The phenomenon of regional subjectness in solving the issue of reforming Russia’s system of government

• Main Author: Merzlykov Andrey Aleksandrovich
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences 2018-07-01
• Series: Вестник Института социологии
• Online Access: http:///files/File/Vestnik_2018_25/Merzliakov.pdf

This article is based on materials from a sociological evaluation of the expression of the population’s subjectness, which was conducted by FSRSC RAS’ “Sociology of Management and Social Technologies Center” during 2012-2017 in regions of various degree of socio-cultural modernization, as part of a research program studying the reformation of the system of government. It contains a substantial evaluation of a certain statement, according to which the form and nature of the manifestation of said phenomenon is defined by compliance with a “social contract”, under which society views its own ability to self-organize and its own pursuit for government participation as the most important aspect, while governing bodies prioritize their ability to resolve issues related to modernization and maintaining an acceptable level of social order. This article indicates the following key attributes when it comes to the formation of subjectness: 1) certain categories of the population being ready to participate in government; 2) their correlation with a certain social unity – from municipal level all the way up to regional and national. An individual’s life attitude is considered to be the main attribute in the expression of subjectness, the former revealing itself in: 1) his/her public and electoral activity; 2) their level of communicative activity; 3) their use of modern information technology (the internet, social networks). The population’s subjectness is registered via self-evaluation of people’s participation in social life, through evaluating government activities and the latter’s ability to solve problems inherent to a certain region, as well as through registering regional social attitudes when it comes to interacting with public authorities. The expression of subjectness in regions of various socio-cultural modernization levels bears its own specificity, and can serve as a marker for the social order emerging within them.