Zhytko A. Social and Political Phenomenon of Populism: Information-Protection Aspect

The object is a social and political phenomenon of populism. The objective is consider the information and security aspect of the social and political phenomenon of populism (on the example of Ukrainian society). The methods - system, comparative analysis, structural and functional. Theoretical and practical results - identification of specific characteristics and determinants of the phenomenon of populism, which may be relevant both to explain the "aggressive expansion" of political space by modern populist politicians and to solve the problem of finding adequate and effective tools to counter populist practices of the XXI century. Novelty – for the first time the «democratic genome» of populism has been proven; the definition of «universal» markers of populism are suggested; it is suggested to expand the borders of cognition of the nature and essence of the socio-political phenomenon of populism; it has been proved that populist practices are permanently present in Ukrainian politics; the statement that the growth of populist movements and practices in the modern world is largely due to the consequences of globalization, economic recession, cultural unification and massification of public consciousness has been clarified; arguments on the prospects and multi-vector nature of further research on the phenomenon of populism in modern political science and arguments that the enormous "anti-populist" potential is endowed with political education, media education and political culture in general; the statement about the priority of the national information and security policy is substantiated. The rate of implementation - development of specific recommendations for the analysis of the impact of populism on the modern political process, in particular, in Ukraine. The scope of application - power structures; state security and defense structures; political parties; analytical and educational activities.