Lesson 1 Global ethnic crisis
Lesson 1
Global ethnic crisis
Tasks:
1. Form an idea of the ethnic crisis as a global problem for humanity.
2. Consider the anatomy of the ethnic crisis through the prism of geography.
3. Develop skills in working with textbook text: separating main information from secondary information, restating it in your own words, systematizing it.
4. Develop group work skills: exchanging information, developing a joint solution, presenting to the class.
5.Cultivate interest in the world around us and the events taking place in it.
How did this become possible: the enlightened 21st century,
multicultural world, global Internet network,
Al Jazeera, CNN, quarks, plasma, DNA mysteries
and space, but humanity has not become any more tolerant,
neither more humane nor smarter, and religion does not soften morals,
but becomes an additional line of division in society.
Valeria Novodvorskaya, journalist
"New Time", No. 6, 2006.
Activation of cognitive activity
Students are asked to recall previously learned material.
What is the modern world like?
What is he like? What trends are characteristic of it?
Trends:
1. “Narrowing of the world” - the possibility of faster movement in space, a temporary “shortening” of distances due to the technical capabilities of modern transport.
2. Formation of sustainable economic ties between countries of the world at two levels: international and transnational. International relations are carried out between states at the level of heads of state, government and other government organizations. Transnational connections are carried out at the level of transnational corporations through a network of their subsidiaries and branches.
3.Deep development and penetration of communication systems into all spheres of human life.
Conclusion: These trends lead to the world becoming compact, accessible, and transparently viewable. The world is shrinking to a point.
Along with the trends of unification and integration, the world is experiencing processes of regionalization: the rise of nationalism and “sovereignization”. There is a tendency towards self-determination, self-identification of countries and peoples. There is a growth and deepening of national-ethnic problems.
New material
Give examples of “hot spots” on the planet.
Working with the “Hot Spots of the Planet” map.
The problem of the ethnic crisis is global in nature.
Confirm that the problem is truly global. (It is characterized by all three features: it arose as a result of the development of society, it impedes the further development of humanity and threatens the existence of the world community, it can only be solved by the efforts of all countries of the world.).
Prove that the problem of the ethnic crisis concerns every person.
(Terrorism has become one of the forms of manifestation of the global ethnic crisis. People of different nationalities, religions and life principles become victims of terrorist attacks.)
Organization of work in groups.
Work in groups.
Each group has 5 people.
Duration of work in groups is 15-17 minutes.
Each group receives a task.
1. Read the text of the textbook pp. 226-233. Distribute tasks among group members yourself:
Text “The principle of identity of state and national borders” and “The movement of nations towards self-determination and the desire to form supernations”, pp. 226-227.
Text “Aging” of nations and destabilization of interethnic relations”, p.228-229.
Assimilation and depopulation of ethnic minorities”, p.229-230.
- “Ecology and ethnic strife”, “Other factors “provoking” outbreaks of nationalism”, pp. 230-232.
- “Tribalism - an old disease of Africa”, pp. 232-233.
2. As you read, highlight the main points in the text, establish relationships and patterns, and, if necessary, make notes in your notebook.
3. Prepare to present your work to the group.
4. Look at Figure 41 on p. 224. Answer the questions.
What reasons, in your opinion, most often provoke ethnic conflicts in the modern world? Try to systematize the causes of conflicts by region. Does the level of development of countries matter?
Is it possible to systematize forms of manifestation by region? Does the level of development of countries matter?
Generalization
Questions about the possibility of systematizing the factors and forms of manifestation of ethnic conflicts are brought up for discussion in the class. Options for systematization and arguments are heard.
Possible conclusions:
1. The factor is largely determined by the age of the population, which depends on the demographic situation in the country, the ethnic mosaic of the territory, and the latest political processes taking place in this territory.
2. In developed countries, the forms of manifestation of the ethnic crisis are predominantly “peaceful” in nature, while in developing countries there is armed confrontation. The question of why in Europe forms of expression develops from peaceful to armed is discussed. (Perhaps this is explained by the high number of foreign citizens. Along with the migration of foreigners, forms of expression also “migrate.”).
One of the systematization options
Homework:
Group 1.
Carefully read the text of topic 12 “Global ethnic crisis”. Compile as complete a dictionary of concepts and terms as possible. Use additional literature and the Internet.
Group 2.
Make a catalog of Internet resources on the “hot” spots of the planet. Write a short summary of the links. Organize your information. Choose the method of systematization yourself.
Group 3.
Compile a bibliographic catalog of information materials (articles, messages) on the topic “Global Ethnic Crisis” that confirm the existence of a problem in the world. Write a short summary for each bibliographic reference.
Group 4.
Confirm that ethnic conflicts exist on Russian territory. Present information messages in the form of a table (define the form and content yourself).
Group 5.
Make a list of ways to resolve ethnic conflicts in the world. Evaluate their advantages and disadvantages. Present the results of your work in a form convenient for work.
Lesson 2
Global ethnic crisis. Presentation of the results of work in groups.
Tasks:
1. Expand knowledge on the topic using the results of the groups’ work.
2. Develop skills in working with oral information: perception, highlighting the main thing, recording.
Presentation of the results of the group's work
Message order:
1. Present the assignment to the class.
2. Actions to complete the task.
3. Results of the task.
Group presentation order:
1. Dictionary of concepts and terms.
2. Bibliographic list of media information.
3. Catalog of Internet resources.
The results of the work of groups to identify areas of ethnic tension in Russia are examined in more detail. Each group member gives a detailed report. Answers clarifying questions.
Particular attention is paid to ways of resolving ethnic conflicts, which are not systematized in the textbook. The results of the group's work are discussed.
Commenting on homework
Each student is asked to consider one of the ethnic conflicts in more detail and enter the information in a table.
Lesson 3
Russia and the global ethnic crisis
Tasks:
1. Expanding knowledge on the topic through working with additional information.
2. Development of skills in analyzing information, collating it and presenting it to the audience.
3. Bringing students to understand the problem of the ethnic crisis as personally significant.
Here is one of the darkest predictions for the future:
unless "whites" and "non-whites" learn to live side by side,
will stoop to mutual accusations and settling scores,
will not understand the value of mutual understanding; if racial wars enter our lives, then the 21st century will become even more tragic than the past century we experienced. Although it would seem much more tragic.
Apollo Davidson, professor at Moscow State University
Presentation to the class of the results of individual work on an advanced task.
The message "Islamization of the modern world."
Task: make notes in your notebook as the message progresses. Causes of Islamization of the world, centers, ways of spread, methods of solution. Does this problem concern Russia? What measures does the state need to take?
Organization of work in groups
Groups receive tasks
Group 1.
This group's assignment is not presented to the class,
Will be checked by the teacher at the end of the lesson.
Group 2.
Group 3.
Please review the information provided. Give arguments in favor of those who consider the problem far-fetched. Propose measures to preserve the Kaliningrad region as part of the Russian Federation and educate Kaliningrad residents as loyal citizens of the country.
Group 4.
Look at Figure 42 on page 234 of the textbook. Determine, using conventional signs, the severity of interethnic relations in the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug of the Irkutsk Region. To what extent do you think the upcoming referendum on the unification of two subjects - the Irkutsk region and the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug - will help solve the problem of interethnic relations. Justify your point of view. Present the results of your work in a convenient form.
Group 5.
On April 16, 2006, a referendum will be held on the unification of two subjects - the Irkutsk region and the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug. Study the information provided. Guess what the voting results will be. Is it possible in the future, if the voting results are positive, that national problems will worsen? What measures need to be taken to maintain a stable situation. Present the results in a convenient form.
Groups present the results of their work.
Discussion of the results of the groups' work.
Reflection
Write an essay of 5-7 sentences on the topic “Could the 21st century become a century of nationalism and separatism for the world and Russia? What to do?". State your point of view and try to justify it.
Group 4
Look at Figure 42 on page 234 of the textbook.
Determine, using conventional signs, the severity of interethnic relations in the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug of the Irkutsk Region.
To what extent do you think the upcoming referendum on the unification of two subjects - the Irkutsk region and the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug - will help solve the problem of interethnic relations.
Justify your point of view. Present the results of your work in a convenient form.
For reference:
Subject information
Irkutsk region
National composition:
Russians – 88.5%
Buryats – 3.1%
National composition:
Buryats – 39.6%
Russians – 54.4%
Group 1.
You are offered an initial situation (country, group of countries, etc.) where an ethnic conflict may occur. Project factors that may cause conflict, suggest forms of manifestation and suggest methods of resolution. Write your answer in the form of a diagram (there may be several of them for one situation). If possible, provide real examples of conflict situations that follow the schemes you propose.
Situation 1. A developing country with a multi-ethnic population.
Situation 2. A developed country in the world in which the number of foreigners is rapidly growing.
Situation 3. A country formed as a result of the collapse of a larger power. It has a multinational population and is characterized by bilingualism.
Group 5
On April 16, 2006, a referendum will be held on the unification of two subjects - the Irkutsk region and the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug.
Study the information provided.
Is it possible in the future, if the voting results are positive, that national problems will worsen? What measures need to be taken to maintain a stable situation.
Present the results in a convenient form.
Subject information
Irkutsk region
The population is 2 million 582 thousand people, including the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug.
National composition:
Russians – 88.5%
Buryats – 3.1%
Other nationalities – 8.4%
Of all the Buryats, 66.6% live in the territory of the Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug, the rest are located throughout the region.
The unemployment rate in the Irkutsk region is 15.1% (2002). The average per capita income per person is 1,682 rubles (2002). The poor make up 29.9%.
Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug
The population is 135 thousand people.
National composition:
Buryats – 39.6%
Russians – 54.4%
Other nationalities – 6.0%.
The unemployment rate in the Autonomous Okrug is 14.9%. The average per capita income per person is 473 rubles (2002). The poor make up 89.4%.
Group 2.
There is an opinion that the Kaliningrad region may become a territory of ethnic conflict.
Please review the information provided. Give arguments in favor of those who consider a conflict possible in the Kaliningrad region. Suggest what factor may become a conflict-generating factor. Suggest measures to prevent the situation from escalating.
Group 3.
There are polar points of view on the possibility of an ethnic conflict arising in the Kaliningrad region: some are in favor, others are against.
Please review the information provided. Give arguments in favor of those who consider the problem far-fetched. Propose measures to preserve the Kaliningrad region as part of the Russian Federation and educate Kaliningrad residents as loyal citizens of the country.
ETHNIC CONFLICTS IN THE MODERN WORLD
Conflicts associated with the aggravation of interethnic relations have become an indispensable attribute of the modern world. They flare up on all continents of our planet: in countries, both developed and developing, in areas of the spread of any religious teachings, in areas with different levels of wealth and education.
Numerous sources of ethnic conflicts - from global (Kurdish, Palestinian, Kosovo, Chechen) to local and specific (everyday contradictions between people of different nationalities within a city, town, village) - give rise to instability, which is increasingly difficult to contain within state borders. Confrontations between ethnic groups almost always involve, to one degree or another, neighboring ethnic groups, and often distant centers of power, including such large-scale geopolitical players as the USA, Russia, Great Britain, India, and China.
Concept conflict translated from Latin means "collision". Signs of conflict manifest themselves in a clash of forces, parties, and interests. The object of conflict can be either a fragment of material, socio-political or spiritual reality, as well as territory, its depths, social status, distribution of power, language and cultural values. In the first case, it is formed social conflict, in the second - territorial. An ethnic conflict that takes place between ethnic groups - groups of people who have a common historical and cultural foundation and occupy a certain spatial area - is a territorial conflict.
The whole range of problems related to them is studied geographic conflictology - a scientific direction that studies the nature, essence, causes of conflicts, patterns of their occurrence and development based on interaction with spatial (geographical) factors. Geographic conflictology uses knowledge of philosophy, history, sociology, law, political science, psychology, ethnology, biology, economics, political geography and geopolitics, physical and social geography.
Any conflict is characterized by uneven development over time. Periods latent(hidden) its development is replaced by segments of open confrontation between the parties to the conflict; at this time it happens updating, when the activity of the warring parties sharply increases, the number of political actions increases many times, and a transition to armed action occurs.
According to a Russian conflict researcher V.Avksentieva, The transition from the latent period to the actualized period usually begins with a statement by one of the parties about dissatisfaction with their position and the intention to change it. The announcement of dissatisfaction is the first phase of the actualized conflict. It is followed by a phase of refusal, that is, denial by at least one of the parties to the conflict of the very existence of the problem, a phase of escalating the conflict, a meeting phase (recognition of its existence by both parties, the beginning of consultations and negotiations) and a phase of conflict resolution. The last phases can only be recorded in conflicts that are fading and have reduced their destructive potential.
Like any other socio-political phenomenon, ethnic conflict develops according to certain laws and is initiated by specific factors among which we can highlight objective And subjective. The objective group includes those factors that exist relatively independently of public consciousness. The most striking example of this kind is natural factor.
Everything that contributes to the development of the conflict is connected into a single complex. The active manifestation of one or two factors without the support of the others is not capable of creating any serious ethnic conflict.
Plays an important and often decisive role in the processes of conflict emergence. ethno-confessional factor. The main component of any ethnic conflict is a crisis of ethnic self-awareness (political scientists and conflict experts call it an identity crisis). It manifests itself in changes in the ethnic, confessional (religious) and political self-identification of people, in the strengthening of the influence of nationalist groups and associations, and in the growth of their political activity.
Many states of the world are interested in creating a single supranational national identity, which, on the basis of a single language, common symbols and traditions, could consolidate all ethnic, religious and social groups of the country. In single-national (mono-ethnic) states such as Japan, Norway or Portugal, this problem has already been practically solved. The named countries already from the end of the 19th century. are at a level of ethnic consolidation that has been called a “nation-state” in the West, that is, they have an almost complete coincidence of ethnic and state (civil) self-identification.
The term “national state” was first used at the end of the 18th century. in relation to France. The essence of this concept is that the entire population of the country is defined as a single nation, without ethnic differences within a single state. The slogan under which this process is taking place is: “For every nation, a state. Each state has a national essence.” It should be noted, however, that this idea is far from being implemented everywhere. As many researchers rightly note, an ethnically homogeneous national state is an ideal idea, since in reality almost every state has more or less pronounced minorities and in the modern ethnically mixed world the task of building a textbook model of a national state can be called utopian.
The life situation shows that today ethnic groups are artificially divided into two groups. A minority of them constitute an elite club, identified with the international community and all its institutions. Representatives of another, more numerous group of ethnic groups exist as ethnic minorities in multinational states and are limited in their ability to directly participate in the activities of the international community. The existence of several international organizations of ethnic minorities, like the Association of the Peoples of the North or the Organization of Unrepresented Nations and Peoples (it includes 52 members, including Abkhazia, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Gagauzia, Kosovo, Iraqi Kurdistan, Taiwan) is perceived as little consolation for peoples unrepresented in the foreign policy arena.
Interethnic relations are most difficult in multinational (multi-ethnic) states. In some - centralized Some ethnic groups are so large that they are constantly at the center of socio-political life, dictating their interests, putting forward a standardized culture built on their national-cultural foundation, and trying to assimilate minorities. It is in such states that the greatest potential for conflict develops, since the dominant group puts forward claims to exclusive control of national institutions, which causes a response from national minorities.
This model of interethnic relations prevails in Iran, Indonesia, Myanmar and a number of other countries. In some of them, the desire to consolidate the entire population of the country into a single nation on the foundation of the dominant ethnic group calls into question the very existence of other ethnic groups (For example, in Turkey, the Kurds are officially called “mountain Turks”).
At dispersed In a type of multi-ethnic state, the population consists of a small number of ethnic groups, each of which is too weak or small in number to dominate. As a result, the only option acceptable to everyone is to achieve interethnic harmony (albeit, at times quite fragile and often violated). Such a system has formed, for example, in many African countries, where an extremely heterogeneous ethnic composition is a legacy of colonial borders (Nigeria, Tanzania, Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, etc.).
Discrimination against national minorities can take various forms: restriction or even prohibition of the national language and culture, economic pressure, relocation from ethnic territory, reduction of quotas for representation in the administrative structures of the state, etc. In almost all countries of the East, the proportion of representatives of different ethnic groups in the government system is far from corresponds to the proportion of a given ethnic group among the entire population. As a rule, the numerically dominant ethnic groups (Persians in Iran, Punjabis in Pakistan, Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, Malays in Malaysia, Burmese in Myanmar, etc.) have disproportionately high representation at all levels of power, and the majority of other ethnic groups have disproportionately low representation .
The main demands of most national movements involved in ethnic conflicts boil down to three areas:
1) cultural revival (creation of broad cultural autonomy using the native language in local government and education);
2) economic independence (the right to manage natural resources and economic potential localized within the ethnic territory);
3) political self-government (the establishment of national self-government within the boundaries of an ethnic territory or part of it).
The range of demands of these movements is determined by the degree of development and complexity of the structure of the ethnic group, its internal social differentiation. Leaders of “simple” ethnic communities that retain vestiges of tribal relations usually make clear demands for independence and/or the expulsion of all “outsiders” (for example, the leaders of the national movement in Assam). Among larger and more developed ethnic groups, the range of demands put forward is much wider: they are dominated by demands for cultural and national-territorial autonomy, economic independence and political self-government, which is confirmed, for example, by the situation in Catalonia.
A number of ethnic groups demand expansion of rights up to the formation of their own statehood. However, if in reality we are guided by the principle of complete self-determination (up to separation) for each ethnic group, then this leads to the unoptimistic prospect of the gradual collapse of all multinational states of the world until every ethnic group on the planet (and there are 3-4 thousand of them) has of your state. According to the American scientist S. Cohen, within 25 - 30 years the number of states may increase by one and a half times. As a result, there will be more than 300 sovereign states on the world map.
The difference between the confessional form of conflict formation and the ethnic one is that it is not ethnic self-awareness that comes to the fore, but religious one. Often the opponents in a conflict even belong to the same ethnic group. For example, adherents of Sikhism are ethnically Punjabis. They are in conflict with Hindu Punjabis (in India) and Muslim Punjabis (in Pakistan).
Religion has a significant influence on the entire culture of an ethnic group. Sometimes religious differences play a decisive role in ethnogenesis. For example, Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats living in Bosnia and Herzegovina spoke the same language even before the ethnic cleansing of the first half of the 1990s. They lived in stripes within a single habitat. It is possible that the Punjabi ethnic group, which still maintains its unity, will soon split along religious lines. At least now, Sikh Punjabis speak Punjabi, Hindu Punjabis speak Hindi, and Muslim Punjabis speak Urdu.
Classic centers of ethnic conflicts with a clearly dominant role of the religious factor are Palestine, Punjab, Kashmir, and the Southern Philippines (areas inhabited by Moro Muslims). The religious component of the conflict is mixed with the ethnic one in Cyprus (Muslim Turkish Cypriots against Christian Greek Cypriots), in Sri Lanka (Hindu Tamils against Buddhist Sinhalese), in Northern Ireland (Catholic Irish against immigrants from England and Scotland - Protestants) , in the Indian state of Nagaland (Naga Christians against the main population of India - Hindus), etc. There are, however, many hotbeds of conflict where the warring parties are co-religionists: Catalonia, Transnistria, Balochistan, etc.
Works closely with ethno-confessional socio-economic factor. In its pure form, it is not capable of leading to a serious ethnic conflict, otherwise any area that differs economically would be a hotbed of interethnic confrontation.
The dependence of the intensity of the conflict on the level of economic development cannot be determined unambiguously. There are pockets of ethnic conflicts in the world, both relatively economically developed (Catalonia, Quebec, Transnistria) and economically depressed (Chechnya, Kosovo, Kurdistan, Chiapas, Corsica).
The motivation for the dissatisfaction expressed by an ethnic group with their economic situation can be different. Ethnic groups living in relative prosperity and well-being often show dissatisfaction with the current practice of unjustifiably high contributions from their region to the national budget. According to the leaders of these national movements, under the guise of declarations about the harmonious and balanced economic development of the country, the region is being robbed. Moreover, the more noticeable the economic disproportions between the most and least developed regions of the country, the larger sums are withdrawn from economically prosperous regions, which causes a sharp rejection of the “freeloading regions” by them.
Ethnic groups inhabiting economically backward areas express complaints that governing structures or international organizations do not take into account the deplorable situation in their economy, do not provide loans for its development, and do not see the needs of the ordinary population. Raising the level of economic demands put forward, which at times develops into direct economic blackmail, according to the calculations of the leaders of the conflicting ethnic group, can lead to a more profitable redistribution of budget funds, international assistance, and a fairer tax policy. Sometimes participants in the conflict rely on non-traditional economic sources, such as income from smuggling various types of goods, including weapons and drugs, taking hostages for ransom, and extortion from fellow tribesmen who have achieved success in business.
The socio-economic factor plays an important role in the formation and development of the Basque conflict node, and is clearly expressed in Indian Assam and Indonesian Irian Jaya.
In the processes of origin and evolution of ethnic conflicts, it is of no small importance natural factor. Basically, its effect is manifested in the form of natural boundaries, which often serve as barriers between neighboring ethnic groups, boundaries of interethnic clashes and wars. Such natural boundaries can be mountain ranges, large rivers, sea straits, and difficult-to-pass land areas (deserts, swamps, forests).
On the one hand, natural boundaries minimize contacts between warring ethnic groups, which reduces conflict in relationships; on the other hand, they contribute to the psychological alienation of ethnic groups living on opposite sides of the barrier. Natural boundaries were previously one of the main factors that laid down the direction of ethnic boundaries, thereby determining the ethnic map of the region. The natural accessibility of the territory determines the level of economic development. If the state does not have the level of prosperity of Switzerland, within which, by the way, there are a lot of diverse natural boundaries, then natural boundaries will lead to certain difficulties in contacts with some territories, which will negatively affect their economic development.
In comparison with other conflict-generating factors, natural boundaries are the least plastic and practically unchanged." In reality, it is only possible to slightly improve the connections between the opposite sides of the natural boundary (construction of mountain and sea tunnels, construction of bridges, creation of sea and air routes, transformation of deserts and tropical jungles, etc. ), however, it is hardly possible to completely eliminate differences in economic and geopolitical situations.
The role of geopolitical factor. The main form of its manifestation is geopolitical faults between extensive civilizational-historical and military-political massifs. The concepts of geopolitical faults of various directions and configurations have recently become popular in the scientific community. The American model became the most famous S. Huntington. Fracture zones are characterized by political instability, confrontation between the strategic interests of the largest geopolitical forces, and conflicts often arise here.
A clear example of the action of this factor is the Balkan mega-conflict and its components - ethnic conflicts in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Western Macedonia, Montenegro. The uniqueness of the Balkan node lies in the fact that three geopolitical fault lines pass through it at once: between the Orthodox-Slavic and Islamic civilizations (currently the most conflict-prone), between the Orthodox-Slavic and European-Catholic civilizations, and between the European-Catholic and Islamic civilizations. Each of the three sides of the conflict node is experiencing strong interference from external forces. The USA, Great Britain, Germany and other NATO countries support the Croats and Muslim peoples (Kosovo Albanians and Bosnians). The Orthodox Serbs actually found themselves isolated, since their traditional foreign policy patrons (including Russia) are less persistent and consistent in defending their interests in the international arena.
In every major ethnic conflict, the opposing sides observe collective interests, the development of which is possible only if there is organizing and managing entity. Such an entity can be a national elite, a more or less large public organization, armed groups, a political party, etc.
Such political organizations closely involved in the conflict exist in many countries around the world. This, for example. The Kurdish Workers' Party in Turkish Kurdistan, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the Tamil north of Sri Lanka, the Kosovo Liberation Army, the Palestine Liberation Organization, etc.
In countries with developed parliamentary democracies, national movements operate openly, freely participating in elections at various levels. However, some of the most odious and extremist organizations, in relation to which their involvement in bloody crimes has been proven, are prohibited. However, even in these cases, national groups have the opportunity to openly express their interests.
Nationalist public organizations reflect the interests and sentiments of peripheral elites seeking to expand their influence. Such ethnocratic elites are formed mainly in three ways. Firstly, the state-administrative nomenclature that existed under the previous regime can be transformed into a new national elite (examples:
most CIS countries, countries of the former Yugoslavia). Secondly, such an elite can be represented by a new nationalist intelligentsia (teachers, writers, journalists, etc.), who did not previously have power, but at a certain moment felt the possibility of acquiring it (the Baltic countries, Georgia). Thirdly, the ethnocratic elite can be formed from a conglomerate of warlords and mafia leaders fighting for national independence, as happened in Chechnya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Eritrea, and Myanmar.
Sooner or later, a charismatic leader of the national movement appears among the ethnocratic elite - such, for example, as Ya. Arafat was for Palestine or A. Ocalan for Kurdistan, concentrating in his hands all the forces involved in achieving the intended goals. The leader represents the interests of his movement at various levels, leads negotiations with the opposing side, and seeks international recognition.
The leader of the national movement is the potential head of the newly formed state. The role of such a person in a conflict is sometimes very great. In some countries, separatist movements take place not under the flags of one or another ethnic or religious group, but under the battle standards of one or another big name.
It is wrong, however, to absolutize the role of the leader in the process of a territory’s struggle for sovereignty. Without a wide circle of like-minded people, a clear hierarchical party structure, and the support of the national elite, the leader remains a lone rebel.
Among the factors contributing to the development of separatism, one cannot fail to mention historical factor. If the ethnic group making demands for self-determination or autonomy previously had its own statehood or self-governing institutions, then it has much more moral grounds to revive them. Largely for this reason, the Baltic republics of the former USSR throughout their existence were the region of the most clearly defined nationalist processes. Similar problems may now face the Russian Federation, a number of whose subjects, for example Tatarstan, Tyva, Dagestan (the latter in the form of fragmented feudal estates), previously had their own statehood.
None of the factors of separatism is as decisive for the transition of a conflict from latent to actualized form as factor of public mobilization. Without the active participation of the population, any area where disintegration tendencies are manifesting is unlikely to have grounds to become a hotbed of separatism. Population mobilization refers to the ability of certain political groups to take active action to achieve their economic, political and national interests. The higher the political self-awareness in a society, the higher its mobilization. The growth of mobilization also entails an increase in the political activity of the population, indicators of which are an increase in the number of demonstrations, rallies, strikes, pickets and other political actions. As a result, high mobilization of the population can lead to destabilization of political life and even outbreaks of violence.
The level of mobilization in different social groups is usually not the same. Particularly irreconcilable positions regarding ways to resolve the conflict - extremism - dominate among marginalized sections of the population. It is in them that the lack of culture and education is felt; First of all, these social groups are most susceptible to partial or complete unemployment.
As the conflict develops, the field of action of public mobilization expands. At the moment of its emergence, the most mobilized group becomes the national intelligentsia, which, by influencing broad layers of the population through the media, increases the mobilization of the entire ethnocultural community. It is interesting that in such situations, the humanitarian intelligentsia, oriented towards ethnic revival, plays a particularly strong destabilizing role, while the technical intelligentsia most often acts as a stabilizing factor.
Of great importance when studying sources of instability is the concept of a “threshold critical level of mobilization,” which, when exceeded, is followed by an open phase of conflict. In general, this threshold is higher in more developed regions of the planet (Europe, America) and lower in less developed ones (Africa, Asia). Thus, national and cultural discrimination against Tamils in Sri Lanka led to a major armed conflict, and similar actions carried out by the Estonian government against the Russian-speaking population did not generate a reaction even close in intensity.
The mobilization of a population group usually depends on the amount of resources under public control (mainly labor) and on political organization. The forms of organization of groups are varied and include both political parties and other social structures: national-cultural movements, liberation fronts, etc. In any case, for each social group capable of increasing its mobilization, the following conditions must be met:
1) general identification of the group;
2) a common self-name, well known to both members and non-members of the group;
3) certain symbols of the group: emblems, slogans, songs, uniforms, national clothes, etc.;
4) the presence in the group of a certain circle of people whose authority is recognized by all members of the group;
5) the group’s own controlled space;
6) the presence of common property (money, weapons and other means of struggle);
7) exercise by the top of the group of control over the activities of all group members.
All existing centers of ethnic conflict in the world were formed as a result of the combination of the factors listed above.
The scientific validity of the ideological basis of globalization is considered in the article as a primary condition for the development of globalization towards the formation of a dynamic global system. The causes of the crisis currently observed in three subsystems are explored: political, legal and economic. The thesis is put forward that the main problem lies in the system of norms and basic values of the global system. The basic principles of appropriate activities towards solving the problem are also given.
The scientific validity of the intellectual foundations of globalization is considered in the article as the prime condition of development of globalization in the direction of formation of the dynamic global system. The article explores the reasons for the crisis observed in three subsystems nowadays: political, legal and economic. The author introduces the thesis that the main problem consists in the system of norms and basic values of the global system. Basic principles of the corresponding activity in solution of the problem are also discussed.
The process of formation of a global structure - globalization
The processes of accelerating the pace of rapprochement of borders, expanding economic, energy, technological and information connections, called globalization, confront political and legal actors responsible for control over systemic processes with the need to act in a single system. At the same time, for the subjects playing the main role in this process , it is important not to stay away from this system. The formed global political, legal and economic system creates a favorable opportunity for solving a number of global humanitarian problems (demographic, food, environmental, etc.). In other words, the formation of a global structure or the process of globalization proceeds according to the following scheme: increasing the pace of development of economic, technological and information relations® strengthening the political and legal organization® cultural, humanitarian and environmental globalization.
Global values as the basis of the global structure
The above should not be understood as if globalization, leading to the creation of a global system, is an objective phenomenon that has its origin in scientific and technological progress and other economic processes. Approaching the problem from precisely this position, some authors consider globalization not a political, but a socio-economic phenomenon (Inozemtsev 2008). At the same time, objectively determined globalization, which politicians are trying to follow in their strategy, is a dangerous, unpredictable, multidirectional phenomenon, leading to the creation of non-progressive, uncivilized structures(currently similar structures are found in the international arena). Structuring, organization, including political, striving for control over all processes, must necessarily be based on a socio-philosophical concept that would contain not only political goals and principles, but also moral and spiritual values. It is obvious that ideally globalization should not lead to global chaos and crisis, but to an effective, dynamic and stable global structure.
To build a system and ensure its longevity, the political goals and ambitions contained in the idea on which the concept of a global system is based must take into account both modern realities and the patterns of historical processes, the potential of international political actors put forward by history itself, periodically implementing the idea of world domination. Otherwise, with the strengthening/weakening of the power of the state in the shortest historical time (calculated in decades), the system may face a crisis or it may be necessary to replace the still unformed structure with a new one.
On the other hand, in order to ensure the formation of a global system and to specify its structure, the moral and spiritual criteria contained in the original concept of the global system must have the ability to be socialized in all cultural regions of the world and be in demand by the population of these regions.
Failure of globalization of democratic values
One of the main reasons for the ineffectiveness of the basic values of the modern global system was the attempt to generalize, to give the principles and procedures of a particular state structure as a kind of humanistic idea of a universal human nature. Even Aristotle pointed out the scientific inconsistency of attempts to apply a universal structure (for example, democracy. - V. G.) to different countries. Another reason should be recognized as attempts to manipulate these idealized principles of statehood, turning them through forceful pressure or concessions into a tool for ensuring one’s own interests in interstate relations. In other words, another reason for the ineffectiveness of the basic values of the modern global system is the desire to elevate an idea that is incapable of generalization to the level of international legal norms and then use it for the purpose of discrediting.
Democratic values have not become universal. For one or another objective and subjective reasons (illegitimate nature of power, the desire of an individual or group to remain in power by force; ensuring the interests of strong powers in the region by the existing government and, as a response, the protection of this government by international political players [Egypt], etc. .) the use of such a system in some countries of Europe and Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America is not possible either at this stage or in the future. However, if the people are not the source of power, if the popular will is not realized, then there can be no talk of democracy. It is of interest that states that are adherents of the principles of globalization, in the name of ensuring their interests in the region and preserving international relations, are forced to come to terms with the current situation. By essentially justifying the oblivion of democratic values, these forces endanger the global system based on this idea. On the other hand, in a number of countries, due to their geographical location and regional positions, taking into account demographic indicators and historically existing problems in relations with neighboring countries, the process of democratization may pose a threat to national security, territorial integrity, internal order and stability. For this reason, the change of governments of these countries cannot be considered as a manifestation of democracy. Thus, these values are potentially unable to acquire the status of universal human values.
Visible structure and causes of the crisis
A number of researchers and experts tend to view the global crisis as a historical consequence of globalization. In this case, globalization is perceived as community, unification, blurring of boundaries (economic, cultural, ideological, etc.). However, regardless of the degree of unification of relations, the deepening of interstate relations and the interconnection of different regions of the world, such integrity is not able to ensure the functioning of the global system as a single state, since the heterogeneity and sovereignty of international entities are preserved. At the same time, the crisis that has arisen in the political, legal and economic structures of the state cannot be explained by its cultural or economic community. If the state is experiencing a crisis in all its subsystems (political, economic and legal), then it is obvious that the problem lies in the lack of agreement and harmony both in the system of values, norms and rules, and between these three subsystems. By undermining the connections between these three subsystems, individual and group interests not only expose the system to the threat of collapse, but also, most importantly, contribute to the alienation of fundamental values. The same thing happens with the global system. Currently, crisis phenomena are observed in all these systems. Therefore, it seems impossible to restore the system on the basis of alienated norms and values.
The fall in the authority of priority values and the subsequent fall in the authority of international law (provoked by dominant political forces that have relegated values to the background for the sake of protecting their own strategic, economic, religious-psychological, group and individual interests) ultimately lead to a political, legal and economic crisis . Economic processes can only unfold on the basis of sustainable and long-term trust. In turn, long-term trust is based not on confrontation, but on current strategic and regional interests and values.
The preservation by the dominant forces of authority and the role of a priority value is associated with bringing to the forefront the problem of its protection, which in turn is possible only in the process of competition of this value with other values. If the elimination of the opposite is initially accompanied by a sharp jump in the global economy, the deployment of globalization processes around one value (within 20 years after the end of the Cold War), then later the value, deprived of its opposite and found enshrined in law, begins to alienate and lose its authority. An ideological vacuum poses a threat to actually ongoing processes and becomes a source of a serious and inevitable crisis (it is enough to refer to cases where political forces in a number of countries did not protect values from attacks, double standards were applied in relation to the basic principles of international law, etc.).
The priority of the current strategic economic interests of large economic structures and oligarchic groups to the detriment of ideological and legal principles leads to strengthening the power of the oligarchs both in the economy and in politics, which in turn contributes to the weakening and collapse, along with the norms, of the global structures themselves. The monopolization of both the economy and politics by the oligarchic group (it is impossible to ensure the sustainability of economic power without monopolizing politics) causes apathy along with politics and in the economy. Apathy in politics, law and economics leads to a loss of trust in international organizations and dominant political, legal and economic structures. The need to ensure one’s interests in the face of loss of legitimacy forces the use of force (for example, the United States in Iraq).
The global economic crisis is not just an international political and legal crisis, but acts as a continuation of the political and economic crisis within the leading states of the world themselves. And the current economic crisis is also a consequence of the monopolization of the political system by the economic oligarchs of these countries.
If in the political and legal sphere the cause of the crisis was the impossibility of universalizing democratic principles, then in the economic sphere this cause was the liberalization of the economy, which found expression in the predominance of liberal values in the economy in recent decades.
The growth of virtual finance, not supported by material resources, the decline in the authority of economic values, norms and rules of business organization, the deepening of economic differences between segments of the population in the absence of support for cultural and intellectual potential, apathy and loss of faith in the principle of economic justice, in the efficiency of entrepreneurship and business prospects activity, rising unemployment and declining production, the leading role of the same actors in the global economic system, etc. - all this led to the complex manifestation of the global economic crisis.
If both the political system of the state and international political relations turn into a means in the hands of leading players, and macroeconomic and international economic processes are controlled by oligarchic groups, then this means that the crisis in fact initially arose within the political system. The monopolistic activity of a certain oligarchic group that does not have a superstructure, and its creation of virtual finance, deprived of the corresponding material support, the fall in production and the rise in inflation naturally lead to a crisis.
Probability of collapse of the global structure
The global political crisis is developing in two directions: 1) Maintaining the existing position of international organizations. Failure to reform may subsequently lead to the loss of the organization's chances of survival, and attempts to reorganize are fraught with great difficulty. The world will then plunge into chaos; 2) Growing pressure from the great powers demanding the provision of legally formalized control over the situation in the world, and for this purpose they are pushing their supporters into the Security Council and other organizations, which can bring rivalry between them to a dangerous level. In light of the above, the new organization must be based on norms and principles, on the basis of which in the future it would be possible to keep processes under control and ensure proper order in the world, even though these principles and order may serve certain political goals.
Of course, one should take into account the relative weight of the political players involved in this process and determine the share of their participation in it. Otherwise, no norm and no standards will have legal force. However, this participation must have legal support. At the same time, the norms must be selected in such a way that these subjects undertake only good obligations and serve peace and order.
Ways out of the global crisis
The fact that the crisis has engulfed the entire global structure, bringing to the fore the problem of norms and principles of each subsystem (political, economic, legal), makes it necessary to create a new philosophical and ideological system with appropriate organizational structures and an international legal framework or reconstruct an existing one. We are talking about the development of a new ideological system and means of concretizing it, based on the synthesis and improvement of the Christian-democratic values of the European Union, Islamic and regional principles underlying the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and Confucianism, which is the pillar of Chinese statehood. At the same time, the problem of developing a unified philosophical concept becomes actual. This goal is served by the scientific research of S. Khalilov, in particular his search for a “universal ideal”, the desire to develop the philosophical concept of “East - West” (Khalilov 2004). A new philosophical system, based on the cultural and spiritual manifestations of Islam, Buddhism and Christianity and characterized by universal human content, should focus on the common values of Islam, Buddhism and Christianity and acquire a spiritual and moral form and have universal human power. In the future, on the basis of this philosophy, political principles should be developed, a structure proposed, ways of legal support and transformation of values into norms should be found.
The general and highest values should not be democratic principles and procedures, but cultural, spiritual, intellectual criteria, such as humanism, tolerance, universal values, etc. The main criterion for subsystems - states - should be civil, legitimate, social and secular nature of power. The basis for the formation of power should be the criterion of its progressiveness. The audit of values should not be carried out in the form of a technical procedure that allows formalism, distortion, falsification and manipulation.
Literature
Inozemtsev, V. L. 2008. Modern globalization and its perception in the world. The Age of Globalization 1: 31-44. (Inozemtsev, V. L. 2008. Modern globalization and its understanding in the world. Age of Globalization 1: 31–44).
Khalilov, S. S. 2004. East and West: on the way to a universal ideal. Philosophical studies. Baku: Azerbaijan University. (Khalilov, S. S. 2004. East and West: On the way to the universal ideal. Philosophical Essays. Baku: Azerbaijan University).
Relevance The problem of ethnic conflicts over the past decades has been one of the most
current topics for researchers representing various fields of science. main reason
lies in the intractability of conflicts of this kind, which have also become one
of the most common sources of social contradictions and political
instability. The main reason is the intractability of this kind of
conflicts, which have also become one of the most common sources
social contradictions and political instability. Events of recent years
literature with potential subjects of international terrorism. Events of recent years
have demonstrated that ethnic conflicts in various parts of the world go beyond
domestic and even regional. This is of particular importance due to the fact that
regions of ethnic instability are increasingly associated in both periodical and scientific
literature with potential subjects of international terrorism.
General definition
1.Ethnic conflict is a conflict between groups of people belonging to different
ethnicity.situation in which each side seeks to take a position,
incompatible and contrary to the interests of the other party, in
in which the ethnic identity of the parties is manifested in one way or another. This is a special form
social or political conflict, which has certain features:
.division along ethnic lines is seen in conflicting groups;
.parties seek support in an ethnically related or ethnically friendly environment;
.in certain types of ethnic conflicts, the ethnic factor tends to be politicized;
.new participants identify with one of the parties to the conflict based on a common ethnic
identity, even if this position is not close to them;
.ethnoconflicts most often are not based on values and occur around certain
objects and interests of groups.
Conflict-forming factors
Confession of the principle of identity of state and national bordersThe movement of ethnic groups towards self-determination
The movement of ethnic groups towards the formation of super-ethnic groups
Economic struggle for land, urban housing, natural resources, etc.
Uncontrolled demographic development in third world countries
Assimilation processes and depopulation of ethnic minorities
“Aging” of nations in countries with developed market economies
Environmental factors
Belief in the special relationship of the ethnic group “with the supreme deity”
Typology of conflicts. There are also various approaches to identifying individual types of conflicts. So, according to the classification of G. Lapidus, there is
Typology of conflicts. There are also variousapproaches to identifying specific types of conflicts. Yes, according to
classifications by G. Lapidus exist:
1. Conflicts occurring at the interstate level (the conflict between Russia and
Ukraine on the issue of Crimea).
2. Conflicts within the state:
2.1. Conflicts involving indigenous minorities (for example, Lezgins in
Azerbaijan and Dagestan);
2.2. Conflicts involving communities of newcomers;
2.3. Conflicts involving forcibly displaced minorities (Crimean
Tatars);
2.4. Conflicts arising from attempts to renegotiate relations between
former autonomous republics and governments of successor states
(Abkhazia in Georgia, Tatarstan in Russia)
2.5. Conflicts related to acts of communal violence (Osh, Fergana) in Central Asia,
brought by the researcher into a separate category. Ethnic
conflicts
post-Soviet space
on
Since the late 1980s, there have been 6 regional wars (i.e.
armed clashes involving regular troops and
using heavy weapons), about 20 short-term
armed clashes, accompanied by casualties among
civilian population, and more than 100 unarmed conflicts involving
signs of interstate, interethnic, interfaith
or inter-clan confrontation.
Death toll in ethnic conflicts:
Conclusion:
In a rapidly changing world, solutions are of paramount importanceglobal problems of humanity and, as a consequence, overcoming global ethnic
crisis. It can be said with complete confidence that with the improvement of environmental
situation, improving living standards and quality of education, introducing the latest
technologies in all processes of human life, preventing wars and
stopping the current armed conflicts, the world's population will become much
closer to exiting the global ethnic crisis. Naturally, this is a very long and
an extremely painstaking process in which everyone must be equally involved
countries and states of our planet, since only by uniting the efforts of each nation in
separately, global problems can be solved as a whole. Not one, not even the most developed
country in the world is not able to solve at least one problem alone, which one way or another
otherwise affects the future existence of the entire population of our planet. I would like to
add that, focusing on overcoming the global ethnic crisis,
the population of every country on the globe in pursuit of achieving a common goal, not
must forget about our own, sometimes original and unique, culture, which consists in
the unique features of everyday life, lifestyle, folklore and folk arts,
the harmonious combination of which gives a special appearance to this ethnic group on the map
world population...
In its maximum completeness, totality, objective reality is revealed in the essential core of the world, on the basis of the universal matrix of the social substrate, social objectivity, endlessly deepening into itself. At the level of sensory reflection, the objective world is represented directly in all its infinite meaningful completeness and, therefore, unity with the “I”. At the level of the logical core of subjectivity, the essence of a particular object, the objective world, is grasped as a whole, but in relation to a certain, actualized level of complexity of the individual-substance, in relation to some “extra-spatial” standard and, therefore, abstractly, in concept and through language. Logical thinking actualizes that real contradiction of the objective world, nature as an incomplete universality and the “I” as a complete universality, which is constantly generated and removed by labor. In a deep sense, this contradiction is an internal contradiction of social objectivity (as the personified essence of the world), a contradiction between the actualized content of a substance and the content that has yet to be actualized. Captured at the logical core level
subjectivity, the ideal abstract “I” (supported by the sensual syncretic self-reflection of the individual) acts as an integrator of those logical contents that are revealed only in relation to each other and in an integral system of self-consciousness.
Literature
1. Beresneva N.I. Language and reality. - Perm: Perm Publishing House. state University, 2004. - P. 182.
2. Panfilov V.Z. Epistemological aspects of philosophical problems of linguistics. - M.: Nauka, 1982. - P. 357.
3. Yakushin B.V. Hypotheses about the origin of language. -M.: Nauka, 1985. - P. 137.
4. Atayan E.R. Language and extra-linguistic reality. Experience of ontological comparison. - Yerevan: Yerevan Publishing House. University, 1987. - P. 384.
5. Gamkrelidze T.V. The unconscious and the problem of structural isomorphism between genetic and linguistic codes // The unconscious: nature, functions, research methods. - Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1985. T. 4. - P. 261-264.
6. Reasonable behavior and language. Vol. 1. Animal communication systems and human language. The problem of the origin of language / Comp. HELL. Koshelev, T.V. Chernigovskaya. -M.: Languages of Slavic cultures, 2008. - P. 416.
7. Koryakin V.V. Labor and a single natural historical process. - Perm: Perm Publishing House. state University, 2008. Ch.
8. Popovich M.V. Philosophical questions of semantics. -Kiev: Nauk. Dumka, 1975. - P. 299.
Maslyanka Yulia Vladimirovna - Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Perm State University, Perm, [email protected].
Data on authors:
Maslyanka Julia Vladimirovna - PhD, associate professor of philosophy at Perm State University, Perm, [email protected].
UDC 101.1:316
A.L. Safonov, A.D. Orlov GLOBALIZATION AS DIVERGENCE: CRISIS OF A NATION AND “RENAISSANCE” OF ETHNOSIS
Noting global divergent trends in the ethnocultural sphere, the authors consider ethnicity and nation as stably coexisting social groups that have significantly different mechanisms of reproduction and functioning - direct social heredity, transmitting ethnicity through the way of life and the structure of everyday life for the ethnic group and the interaction of the individual with political institutions - for the nation. Generated by economic globalization, the systemic crisis of a nation leads to a compensatory activation of ethnic social structures and ethnic consciousness.
Key words: globalization, ethnos, ethnicity, nation, nationality, state, social group, identity, structures of everyday life.
A.L. Safonov, A.D. Orlov
GLOBALIZATION AS DIVERGENCE:
CRISIS OF THE NATION AND “RENAISSANCE” OF THE ETHNOS
Ascertaining global divergent tendencies in the ethnocultural sphere, authors consider ethnos and the nation as steadily coexisting social groups, having essentially various reproduction and functioning mechanisms - the direct social heredity broadcasting ethnicity by means of way of life and structures of daily occurrence for ethnos and by means of
interaction with political institutions for the nation. The system crisis of the nation generated by globalization conducts to compensating activity of ethnic social structures and ethnic consciousness.
Keywords: globalization, ethnos, ethnicity, nation, nationality, the state, social group, identity, structures of everyday life.
The dominant view of globalization as a comprehensive and unidirectional process of convergence and unification comes from the prevailing economic determinism in the scientific community. The theory of convergence, which emerged at the peak of industrialism, was based on the idea of a “single industrial society”, the common technological basis of which predetermined the convergent development of social systems as parts of a single global supersystem, objectively striving to merge. From this point of view, all social groups that are significant in the modern world process are formed almost exclusively by economic relations and interests. Such groups are recognized as civil nations, local (national) and global elites.
As for the ethnic identity of members of political nations, within the framework of the convergent paradigm it is either denied or recognized as a “relic”, a sociohistorical phantom. As an exception, “real” ethnicity is recognized, as a rule, for underdeveloped marginal ethnic groups leading a traditional way of life. Moreover, constructivism, as one of the directions in the theory of ethnicity, also denies continuous cultural continuity, declaring the modern rise of ethnicity to be the fruit of political propaganda by marginal elites. By being forced to recognize the existence of ethnicity and ethnic identity outside of archaic communities, constructivism denies the right to exist to modern ethnic groups themselves as real social groups.
Proponents of the convergent approach believe that globalization, transforming closed national economies into open economic and social systems, leads to a crisis and the “withering away” of national states and civil nations that lose their economic basis. A powerful factor in cultural convergence is the globalization of national media markets and the education sector, combined with the creation of a global digital space.
From which a seemingly logical conclusion is drawn about the inevitability of convergent development, the emergence of a kind of global “super society”, a global “melting pot”, where cultural
national, national and religious characteristics are reduced to the level of marginal subcultures and in the future are erased, forming a kind of global, “universal” community.
However, after the triumph of the Western scenario of the convergence of world systems in 1991, the real processes of globalization, despite the destruction of economic and geographical boundaries that form local communities, unexpectedly moved towards civilizational, ethnic and religious divergence. The long-awaited crisis of civil nations took place, but it became not a convergent synthesis of a global community, but a disintegration of civil nations into ethno-confessional groups, and against the backdrop of a truly global economic space.
Contrary to expectations, the global economic melting pot has not created a homogeneous social community with a single identity. Accordingly, none of the theories of ethnicity that emerged in the 20th century explains the post-industrial surge in ethnicity and religiosity. Thus, there is a growing divergence between social theory and the practice of globalization.
An example of the failure of the “melting pot” model in the course of globalization is the United States itself, which gave birth to both the term “melting pot” and the very idea of a multiethnic (“multicultural”) “nation of immigrants.” As a matter of fact, the “melting pot” has not worked since the migration wave of the late 19th century, which eroded the Anglo-Saxon foundation of the United States, with the result that American society consists of stable ethnic (Irish, Italian, Chinese, African-American, etc.) communities that retain their isolation in the urban environment, up to enclave settlement. The ethnic heterogeneity of American society persists and grows, despite the much higher territorial mobility of labor than in the Old World.
According to Eduard Lozansky, author of the monograph “Ethnicities and Lobbying in the USA” (2004), ethnic diasporas and minorities in the United States are increasingly isolated and competing, forming influential lobbying groups in government, comparable to corporate ones.
lobby (TNK) and the party system. Moreover, US ethnic lobbies are increasingly lobbying for the interests of states of origin, turning immigrant communities into colonies that pursue the interests of overseas metropolises. Ethnic diasporas “in themselves” have turned into diasporas “for themselves”.
“America’s focus on the formation not of a single alloy in the “crucible” of many nationalities, but on the formation of a motley variety of multiculturalism led to logical results - to the consolidation of positions by ethnic minorities.” Moreover, E. Lozansky notes the concern of other American researchers about the prospects of ethnic fragmentation of the American political nation, up to the threat of “Balkanization.”
Thus, Samuel Huntington emphasizes the growing influence of “civilizations” in world politics and the unexpected persistence of immigrants maintaining ties with their countries of origin. “The United States and the Soviet Union resemble each other in that they are not nation-states in the classical sense of the word. Both countries have largely defined themselves in terms of ideology, which, as the Soviet example has shown, is a more fragile foundation of unity than a single national culture... If multiculturalism prevails and if the consensus for liberal democracy weakens, the United States will join the Soviet Union in a pile of historical ashes."
Considering that the United States is the leading center of power in the global world-system and can be considered as a fairly correct model of a post-industrial world society, we have further evidence that the trends towards the regeneration of ethnicity, the ethnicization of politics and the transformation of diasporas into actors in world politics - not an accidental paradox, but one of the leading trends of globalization.
At the same time, contrary to expectations, it is economic globalization itself with its convergent orientation that leads to an increase in ethnocultural divergence, reflecting the intensification of social competition for vital resources, objectively caused by the deepening of the global resource and demographic crisis.
The blurring of the boundaries of national economies and nation-states has caused a compensatory process of regeneration and reconstruction of ethnic groups, including those long buried by the theories of the ethnic group of large state-forming
ethnic groups of the Old World.
The ethnicization of politics and mass consciousness of the “new states” of Eastern Europe and the ex-USSR can be considered a “reconstruction” of an ethnic group, that is, the reconstruction of an ethnic group “from above” in the interests of local elites, creating the basis for nation-state building (usually extremely unsuccessful).
However, the widely discussed ethnocultural crisis in Germany, provoked by the growing disloyalty of foreign cultural diasporas to the host society, is an example of regeneration, that is, the spontaneous restoration of the state-forming ethnic group “from below”, under the pressure of the absolute majority and contrary to the interests of the political elites of Germany, who for well-known reasons avoid any accusations of ethnicism .
The forced recognition of the ethno-cultural crisis and the collapse of the policy of “multiculturalism” in Germany is an official statement of the increase in divergent phenomena in the ethno-confessional and cultural spheres, as a general trend of globalization.
As a result, the simplified logic of linking ethnic and national consciousness to the economic system, which is quite adequate for the realities of the 20th century, is not consistent with the practice of globalization, in which the “remnants” and “atavisms” of the early bourgeois (nation) and even pre-state (ethnos) eras have all the impact greater influence on mass consciousness and world development. The expected “globalization of TNCs” turned out to be the globalization of ethnic groups and diasporas: the “last” suddenly became the “first.”
It is characteristic that the belief in the rapid “withering away” of ethnic and national identity and the rapid formation of a globally averaged, albeit stratified world society, is characteristic of both left-wing and right-wing researchers.
Ethnicity is ignored by both globalists and “anti-globalists,” who see in globalism and globalization a threat to the “preservation of cultural and civilizational diversity,” which is conceived as a direct analogue of ecological “biodiversity.” The most radical direction of economic reductionism, neoliberalism, insists on the false postulate about the economically and technologically (informatization) predetermined “withering away” of nations and ethnic groups.
Meanwhile, practice shows that as globalization deepens and the crisis of nation states, ethnicity is not “smoothed out,” “assimilated,” or
integrates into the global “multicultural” environment. On the contrary, against the background of the crisis of the institutions of the national state, all forms of ethnicism are experiencing a period of unprecedented growth and are actively in demand just yesterday by the passive, de-ideologized and atomized masses. The “atomization” of the 20th century is being replaced by “polymerization” and “crystallization”, which was not realized by the scientific community, into social structures that are poorly compatible with the theory of convergence.
Despite the forced recognition of the fact of the “ethnic renaissance” of marginal ethnic groups, the main problem of the modern theory of ethnicity continues to be ignored - the question of the existence of large state-forming ethnic groups as mass social groups that make up the underlying basis of society, independent of the political and ideological shell (superstructure).
The constructivist approach became a unique response to the gaps and contradictions of economic reductionism.
A characteristic feature of constructivism is political reductionism, which is also based on the belief that “ethnicity has died”, but has been artificially revived in the form of a political-technological-logical illusion.
Indeed, the increasingly intense political exploitation of ethnicity creates the impression that modern ethnicity is nothing more than an artificial ideological construct imposed by local elites, a product of modern political manipulation, which does not have deep historical and social roots due to the absence, “withering away” of the ethnic group itself as a living one. and an active social community.
Thus, constructivism, strengthened in the wake of the successes of social engineering and political technologies, explains ethnocultural divergence by the political manipulations of elites, ignoring the obvious fact of the selectivity of ethnic propaganda, which directly points to the objective existence of social communities with a pronounced ethnic identity.
Actually, the effectiveness of ethnic propaganda, which supposedly “constructs” ethnic consciousness almost from scratch, is due precisely to the fact that it purposefully appeals to the most acute interests of a mass, united, homogeneous and capable of collective action social group, that is, to an objectively existing ethnic group, successfully re-
lived through a series of social transformations. Accordingly, the factor that unites local elite groups to “construct” ethnicity is also the primary ethnicity of these elite groups itself.
Thus, contrary to the categorical belief of constructivists in the “death of the ethnos,” the construction of ethnic self-awareness turns out to be nothing more than the management of an already existing ethnos, the activation of the group consciousness of an objectively existing ethnic group, as a result of which the “ethnos in itself”, latent under the conditions of a strong state, turns into "ethnicity for itself."
In essence, constructivism only proves that an ethnos, under the conditions of a developed national state and civil society, has been pushed to the periphery of political life and has become “invisible”, is capable of being actualized, creating the illusion of an arbitrary creation of an ethnos by interested political demiurges.
The inconsistency of economic and political reductionism allows us to conclude that ethnic and national (national-state) identity, ethnos and political nation are closely related, but not identical social phenomena that develop in parallel, but quite independently from each other and from the economic sphere .
The situation is further complicated by the traditional definition of both a nation and an ethnic group through the characteristics of belonging - a common language, territory and culture, etc., from which the imaginary identity of these concepts and even phenomena is derived.
At the same time, the non-identity of ethnic and national-state identity is generally accepted in sociology, which considers ethnicity and nation as different social groups. Thus, in the absence of an interdisciplinary synthesis or even a unified categorical apparatus, the ethnology of globalization remains a field of political manipulation.
Ethnicity and nation are not successive stages of development, but parallel, coexisting and often competing spheres of social existence: the dominance of ethnic identity pushes into the background the national-state (national-political) and
vice versa. Ethnic groups are preserved, despite globalization, and maintain cultural and historical continuity when changing social formations, covering the majority of the population. State-forming ethnic groups continue their latent (hidden) functioning, going into the shadow of nations, and reappear during a crisis of the institutions of the national state - local or global.
Ethnicity and nation are qualitatively different social groups associated with different social positions (social roles), having different genesis and dynamics of development.
The difference between the phenomena of an ethnic group and a nation lies not in external attributes, but in the mechanism of reproduction and functioning of the ethnic group and nation as social groups. The mechanism of reproduction of an ethnos is direct intergenerational social heredity,
transmitting ethnicity through the image (way) of life and the structure of everyday life. The mechanism of reproduction of the nation is the interaction of the individual with the institutions of the state and civil society, forming the nation as a community that recognizes itself through the presence of common (national) interests mediated by the national state.
The stable parallelism of the coexistence of ethnic groups and nations (ethnic and national components) throughout a number of socio-economic formations, including the modern period of globalization, is far from obvious.
On the one hand, the awareness of the coexistence of an ethnos and a nation, as independent social institutions, is hampered by categorical uncertainty associated with the evolution of the corresponding concepts (nation and national, ethnos and ethnicity).
However, the main obstacle to understanding the sustainable existence of ethnicity in the conditions of industrialism and post-industrialism is the belief in the “residualism” and, accordingly, the ever-increasing relevance of ethnicity, supposedly quickly and irreversibly destroyed in the course of divergent social processes - changes in lifestyle (urbanization, migration), unification of mass culture. From the point of view of traditional ethnography and folkloristics, ethnic groups, especially state-forming ones, “disappeared” as a result of divergent processes back in the middle of the last century.
Moreover, by declaring the equality of citizens as the main constitutional principle, the national state purposefully denies all parallel power and social
institutions, including not only religion and class, but also ethnicity.
Thus, the ethnic group did not disappear during the transformation into a nation, but was forced out of the sphere of political and industrial relations to the everyday, latent level, into the sphere of private and family life. At the same time, field sociological studies, including censuses, confidently document that the vast majority of the population, including the population of megacities, have a distinct and stable ethnic identity, different from the national-state one.
According to the authors, the essence of the phenomenon of ethnicity and its independence from the state-civil sphere is not so much in external attributes, but in the mechanism of reproduction of ethnicity - direct social inheritance, not mediated by external socio-political institutions and including the translation of ethnic identity and images characteristic of the ethnos life, values and models of social behavior through the mechanisms of long-term, everyday repeated interaction, imitation and social-role behavior in the immediate, usually related and neighboring social environment.
The school of Fernand Braudel, who introduced the concept of “structures of everyday life,” drew attention to the social basis of modern ethnicity, which is fundamentally different from the political institutions of civil society. The concept of a way of life (way of life) is closer to the concept of structures of everyday life, as methods, forms and conditions of individual and collective human life typical for specific historical conditions, forming an individuality typical for a social group (including an ethnic group and a nation).
The structure of everyday life, interaction with the surrounding social and natural environment develops a unique way of life, which is an essential characteristic of an ethnos. The way of life is subject to changes, but these changes are psychologically invisible to members of the ethnos and are realized only after fairly large intervals of time, without affecting the collective sense of community. And the everyday structure of life is perceived as something permanent and transpersonal, which, in turn, leads to a feeling of psychological stability and continuity of the social life of the ethnic group. Corresponding
Indeed, the historical memory of an ethnos perceives time as continuity, excluding times of crises and cataclysms.
Accordingly, the external attributes of an ethnos (ethnic territory, language, religion, culture) turn out to be only derivatives of the basis of ethnicity - direct intergenerational social inheritance, based on long-term and close social interaction within the framework of the “structures of everyday life” and way of life.
Accordingly, from the nature of ethnicity, based on a way of life, mass and everyday horizontal social interactions, properties characteristic of an ethnos as a social group arise - high inertia, evolutionary, continuous and successive nature of change, preserving not only symbolic, but also direct continuity of modern ethnic groups in relation to the original ethnic groups of the distant historical past.
This means that even in the era of globalization, the ethnic group with its mechanisms of horizontal decentralized connections and social networks is far from disappearing, if only because it constitutes the everyday social environment of the individual and covers large masses of people. Ethnicity exists, remaining the main mechanism for reproducing the image (way) of social life.
Thus, the objective distinction between the spheres of ethnic and national follows from the fundamental difference in the mechanisms of reproduction of social groups: direct intergenerational social inheritance, horizontal social networks for an ethnic group and state institutions for a nation and similar political entities.
The mechanism and driving forces of ethnocultural divergence, and its connection with the crisis of the nation state and national identity, remain outside the field of view of the theory.
In our opinion, the objective driving force behind the transformation of an ethnos and a nation is their ability (including potential) to satisfy the most essential needs and interests of their members, ensuring cooperation in a competitive environment.
The prerequisite for the disintegration of modern nations into ethnocultural components was the sharp narrowing of the social functions of the state associated with economic globalization. In a fairly short period, the state unilaterally liquidated a number of
functions vital for citizens and social guarantees. In particular, the state has largely lost its role as an employer, social guarantor and social regulator, including the role of a regulator of ethno-confessional relations.
No less significant is the loss of the function of the national state as a social elevator, implementing the principles of equality and equal start and providing such an integration factor as a common social perspective. If European nations of the 19th and 20th centuries. are largely formed by state systems of universal fundamental education, then privatization, commercialization and globalization of education mean not only a decrease in the level achieved in the last century, but also the destruction and degradation of nations as social communities.
An important role in the disintegration of nations is played by the increasingly open refusal of the former national elites from the social obligations towards fellow citizens that underlie the welfare state and civil society. Accordingly, the loss of system-forming social functions by the state leads to the devaluation of the nation as a once attractive social community that balancedly ensures the individual and group interests of its citizens. The widely declared “refusal of state paternalism,” which puts members of the nation in a situation of total individual competition with each other, turned into a forced renunciation of loyalty to the state and civic solidarity that has lost its meaning.
Excluded from the system of social cooperation and support within the nation, individuals are forced to look for new social groups, new ways of cooperation that increase their competitiveness and security, and constantly adapt, changing their identity. “In a broad sense, the era of normalization of unstable social identification states of the individual is coming.” However, the range of choice for a new leading identity in conditions of social instability is extremely narrow and limited to those social groups with which the individual and his environment are already connected directly and on a daily basis.
Practice shows that the result of the choice is predetermined by the presence of a second, ethnic identity among individuals, which emerges from the shadow of the national one and becomes the leading one.
S.P. Stumpf. To the origins of the phenomenon of spirituality. Analysis of the concept of “soul” in the context of Western European philosophical knowledge
Having lost confidence in the national state, its citizen almost automatically recognizes himself as a member of an ethnos - a social community that continuously and inextricably coexists with the nation, in which he de facto exists from birth and with which he connects the future of his descendants, regardless of transformations in the social environment. Accordingly, the choice of religion in most cases is determined by ethnicity.
In other words, globalization, weakening the civil and political institutions that form the nation and national consciousness, leads to the disintegration of political nations into ethnic groups, which are increasingly becoming “political ethnic groups.”
Ideas about globalization as a general convergence, formed by economic determinism, are refuted by social practice, during which the decomposition of civil nations, as the leading social groups of the 20th century, causes compensatory social processes of a divergent nature, including the activation of latent ethnicity, the consolidation of global ethnic diasporas and religious denominations .
Drawing attention to the continuous preservation of an ethnic group when changing economic formations, the authors emphasize that ethnic divergence poses a threat not only to the national state, but also to the ethnic group itself, which is losing the political superstructure necessary for survival and competition in the post-industrial world.
The preservation of sufficiently large states as the only form of management of society that is adequate to the level of development of the productive forces and at the same time ensuring the coexistence of ethnic groups requires overcoming the crisis of civil nations as social groups that determine the leading identity and thereby harmonize interethnic and social relations.
Literature
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5. Bromley Yu.V. Essays on the theory of ethnicity. 3rd ed., revised. - M.: Book house "Librocom", 2009. -P.440.
6. Braudel F. Material civilization, economics and capitalism, XV-XVIII centuries. v. 1. Structures of everyday life: possible and impossible. - M.: “Progress”, 1986 - P.624.
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Safonov Andrey Leonidovich - Candidate of Technical Sciences, Vice-Rector for International Relations of Moscow State Industrial University, Associate Professor of the Department of History and Sociology, e-mail: [email protected].
Orlov Alexander Dmitrievich - Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Humanities, branch of Moscow State Industrial University, e-mail: [email protected].
Safonov Andrey Leonidovich - cand. of technical science, Vice-Rector for International Relations, assistant professor History and sociology Department of Moscow State industrial university, e-mail: [email protected].
Orlov Aleksandr Dmitrievich - cand. of technical science, assistant professor of History and sociology Department of Moscow State industrial university, e-mail: [email protected].
S.P. Stumpf
TO THE ORIGINS OF THE PHENOMENON OF SPIRITUALITY. ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT “SOUL”
IN THE CONTEXT OF WESTERN EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHICAL KNOWLEDGE
The article discusses the genesis of the problems of spirituality. Based on the materials of Western European philosophy, a well-grounded theoretical and methodological analysis of its intuitive figurative form, expressed in the concept of Soul, was carried out. A dialectical relationship has been identified in the categorical series soul-spirituality, which in turn determines the system of life-meaning value guidelines for a person and society.
Key words: spirituality, soul, spirit, Western European philosophy, methodology, genesis, morality, sociality, value content.
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