Scientific section. Politology

The subject of analysis in this article is the meaning of the “historical method”, on which domestic political studies are based today. The author comes to the conclusion that this meaning is close to that which is followed by representatives of other modern humanitarian sciences when they use the general scientific “historical method” to study the order and dynamics of changes in natural and social systems in the past. This meaning, however, is variable.

This article presents the main directions of analysis of the political functionality of the state in the domestic scientific discourse in the post-Soviet period, explains the prevalence of law research of this problem. The main interpretations of the concept of state functions and the main criteria for their classification are examined, the peculiarities of understanding and interpreting the political functions of the state are revealed.

The article discusses the nature of the phenomenon of socio-political stability in modern Russia with a decrease in living standards and real incomes, which is noted in recent years against the background of economic recession. As part of the study of the phenomenon considered by the ANO “Institute of Public and Political Communications” in June 2018, a large-scale study was conducted among residents of the North-Eastern districts of the Voronezh region and the city of Borisoglebsk.

This article deals with such aspects as the identification and definition of goals, means and methods by which leaders manage to enlist the support of the administration and the population. The article reveals the approaches to the definition of the concept of “leadership”, which take place both in foreign political science and in Russia. The political phenomenon of leadership, the process of its development in the system of state and municipal government are described. Psychological, social, political components of leadership, basic models of leadership are revealed.

Key factors affecting inversion of image of liberal leadership in Post-Soviet Russia are analyzed in the article. Based on Russian liberal leaders’ scholarly works, programs and pre-election materials of the biggest liberal political parties of Post-Soviet Russia, main reasons of liberals’ images evolution from their perception as a powerful political force that has succeeded in collapsing the USSR and conducting liberal reforms in all spheres of social life to the image of marginal political parties acting as a pro-West tool of globalization processes are characterized.

The article deals with the question of the Internet memes role in the implementation of the memory policy. The authors propose their own concept of memes and introduce the concept of “meming”, fixing the process of creating memes. Historical memes are created for political purposes, contribute to the formation of historical memory and group identity. They can reflect the official state policy of the memory or oppose it. The meme is considered as a new form of myth information, reflecting the desire of a modern mass Internet user to consume entertainment content.

The role of the geopolitical factor in modern Russian politics is explored in the article. The urgency of geopolitical problems and priorities in the formation and development of modern Russia is analyzed. Its main geostrategic priorities are considered at the present stage. The authors come to the conclusion that the list of priorities for Russia will continue to undergo changes, and in the process of its formation it is extremely important to combine geopolitical and civilizational principles.

The article contains the results of the opinion polls concerning the way people evaluate public diplomacy potential in Saratov region. The role of mobility of near abroad states’ citizens, as well as networks of personal and kindred contacts in developing public diplomacy practices is defined.

The article reveals different approaches to the definition of the concept of “national security”. Among them the author distinguishes the approach based on the protection of the environment inbyte, dignity, values, personality, social groups, the state, society, civilization as a whole; approach is based on activity on the identification, prevention, weakening, elimination and the reflection of hazards and threats; a system approach and others.

Positive and negative aspects of using the simplified formula of the “institutional method” within political research are the object of this article. The goals that are achieved through applying of this formula are analyzed. The author comes to the conclusion that expressions like “an institutional method was applied” do not act as an attribute of research principles, procedures, and instruments. They play a role of а conventional marker denoting both the general angle through which a political scholar intends to explore politics and the main focus of their research.