The role of individuals in social movements: the rise of policy entrepreneurs in Bulgaria during the first Borisov Cabinet

ABSTRACT This article investigates the question of how policy entrepreneurs influence the behaviour of social movements. It does so by presenting a new framework for analyzing social movements or collective action that emphasises the important role of individuals. In particular, it offers a systematic study of social movement leaders using the literature of policy entrepreneurship. We identify five areas that should be considered when assessing how policy entrepreneurs can foster policy or political changes in their society: (1) the motivations of policy entrepreneurs, (2) variations in their goals, (3) the characteristics and abilities of policy entrepreneurs, (4) their strategies and (5) the potential outcomes. We then place these changes on a 6-point continuum ranging from least extreme to most extreme. In testing our theoretical framework using the case study of Bulgarian protests against the First Borisov Cabinet, we develop theoretical insights that could be generalised to other social movements worldwide.