Popkov D. Political and institutional means for the consolidation of a split society

This thesis is devoted to the study of the political and social phenomenon of a split society based on the characteristics that pose a risk to the integrity of the state. The relevance of the topic is predicated by the tendencies of de- etatization induced by the deepening globalization and transitological processes, the renaissance of primordial identity markers, the number and consequences of religious and ethnic conflicts, as well as by the ongoing armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The definition of differentiating markers of ethnic, linguistic, and religious (confessional) affiliation as lines of demarcation, a division along which would threaten the integrity of the «society-polity» heterogeneous system has been substantiated. The possibility of assigning the three identified affiliations to one ethnic category according to S. Shirokogoroff's definition as well as the advantages of his definition over that of Weber have been proved. The limitations of the Lipset-Rokkan concept of delineation are established and the conceptualization of the scientific definition of the «social division» with the construction of a dynamic model on the example of the mathematical pendulum (Analogy III) and localization of the conflictual component is proposed. The bifurcation point in this model employing W. Sumner's and W. Mühlmann's «ethnocentrism» concept as the basic structure of the ethnic phenomenon is investigated for the first time. The role of the state in the form of «favourability» to one of the parties in a social confrontation is explored through a comparison with judicial proceedings (Analogy IV). The definition of variants of ethnic communities' strategies during the social division is proposed using an explanatory model built on the concept of «state capture» by A. Grzymala-Busse, «symbolic capital» by P. Bourdieu, and the concept of A. Hirschman - S. Finer individual strategy of behavior in relation to formal rules in adverse conditions. It is proposed to define democratism as characteristics of admissibility of means of overcoming social division due to the presence of a set of conditions derived from the concept of «agonism» by C. Mouffe. The main courses in the political science literature of the concepts of conflict resolution in a divided society and the principles of post-conflict institutional regulation of democratic orientation are defined, and their essence is also identified. The use of criteria set for the evaluation of the implementation of the recommendations of the social consolidation concepts in a particular heterogeneous «society-polity» system is proposed: sovereignty (1); economical efficiency (2) and the complex interrelation of the three aspects — rapidness (3a), effectiveness (3b), and sustainability (3c), which allowed to focus further scientific exploration on the recommendations and theoretical foundations of the «power-sharing» domain. The need for the ability of the electoral system to ensure the legitimacy of power to consolidate a divided society and stabilize the polity has been determined, and the nature of the electoral system-mediated process of assembly and delegation of shares of popular sovereignty, carried by each citizen individually, has been clarified through comparison with the institution of representation in jurisprudence (Analogy V). The criteria of legitimacy of a decision for its reception by the community on whose behalf it is taken are formulated: inclusiveness (as opposed to the conflict strategy of «intense exclusion») — the participation of all members of the collective (naturally, considering the generally recognized requirements for legal capacity by age and mental health) in the formulation of a decision; universal representation — objective coverage and inclusion of all individual points of view — the personal freedoms of voters in the final result. The problems of the actual (current) legitimacy of the representative body of power are considered, which are unjustifiably neglected in studies of the design of electoral systems through certain «presumptions», the fallacy of which is proven in light of Analogy V. The role expected by the co-social and integrative models and the actual role of a party system in a divided society are examined and the "points of intersection" of parties and ethnic communities are analyzed. The necessity to introduce ethnopolitics on the principle of «unity in diversity» and to direct the formation of the modern Ukrainian political nation to the common future of a democratic multi-ethnic society in connection with the inability to offer a common «image of the past» is substantiated. The necessity of the implementation of the specific political institutions, which in the Ukrainian reality will contribute to the attainment of such a contract and ensure the consolidation of a divided society, is proposed and substantiated.