This article defines the term "partocentrism" and offers an overview of the depictions of the political parties in Bulgarian and Serbian literature at the turn of the 20th century. As Bulgaria and Serbia regained their political independence in the 19th century, they transitioned from Ottoman absolutism to constitutional monarchy. This transition switched the Bulgarian and Serbian people's focus from the ethnic group to the political party system and thus created new communal loyalties that divided the Bulgarian and Serbian societies. The new parties took a central place not only in political, but also in literary life. The Bulgarian and Serbian writers promptly recognized the importance of the emerging partocentrism and subjected the bourgeois political parties and partisanship to scrutinizing critique.
