SOCIAL CONFLICT, POPULAR PROTEST, AND VIOLENCE IN WWI BULGARIA

WWI created a global economic crisis, stimulating mass popular protests in all belligerent countries that undermined the state’s legitimacy and triggered the emergence of violence, reminiscing the coercive character of interwar European politics. A central component in this protest on the rear was women’s protests against the misery that ultimately culminated in a series of violent hunger riots denunciating the war effort and political elites. The present article follows this trend in the Bulgarian wartime experience by analyzing the transformation of economic hardships into women-led popular protest. The study focuses on the protesters’ political language and symbolical tactics to politicize everyday social suffering by framing it within the broader context of national solidarity and the war effort. The article argues that the wartime crisis exacerbated the pre-war class conflicts and stimulated mass popular dissent that empowered the women “in the rear” to challenge the state’s authority, insisting on economic redistribution and peace.