political identity

The article substantiates the diff erence between political science and sociological approaches to the analysis of political identities of young people. The authors come to the conclusion that the sociological approach in most cases assumes that political identities of citizens are analyzed and interpreted by the researcher as relevant at the time of conducting sociological research as a resource and tool for political selfreproduction of the social system.

This article analyzes the existing theoretical and methodological approaches to the problems of political identity, their heuristic potential revealed. An attempt to determine the state of political identity in the new Russian conditions, taking into account the processes of globalization and the profound social transformations in Russia. The conclusion about the need to consider the duality of conditions of formation of Russian political identity for the purpose of deeper understanding, explanation and prediction of the process.

The article is devoted to analysis of one of the reasons why today in the world, including Russia and “Western” states with long-standing liberal traditions, governing elites and civil societies’ critical attitude to institutions, values, and practices of liberal democratic policy is growing. The author explains the grow of such dissatisfaction by inversion of two stereotypical (social and mythological) civil identities and corresponding motivations for political participation.