Political Practices and Mechanisms of Influence on Public Perceptions of Science

The paper focuses on studying public attitudes toward science in Bulgaria and the role of political discourse in shaping public expectations and perceptions. The study's methodology includes an analysis of theoretical concepts and their empirical verification with data from a quantitative Eurobarometer survey (Special Eurobarometer 516) and a discourse analysis of the representation of the scientific sphere in the public debate. The Bulgarian social reality clearly shows a blurring of the role, nature, and participation of science in societal development, the imposition of populist societal expectations towards it, as well as political statements that abuse the reputation of the scientific sphere and its representatives.