Abstract № 1 (87) 2021
Power
Pavroz A.V. Contradictions in perceiving corruption by Russia’s population and its presentation in the official discourse // Socium i vlast’. 2021. № 1 (87). P. 7—21. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-07-21.
Abstract
Introduction. The problem of corruption continues to be relevant in Russia. More research is needed to effectively combat corruption. Studying corruption in the context of general issues of contemporary Russian politics is particularly relevant in this regard.
Purpose. The article is aimed at disclosing contradictions associated with perceiving corruption by the population of Russia and its representation in the official discourse.
Methods. The author uses the following methods: analysis of statistical data, analysis of the results of public opinion polls, and discourse analysis.
Scientific novelty of the research. The article demonstrates the discrepancy between citizens’ perceptions of corruption and their attitudes regarding power and the political regime. The author shows the inconsistency of the official discourse on corruption in Russia.
Results. The article reveals the peculiarities of perceiving corruption by the population of Russia. Citizens’ perceptions of corruption correlate with their attitudes towards power and political regime. The author shows the key features of depicting corruption in the official discourse.
Conclusions. Widespread perceptions of high levels of corruption have little impact on public support for the Russian political regime. In the mass consciousness, there is no understanding of the connection between corruption, an ineffective economy and a low standard of the population’s living. Corruption is not a significant factor in protest moods, although many causes of social discontent are somehow related to corruption. Reflections of corruption in official discourse are incomplete and internally inconsistent. The approaches to combating corruption proclaimed in the official discourse are not fully implemented in the current anti-corruption policy.
Key concepts:
corruption,
public opinion,
official discourse,
political regime,
Russia
Kirchanov M.V. The intellectual community as a critic of political elites: Georgian experience of the second half of the 2010s // Socium i vlast’. 2021. № 1 (87). P. 22—31. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-22-31.
Abstract
Introduction. The author believes that the relationship between power and intellectuals can range from the active participation of the intelligentsia in politics to the disillusionment of the intellectual community in politics and in the ruling elites. The author analyzes the process in Georgian contexts. It is assumed that politics as a process has ceased to attract public interest, despite a dynamic political life.
Purpose. The purpose of the article is to analyze the process of public disillusionment with politics in the modern Georgian intellectual community.
Methods. Methodologically, the article is based on the principles of analyzing intellectual communities with the elements of the universal method of historicism and a comparative approach, which make it possible to identify and systematize the main features of the process of depoliticization of Georgian society.
Scientific novelty. The author presents a new interpretation of the role of intellectuals in the processes of social disappointment in politics, based on the analysis of original sources in the Georgian language.
Results. It is presumed that 1) Georgian intellectual community in the second half of the 2000s began to lose active interest in its own participation in politics; 2) political parties are also forced to acknowledge the crisis of loyalty because the elites and society develop independently, and their interests coincide rarely; 3) culture became an alternative project that attracts civil society more than real politics; 4) the active political participation of the Church assists to the erosion of political culture, forcing intellectuals to become disillusioned with politics, perceived as a clannish and corrupt sphere of activity.
Conclusions. It is shown that disillusionment with politics in the second half of the 2000s and the gradual migration of intellectuals to cultural practices replaced the politicization of intellectual communities, which determined the main vectors of Georgian development in the previous period.
Key concepts:
Georgia,
politics,
elites,
intellectuals,
depoliticization
ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT
Korotina N.Yu. Institutionalism of economic federalism relations // Socium i vlast’. 2021. № 1(87). P. 32—40. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-32-40.
Abstract
Introduction. The article deals with the problem of institutionalism of economic federalism relations.The institutional approach to studying economic federalism makes it possible to study economic federalism as a complex structured institution based on describing the interaction of the existing institutions of federalism, its structures and mechanisms.The purpose of the article is to consider economic federalism from the standpoint of the institutional approach.
Methods. In the article, the author uses general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction in the context of applying the institutional approach when studying the economic federalism relations.
Scientific novelty. In the article, for the first time, the author highlights the elements of institutional regulation of the economic federalism system; has introduced the criterion for dividing the economic federalism institutions into formalized and non-formalized ones.
Results. The author justifies the possibility of using the institutional approach when studying economic federalism, formulates the concept of “institution of federalism”, discloses the content of the institutional regulation of federal relations, presents for the first time the institutional design of the economic federalism system in terms of identifying subject areas and functions of economic federalism institutions, the spheres of institutionalization of economic federalism and economic consequences of institutional regulation. The author introduces the criterion of universality, which makes it possible to divide the institutions of economic federalism into formalized and non-formalized ones.
Conclusions. The system of economic federalism presupposes the presence of institutions as stable norms, rules, procedures, organizational mechanisms governing the interaction of federalism participants, which gives the relations of economic federalism an institutional setting. Institutions of federalism both restrict and stimulate the daytoday action of its participants. For the effective functioning of the economic federalism system, it is necessary to search for the optimal ratio of formalized (universal) and non-formalized (electoral) federalism institutions.
Key concepts:
economic federalism,
institutions of economic federalism,
institutional regulation,
institutionalism
Pletnev D.A., Basyrova D.M. The influence of university science on the Russian regions’ development // Socium i vlast’. 2020. № 1 (87). P. 41—59. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-41-59.
Abstract
Introduction. One of the drivers of the Russian regions’ development is traditionally considered to be local universities and the scientific activity development, in particular. However, such a belief is usually based on speculative conclusions and is not subjected to detailed empirical testing. The purpose of the study is to assess the relationship between the development of science in universities in Russian regions and indicators of regional development according to 2017—18 data.
Methods. The authors use methods of generalization, grouping, assessment of indicators of central tendency and variations, as well as methods of correlation analysis. The study is based on the data from regional statistics presented on the official website of Russian Statistics Agency, as well as data from monitoring the universities effectiveness, commissioned by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
Scientific novelty of the research. For the first time, the authors present an empirical analysis of the relationship between indicators of socioeconomic development of Russian regions and indicators of scientific activity in universities in the region. The study is characterized by using a sample of homogeneous regions. The sample excluded regions that did not have significant scientific results, as well as regions that are leaders in economic development. As a result, a “core” of 57 Russian regions with similar characteristics of both economic development and the results of scientific activity was investigated. This increased the practical significance of the conclusions and their reliability.
Results. As a result of the study, it was found out that there is a statistically significant relationship between all indicators of regional development and science in universities. However, a deeper analysis made it possible to establish that this relationship is indirect. In some cases, we can talk about the opposite influence - regional development on scientific results in universities.
Conclusions. It was found that the indicators used in the public administration system for assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of scientific activity are not key in terms of their impact on regional development. It was revealed that publications in leading world databases and in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) are equally related to regional development. It has been determined that in a number of cases, within the considered sample, it is possible to distinguish two groups of regions with a different nature of the relationship between regional development and science in universities.
Key concepts:
regional development,
gross regional product,
regional university,
publication activity,
RSCI
Zabelina I.A., Parfenova K.V. Development of the Far East regions: mechanisms of accelerated economic growth // Socium i vlast’. 2020. № 1 (87). P. 60—75. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-60-75.
Abstract
Introduction. At present, the issues of the Far East accelerated economic development remain in the focus of the state attention. Among the key mechanisms of state policy is the formation of advanced development territories (ADT). The article sets the task of studying the impact of the institutional measures taken on the welfare and the population’s life quality in the Far Eastern territories. Particular attention is paid to studying migration processes and analyzing the economic activity of the Far East population. The purpose of the article is to study the effects of implementing mechanisms for accelerated economic growth, as well as assess their impact on the life quality in the Far East regions.
Methods. The authors use the following methods: economic and mathematical modeling, computational and analytical methods, comparative and spatial analysis.
Scientific novelty of the research. For a comprehensive assessment of the regional well-being, the authors propose to supplement the multiplicative model based on the A. Sen’s extended welfare function with a composite ecological index. It takes into account the ecological conditions of human life, which are an important aspect of well-being. The authors obtain ecologically adjusted indicators of well-being for the eastern regions of the Russian Federation and study their dynamics, as well as the relations with the data on the population’s migration activity during the formation of new institutions of advanced development in the East of the country.
Results. The authors find out that most of the Far Eastern territories are still lagging behind the average Russian level in socio-economic development. The results of assessing the level of well-being of regions on the basis of a multiplicative model without taking into account the environmental factor show that the most prosperous areas are raw materials-based territories. It is shown that the role of environmental factors in the life quality in the Far Eastern territories of Russia is very significant - the ecologically adjusted level of well-being is noticeably lower than the indicator that does not take into account this aspect of well-being. The authors reveal that socio-economically disadvantaged regions with difficult natural and climatic living conditions have very high rates of migration outflow. Their coefficients of migration loss reflect the presence of a crisis in economic development, which has been increasing in recent years. An analysis of trends in economic activity shows a relationship between the dynamics of the number of employed and the implementation of ADT projects in the Far Eastern territories.
Conclusions. The conclusion is that the measures taken by the state for the advanced economic development of the eastern territories of the country have not yet had a noticeable positive impact on the welfare and life quality in the Far East regions.
Key concepts:
the Far East regions,
advanced development territories (ADT),
social well-being,
migration processes,
the population’s ecological living conditions
Artemova O.V., Savchenko A.N., Uzhegov A.O. Quality of life in Russian megacities: searching for urban development opportunities // Socium i vlast’. 2020. № 1 (87). P. 76—89. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-76-89.
Abstract
Introduction. Cities play a key role in the development of countries and regions. The authors of the article emphasize the importance of the largest cities’ development, which is based on an industrial model that has not exhausted its potential. The authors show possibilities of urban development on the basis of the industrial sector effective functioning in order to improve the citizens’ welfare, meet their needs and improve the life quality. In this regard, the authors formulate a hypothesis that the largest Russian cities developing according to the industrial model have and are able to realize their potential in order to improve the life quality, preserve and increase the population on their territory. The authors set a goal: to identify the possibilities for developing industrial-type megalopolises to improve the population’s life quality of the (PLQ).
Methods. The authors use the following information base: strategic documents of different levels, statistical data, scientific literature, analytical documents, and expert assessments of the megalopolises’ development. The authors also use an industrial model for developing the largest cities; they determine conditions under which the potential of megacities can be realized to improve the citizens’ life quality and carry out an analysis of the demographic and social situation in the largest Russian industrial cities. The authors evaluate some approaches and theses of the study as exemplified by the following cities with a million-plus population: Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Chelyabinsk, and Omsk and they group the cities according to the signs of growth and decline, which is illustrated by favorable or unfavorable demographic trends. To confirm the identified trends and problems of the largest cities, the authors provide the results of expert assessments on the population’s life quality and the state of the urban environment and emphasize the need for a systemic integrated development of the largest cities of industrial type to improve the life quality of the population of megalopolises.
The scientific novelty of the study consists in substantiating the prospects for the socio-economic development of the largest industrial cities of Russia on the basis of an industrial model that provides for the technological transformation of the economy, the use of agglomeration effects, the formation of a friendly urban environment for residents and the achievement of socialization of urban space.
Results and conclusions. As a result of the analysis and typology of the largest cities by functional specialization, two groups of cities were identified: one group with signs of demographic growth, the second with signs of decline. The cities of the first group have a greater economic potential, opportunities for agglomeration, provide more comfortable living and consolidation of the population on their territory. On the contrary, cities with signs of decreasing have fewer opportunities (resources), are less diversified, the urban environment in them is less comfortable, which is reflected in the citizens’ life quality and is accompanied by the population’s outflow. At the same time, it was revealed that all analyzed cities actively use digital technologies, realizing, in particular, the concept of a «smart city». At the same time, cities with signs of decreasing show high IQ indicators of cities. Taking into account the identified problems, the authors propose promising directions for the development of industrial megalopolises with signs of decline.
Key concepts:
urban environment,
industrial model,
the population’s life quality,
megapolis,
growing city,
development strategy,
decreasing city,
smart city
Lukin A.N., Voropanov V.A., Orlov P.A., Yatsun A.N. Using personnel key performance indicators in state and municipal service // Socium i vlast’. 2020. № 1 (87). P. 90—102. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-90-102.
Abstract
Introduction. The need for a transition to a new system of motivating state and municipal employees’ activities has been widely discussed in recent years. Moreover, some government bodies have taken certain actions in this direction. But in general, there have not been any significant changes. The authors of the article are convinced that the transition to more effective management is impossible without changing the civil servants’ remuneration system, which should motivate them to achieve significant results in the areas for which they are responsible. The paper considers the conceptual approach of transferring the civil servants’ remuneration to a new system, shows the advantages of using performance indicators to stimulate the employees’ activities. The purpose of the article is to justify the reasonability of using performance indicators when remunerating state and municipal employees.
Methods. Within the framework of the systems approach, the authors use structural and functional analysis, as well as general scientific methods: abstraction, comparison, description and explanation.
Scientific novelty. The authors show possibilities of using the personnel performance indicators in the state and municipal service in order to increase their motivation for obtaining significant results in their work.
Results. The authors analyze the conditions for successful implementing the key personnel performance indicators in the state and municipal service, describe the typical mistakes militating the effectiveness of the personnel performance indicators in public authorities. The authors develop some recommendations to improve the use of the personnel performance indicators in the system of state and municipal administration.
Conclusions. The proper use of key performance indicators of state and municipal employees will significantly increase their motivation in order to achieve high efficiency in their work. At the same time, the personnel performance indicators must be balanced and matched taking into account the goals of the organization.
Key concepts:
motivation of activity,
performance indicators,
public service,
municipal service,
performance evaluation
CULTURE
Maltsev Ya.V. Yu.M. Fedorov’s ethics as part of the Tyumen ethical and philosophical research tradition (in the context of modern times) // Socium i vlast’. 2020. № 1 (87). P. 103—115. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-103-115.
Abstract
Introduction. In the Russian philosophical tradition, domestic philosophical concepts are rather poorly considered at the moment. In fact, there is no coverage of regional specific features: the problems that worried and united Russian philosophers within the boundaries of one or another temporalterritorial locality. The purpose of the article is to consider the views of the Tyumen philosopher-ethicist Yuri Mikhailovich Fedorov in the context of their relevance at present and in the context of a continuous research tradition.
Methods. The author proceeds from the methods of hermeneutics, which are obligatory in this case, and also uses L. Laudan’s theory of research traditions, M. Foucault’s optics and the concept of permanent modernity.
Scientific novelty of the research. The author clarifies Yu.M. Fedorov’s views through the specified methodology, considering his works in the context of a continuing philosophical tradition, with a special emphasis on the methods of subjectification.
Results and conclusions. Taking into consideration the results of analytical reading of Yu.M. Fedorov’s key work “Universe of Morality”, it is concluded that the author’s concept, which combines the features of idealism, cosmism, structuralism, semiotics and existentialism, with some reservations (indicated in the article), suggests an adequate model of subjectification for a person of the XXI century.
Key concepts:
Yu.M. Fedorov,
permanent modernity,
ethics,
research tradition,
subjectivity,
cosmism
Shalagina G.E. Non-institutional humanities, philosophical practice, informal education: the contours of the educational creative industry // Socium i vlast’. 2020. № 1 (87). P. 116—126. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-116-126.
Abstract
Introduction. Non-institutional humanities, philosophical practice, and informal education are “a family like” phenomena that are outside the social institution of science and education and are adjacent to socio-cultural activities and social work. The purpose of the article is to outline the contours of the informal educational creative industry in the postmodern society, which combines non-institutional humanities, philosophical practice, and informal education.
Methods. The author uses the methods of autobiographical reflection, comparative analysis, empirical observation and analysis of the primary sources of non-institutional humanities.
Scientific novelty of the research. The transition to nonmaterial work of the postmodern era is the reason for the relevance of the area under study. The growing demand of a contemporary for such issues as the meaning of life, happiness, the growth of the precariat, the ousting of philosophy from formal education constitute a new social reality that determines the novelty of the research in the informal educational creative industry.
Results. The author classifies non-institutional humanities according to the spheres of its existence and the strategies of subject genesis presented in the teachings. The concept of dedifferentiation is considered as an explanation of the area under study in postmodernism. The specificity of the philosophical approach in the work of a practicing philosopher is considered.
Conclusions. The author connects the prospects of the informal educational creative industry with institutionalization in the way of leisure, entertainment, and other personal services. The author makes conclusions about the differences between formal and informal education, and indicates the risks and opportunities for the development of the informal philosophical sector.
Key concepts:
non-institutional humanities,
philosophical practice,
informal education,
informal educational creative industry,
dedifferentiation,
postmodernity
Doronina S.G. Studying the phenomenon of childhood philosophically: problems and prospects // Socium i vlast’. 2020. № 1 (87). P. 127—137. DOI: 10.22394/1996-0522-2021-1-127-137.
Abstract
Introduction. The author analyzes the problems and prospects of studying the phenomenon of childhood, justifies the specific features and advantages of philosophical approaches, makes an attempt to explicate the optimal methods and strategies of scientific inquiry, correlating with epistemological, ontological, axiological goals and assumptions of the modern paradigm, within which this phenomenon is problematized and reflexively comprehended. The purpose of the work is to identify the specific features of studying the phenomenon of childhood in the context of the philosophical approach.
Methods. The author makes use of general scientific research methods such as analysis and synthesis, serving as philosophical tools. Theoretical reconstruction and comparative analysis, as well as the hermeneutic method of reading texts were used to reveal the peculiarities of studying the phenomenon of childhood, its problems and prospects.
Scientific novelty of the study. The study highlights the specific features of studying the phenomenon of childhood; the advantages of philosophical methods and approaches focused on understanding and describing the object under study, creating an integrative idea about it; the author determines development prospects associated with eliminating asymmetric methods of interaction in scientific discourse, and forming interdisciplinary ties.
Results. During the research, the author identifies the current problems of studying the phenomenon of childhood philosophically, as well as the prospects for their solution related to the need to form an integrative idea of childhood in the context of interdisciplinary synthesis, using philosophical methods and approaches which make it possible to integrate children’s experience into research discourse, without going beyond the framework of scientific strategies.
Conclusions. The philosophical study of the phenomenon of childhood covers a wide range of problems, the solution of which involves searching for answers related, first, to the epistemological and methodological aspects of learning childhood experience; secondly, with ontological, existential and axiological contexts of research. Strategies of philosophical research are aimed at systemic learning the phenomenon of childhood, at tracing the relations between methods, epistemological, ontological, axiological and other assumptions on which cognition is based, and the formation of conceptual ideas about childhood, participating in the constitution of the “adult – child” relations, educational practices in society and culture.
Key concepts:
the phenomenon of childhood,
epistemology of childhood,
rediscovery of childhood,
philosophical methods,
dialectical development,
dialogue,
interdisciplinary research
