunities for the utilization of this gigantic complex for national productivity and assess its potential in future Research and Development (R&D) in Bulgaria.
Several issues will be covered in this paper, as follows:
• a review of the relevant theoretical concepts which inform this study;
• an analysis of the processes involved in restructuring the Bulgarian VPK;
• an analysis of similar processes in other Central and Eastern European
Countries (CEECs) as well as in other western countries;
• a clarification of the role of the state;
• a macroframework of the functioning of the VPK and the international
environment.