Balkan Blues - Consumer Politics after State Socialism Jung YusonPaperback softback

Balkan Blues explores how a state transitions from the collectivized production and distribution of socialism to the consumer-focused culture of capitalism. Taking Bulgaria as her focus, Jung shows how impoverished Bulgarians developed a consumer-oriented society and how the concept of "need" adapted in surprising ways to accommodate this new culture.Different legal frameworks arose to ensure the rights of vulnerable or deceived consumers. Yuson Jung considers the state as an economic agent in upholding rights and responsibilities in the shift to a global market.

All of these changes involved issues of responsibility, accountability, and civic engagement, which brought Bulgarians new ways of viewing both their identities and their Consumer advocacy NGOs and government officers scrambled to navigate unfamiliar EU-imposed models for consumer affairs departments.