Of the listed groups, it belongs to an ethnic community. Types of ethnic communities

Ethnic communities.

Community and personality. Social communities and their classification. Types of communities.

Society as complete system consists of many constituent groups, classes, estates, strata, and so on, representing one or another collective formation. In general, they can be defined by the concept of community, which is the general name of all elements that make up society. In much the same way that an organism consists of organs, society consists of its constituent communities, through which people are included in the social structure of society. There are quite a lot of definitions of this concept. First of all, the concept of community means any association of people, starting from an elementary group of two or three people and ending with communities that number millions of people (races, nations, concessions).

Social communities are distinguished by a huge variety of specific historical and situationally determined types and forms. Thus, in terms of quantitative composition, they range from the interaction of two people (dyads) to numerous international political and economic movements. In terms of the duration of existence - from lasting minutes and hours (the audience of a particular entertainment event) to ethnic groups and nations living for centuries and millennia, in terms of the density of connections between individuals - from closely knit groups and organizations to very vague, amorphous formations (fans of the Manchester United team ) etc.

At the same time, much more important in the classification of social areas is the identification of one or another basic system-forming feature. According to this distinguish between territorial, ethnic, demographic, cultural and other communities. A complex set of characteristics makes it possible to divide all communities into the two broadest subclasses: mass and group communities.

Communities are characterized by:

1. Identification of one or another leading characteristic (nation, profession, age, status, gender, and so on). This common characteristic is dominant and must belong to all members of the community. This sign should be a consolidating principle, thanks to which the scattered mass of people acquires character holistic education. This characteristic can have either a natural character (gender; nation, race, age) or a social character (religious trait, belonging to social status, profession);

2. In a social community there must be certain social connections between its constituent people. These connections can be stronger, determining the long-term existence of a community, and less strong, characteristic of random communities (queue, spectators, passengers);

3. The presence of a common characteristic and social connections also presupposes common signs of behavior and mentality, which further unites people into a single team or association.

Τᴀᴋᴎᴍ ᴏϬᴩᴀᴈᴏᴍ, social community- this is such a union of people (natural or social), which is characterized by common feature, more or less strong social connections, a general type of behavior, goal setting and state of mind. Society itself can be imagined as an extremely complex community, which, like a Russian nesting doll, is made up of many other communities, even the smallest groups, including two or three people.

Unlike social institutions and organizations, communities are not created consciously by people, but are formed solely under the influence of the objective course of social development and the joint nature of life. Different types of communities are formed on different objective grounds.

Some types of communities are directly generated by social production (production collective, social class, social and professional groups).

Other communities are formed on an ethnic basis (tribe, nationality, nation).

Socio-demographic, they are based on natural demographic factors (gender, age, place of residence).

There are other types of communities that have a different objective basis. Sociologists divide any community into two classes:

1) nominal are classification groups artificially identified by researchers; they are isolated for statistical accounting of the population, which is why they are called nominal or conditional. Οʜᴎ necessary in business practice (ship passengers with permanent or temporary registration, etc.)

2) real communities, they can be large or small and are called so because the criterion for their identification are signs that are recognized by people as really existing signs and are among the socially significant. Since these are real signs, they not only exist objectively, but are also perceived by people subjectively. The characteristics that form real communities include gender, age, kinship and marriage, nationality, income, profession, occupation and place of residence.

Representatives of the same real community have similar behavioral stereotypes, lifestyles and value orientations. Three types are sometimes distinguished into an independent subclass of real communities and they are called main:

Stratification (classes, estates, castes);

Ethnic (tribes, clans, races, nations, nationalities);

Territorial (people from the same area: fellow countrymen, townspeople, villagers).

Behind real communities there are aggregates, which is what people call aggregates, identified on the basis of behavioral characteristics. These include radio, TV audience, public, cinema, theater, stadium and some types of crowd (onlookers, passers-by). Οʜᴎ combine the features of real and nominal communities and therefore are located on the border between them. The term “aggregate” means a random collection of people; aggregates are not studied by statistics and therefore do not belong to statistical groups.

Historically, the first types of communities were those that arose immediately with the formation human society associations that are called ethnic communities. These communities are also called consanguineous. These include clans, tribes, nationalities, nations, families and clans. Οʜᴎ are united on the basis of genetic connections and form an evolutionary chain, the beginning of which is the family.

Family- This is the smallest consanguineous group of people related by common origin. Several families entering into an alliance form a clan. Clans are united into clans.

Clan is a group of blood relatives who bear the name of an alleged ancestor. The clan maintained common ownership of the land, blood feud, and mutual responsibility. Today clans exist as relics, surviving among the American Indians, Japan and parts of Scotland. Several clans united to form a tribe.

Tribe is a higher form of organization that includes a large number of people. Tribes have own language or dialect, territory, formal organization (chief, tribal council). In the course of further cultural and economic development, tribes are transformed into nationalities, and those into nations.

Nationality is an ethnic community that occupies an intermediate place between a tribe and a nation. It represents a linguistic, territorial, economic and cultural community. A nation is larger in number than a tribe; consanguineous ties do not cover the entire nation, and their significance is not so great.

Nation is an autonomous community, not limited by territorial boundaries, whose members are committed to common values ​​and social institutions. Representatives of one nation no longer have common ancestor and common origin, but they must have a common language and a common mentality. More often than not, representatives of the same nation share common religious beliefs. The unifying principle that consolidates the nation is formed thanks to general history and culture. Nations arise during the period of overcoming feudal fragmentation and the birth of capitalism. Οʜᴎ are more numerous than nationalities and sometimes number millions of people. On the basis of a single territory, language and economy, a single national character and mental makeup are formed, and a strong feeling of solidarity with one’s nation arises. National-patriotic, national liberation movements and interethnic conflicts are signs that a nation has formed and is fighting for its sovereignty.

Ethnic communities. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Ethnic communities." 2017, 2018.

All the inhabitants of our big planet are very different: for example, the highlanders are not at all similar to the islanders. Even within the same nation or country, there may be separate ethnic groups that differ in their cultural characteristics and traditions. In essence, an ethnic group is part of an ethnic group, a certain community that was formed historically in a certain territory. Let's consider this issue in more detail.

History and origin of the term

Today, an ethnic group is an important object of study for such sciences as history, population geography, and cultural studies. Social psychologists study this issue in order to prevent and resolve various ethnic conflicts. What is the origin of this term?

The etymology of the word “ethnos” is very interesting. It can be translated as “not Greek.” That is, in essence, “ethnos” is a stranger, a foreigner. The ancient Greeks used the term to refer to various tribes of non-Greek origin. But they called themselves different, no less famous word- “demos”, which means “people”. Later the term migrated to Latin language, in which the adjective “ethnic” appeared. In the Middle Ages, it was also actively used in religious meaning, being synonymous with the words “non-Christian”, “pagan”.

Today "ethnos" has become purely scientific term, which refers to all types of ethnic groups. The science that studies them is called ethnography.

Ethnic group is...

What is the meaning of this term? And what are its features and distinctive features?

An ethnic group is a stable community of people that has formed in a certain territory and has its own distinctive characteristics. The characteristics of such a group will be discussed a little later.

In science, this term is very often identified with such concepts as “ethnicity”, “ ethnic identity", "nation". But in the legal sphere it is completely absent - there it is often replaced by the terms "people" and The lack of clear definitions of all these concepts is a serious scientific problem. Many scientists believe that each of them hides its own specific phenomenon, therefore, they cannot be identified.In the “ethnic group,” Soviet researchers often abused the categories of sociology, and Western researchers - psychology.

Western scientists identify two very important features of ethnic groups:

• firstly, they do not have their own statehood;
• secondly, having their own history, ethnic groups are not active and important historical subjects.

Ethnic group structure

All existing ethnic groups have approximately the same structure, which consists of three main parts:

1. The core of an ethnic group, which is characterized by compact living in a specific territory.
2. The periphery is a part of a group that is territorially separated from the core.
3. Diaspora is that part of the population that is geographically dispersed, including that it may occupy the territories of other ethnic communities.

Main features of ethnic communities

There are several signs by which a particular person can be classified as a member of a particular ethnic group. It is noteworthy that the community members themselves consider these characteristics significant for themselves; they underlie their self-awareness.

Here are the main characteristics of an ethnic group:

• relationship by blood and marriage (this feature is considered somewhat outdated);
• general history of origin and development;
• territorial attribute, that is, binding to a specific area or territory;
• their cultural characteristics and traditions.

Main types of ethnic groups

Today, there are several classifications of ethnic groups and ethnic communities: geographical, linguistic, anthropological and cultural-economic.

Ethnic groups include following types(levels):

• A clan is nothing more than a close community of blood relatives.
• A tribe is several clans that are related to each other common traditions, religion, cult or general dialect.
• A nationality is a special ethnic group that was formed historically and is united by one language, culture, faith and common territory.
• A nation is the highest form of development of an ethnic community, which is characterized by a common territory, language, culture and developed economic ties.

Ethnic identity

An important indicator of the level of formation of a social ethnic group, in particular a nation, is ethnic self-awareness. This term is one of the main ones in the psychology of the groups we are considering.

Ethnic self-awareness is a sense of belonging of a particular individual to a particular ethnic group, ethnic group, or nation. At the same time, a person must be aware of his unity with this community and understand the qualitative differences from other ethnic groups and groups.

For the formation of ethnic self-awareness, it is very important to study the history of one’s people, as well as cultural characteristics, folklore and traditions that are passed down from generation to generation, a thorough knowledge of their language and literature.

Finally...

Thus, ethnicity is a rather interesting phenomenon and a separate object of research. By studying individual communities, we not only learn about their cultural or historical features, but we also cultivate tolerance, tolerance and respect for other ethnic groups and cultures. Ultimately, understanding and respecting the characteristics of other ethnic groups leads to a significant reduction in ethnic disputes, conflicts and wars.

Ethnic communities.

Types of ethnic communities. In the economic, social, political, spiritual life of any society, an important place is occupied by ethnic communities(ethnic groups). Οʜᴎ can be represented by various entities: clan, tribe, nationalities, nation. Ethnosociology is a discipline that has developed at the intersection of sociology and ethnography. The main goal of this discipline is to analyze the ethnic diversity of social processes, the conditionality and diversity of ethnic systems and elements of everyday life, culture, etc. Ethnosociology examines the main types of social activities of people. Its subject is: the social structure of ethnic societies, socially significant phenomena in their culture, language, ethnic characteristics socionormative culture, human behavior, the psyche of peoples, national identity and national relations.

Ethnic community - This is a group of people who are connected by common origin and long-term coexistence. In the process of long-term joint life of people, common and stable characteristics were developed that distinguish one group from another: language, features of everyday culture, customs and traditions. These signs are reproduced in ethnic identity people, in which their origin, inherited traditions, and their understanding of their place among other peoples are recorded. He is aware of his common origin and thereby his ethnic kinship. At the same time, he distinguishes himself from other nations.

The most ancient ethnic communities include tribes, whose life and activities were based on tribal and social ties. Each tribe had signs of an ethnic community: they differed from each other in their origin, language, established customs and traditions, material and spiritual culture. Each tribe developed its own ethnic identity. Tribes are a form of organization of the primitive communal system, which existed in different historical eras on different continents of the earth.

With the transition to civilization, in which not tribal, but social ties between people came to the fore, the tribe gave way to another type of ethnic community - to the people. All peoples as ethnic communities at the stage of civilization have always been distinguished by their special socio-ethnic characteristics, characteristics of their origin, language, culture, ethnic identity, etc. Unlike tribes, peoples in the era of civilization achieved incomparably greater socio-ethnic consolidation and higher development of their language, material and spiritual culture. It was at this time that the national characters of many peoples began to take shape, which found expression in their national consciousness and self-awareness.

Formation nations ended with the development of machine production and the capitalist market, which connected all parts of a country into a single economic organism. The intensification of economic communication inevitably intensified the political and cultural communication of people, which led to their consolidation as nations, the flourishing of culture and national character. French scientist J.E. Renan(1823-1892) argued that nations can be formed through the process life together and “mixing” of representatives of different races. Nations combine natural and social properties. Renan calls one of the signs of a nation the community of interests of its people, which is determined general conditions life, a common history and destiny and represents an important factor in the formation and development of a nation.

Over time, a more or less rich spiritual world nation, uniting all its representatives. He indicated the spiritual characteristics of the nation G. Lebon. From this “spiritual structure” flow the feelings of the people, their thoughts, beliefs, art, as well as various kinds of institutions that regulate their social life. The soul of a people is its morals, feelings, ideas, ways of thinking. When morals deteriorate, nations disappear, Le Bon argued. In doing so, he referred to the example Ancient Rome. The idea of ​​the “soul of the people” as the “soul of the nation” was developed by the German philosopher W. Wundt(1832-1920). He rightly argued: to understand the soul of a people, you need to know its history, ethnology, art, science, religion, language and customs. These features constitute its national character.

A nation is special historical community people, characterized by the commonality of its origin, language, territory, economic structure, as well as mental makeup and culture, manifested in the commonality of its ethnic consciousness and self-awareness. National in all its manifestations is associated with unique ethnic characteristics nation. Any relationship in society acquires a national character when its social content is organically combined with the ethnic one. Concept nationality denotes ethnic characteristics not only of entire nations compactly living in certain territories, but also of all its representatives, wherever they live, incl. on the territories of other peoples and states.

Factors in the formation of an ethnic group. Ethnicity is a historically established stable collection of people in a certain territory, possessing common features and stable characteristics of culture and psychological make-up, as well as awareness of its unity and difference from other similar entities (self-awareness). External form of expression of ethnicity - ethnonym(self-name): Russians, English, Germans, etc. The most important prerequisite for the formation of an ethnic group is community of territory. It creates conditions for close communication and unification of people. Subsequently, this sign fades into the background and may be completely absent. For example, the Jewish ethnic group in conditions of diaspora (dispersion) retains its identity throughout the world, although before its creation in 1948. The State of Israel did not have a single territory.

Another important condition for the formation of an ethnic group is community of language. But this sign cannot be absolute. In an ethnic community greatest influence has the unity of the components of spiritual culture: values, norms, behavioral stereotypes, as well as the associated socio-psychological characteristics of people’s consciousness. Plays a significant role in the formation of ethnicity coincidence with other types of communities: racial, religious, etc. An example of a racial ethnic community is the Negroid ethnic group. Has a huge influence on the formation of all ethnic groups religion, acting as a comprehensive sociocultural and spiritual education.

A sign of ethnic community is ethnic identity- a sense of belonging to a certain ethnic group. Ethnic self-awareness captures the idea of ​​the common origin and historical destinies of the people included in the ethnic group. The formed ethnic group functions as an integral social organism. It is historically reproduced through internal marriages and through the system of socialization. The stronger ethnic group assimilates the weaker ones. An ethnos always strives to create its own socio-territorial organization of a military or state type. History knows examples when an ethnic group should be divided by state borders, but retains its identity. An element of any ethnic group is also worldview, world consciousness(mythological and religious ideas that combine natural and spiritual-moral principles).

Russian ethnicity. The worldview of the Russian ethnic group began to take shape on the basis of pagan beliefs. Οʜᴎ are reflected in myths, legends, and epics. P.A.Sorokin believed that the Russian nation arose as a socio-cultural system in the 9th century. The main features of the Russian nation: its long life, vitality, resilience, willingness to make sacrifices, extraordinary growth of territory, population, political, social and cultural growth, racial and ethnic diversity, unity, comparative peaceful expansion, conducting predominantly defensive wars. On the formation of the Russian nation big influence had an acceptance of 988ᴦ. Orthodoxy as the state religion Kievan Rus. The main elements of Russian culture and social organization represented the ideological and material implementation of the principles of Orthodoxy.

The fundamental idea of ​​the national spirituality of the Russian nation over many centuries of its existence was the idea of ​​unity of Russian lands. Initially, it was considered as an idea to overcome feudal fragmentation. It was most vividly reflected in the Tale of Igor’s Campaign, Zadonshchin, and the Novgorod Chronicles. The development of the spiritual and moral foundations of the Russian nation is associated with the gathering of Russian lands around Moscow, overcoming dependence on the yoke of the Golden Horde, restraining the raids of the steppes, and the formation of an independent state. Since the 14th century. The Russians managed to create a great Orthodox power from the Carpathians to the walls of China. With Peter's reforms, Western culture began to influence the formation of the Russian nation.

P.A. Sorokin emphasizes that state, linguistic, cultural and territorial communities by themselves do not give rise to a nation. Only when a group of individuals belongs to a single state, is bound by a common language and territory, does it truly form a nation. A nation is a diverse (multifunctional), solidary, organized, semi-closed socio-cultural group. She is aware of the fact of her existence and development. This group consists of individuals who: 1) are citizens of one state; 2) have a common or similar language and a common system of cultural values; 3) occupy the common territory on which they live or their ancestors lived.

Topic 6. Lecture 2. SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS (2 hours).

Lecture outline:1. Concept, signs of organization.

2. Functioning of organizations.

Leadership styles.

3. Typology of organizations.

Concept, characteristics of organizations. Social organization is commonly understood as a system of relations that unites a certain number of individuals (groups) to achieve a certain goal. Social organizations are created as: 1) a tool for solving social problems, a means of achieving goals, in connection with this, its goals and functions, the effectiveness of results, motivation and stimulation of personnel are studied; 2) as a human community, a set of social groups, statuses, norms, leadership relationships, cohesion-conflict; 3) as an impersonal structure of connections and norms, determined by administrative and cultural factors, as an aggregated integrity, the main problems of which are balance, self-government, division of labor, controllability.

The reality of the existence of social groups is manifested in their activities in the form of industrial, religious, national, scientific organizations, political parties, trade unions etc. Social organization forms social groups into a collective. Social organizations have a number of features: 1) they are created to achieve certain goals; 2) members of the organization are distributed along the hierarchical ladder according to their roles and statuses; 3) there is a division of labor, its specialization vertically and horizontally; 4) the presence of control subsystems, means of regulation and control of the activities of elements of the organization. These elements, according to A.I. Prigozhin, determine the organizational order, a system of stable goals, connections and norms governing relationships.

Organizations differ in accordance with the main spheres of society. Most of them include several subsystems: for example, in a production organization there are technical, economic, managerial, and social subsystems. A social organization unites its members with common interests, goals, values, norms, and makes double demands on its members - as an impersonal institution and as a human community. Each individual makes his own demands on the organization: protecting his social status, ensuring professional and status growth, creating conditions for personal development. The implementation of these requirements is one of the important sources of development of the organization and its social effectiveness.

Every organization is like a complex system is characterized by a special cooperative effect when the total energy of an organization exceeds the sum of the individual efforts of its subjects, called synergetics (Greek - cooperation, commonwealth). This increase results from the fact that the organization integrates the efforts of all its elements. Several stages of energy growth can be distinguished: 1) mass, simultaneity, unidirectionality of many efforts, 2) specialization, when a worker achieves better results due to the improvement of one production operation, 3) coordination, coordination (conveyor). The secret of the organizational effect is rooted in the principles of combining individual and group efforts: unity of purpose, division of labor, coordination and other methods. In organizations, this phenomenon can be strengthened and modified.

The complexity of an organization may exceed management capabilities. The complexity of systems can be absolute (objective, inherent in the object) and relative (subjective, characterizing the ability to control). Organizational complexity is distinguished by: 1) multiplicity of elements; 2) diversity of elements and functions (technical, biological, sociotechnical systems); 3) the variety of connections between elements and contradictions between them; 4) autonomy of all its levels, parts, elements (subjectivity, people having their own goals, freedom of behavior). In relation to social organizations, a simplification method is used, such as social formalization, standardization of organizational connections and norms.

Formalization of connections and norms. Social formalization as a way of organization is the purposeful formation of standard, impersonal patterns of behavior in legal, organizational and sociocultural forms. In social organizations, formalization covers controlled connections, statuses and norms. Thanks to it, absolute and relative organizational complexity is reduced. The most important feature of this method of organization is their documentation in unified system legal, technological, economic and other norms. The result of formalization is manifested in the concentration of organizational activity, in its most optimal direction.

There are two ways to formalize social systems. The first way is through the design of a naturally occurring state. This kind of formalization can be called “reflexive”. For example, a spontaneous distribution of functions in some division of an enterprise is once fixed in the form of a special administrative procedure, serving organizational basis functioning of this unit and a standard for new ones. The second way of formalization is the “construction” of a social organization. IN in this case the creation of the program precedes the actual existence of the organization. For example, the creation of a new enterprise involves the preliminary development of a special project, work plan, etc., in accordance with which its technical and social structures are organized.

Along with the formal part, there is always an informal part, which is represented by the socio-psychological organization as a spontaneously developing system interpersonal relationships. These relationships are aimed at satisfying the social needs of individuals (for communication, recognition, belonging). Socio-psychological organization is manifested in group formation. Socio-psychological groups include a small contingent of people, the connections between whom developed spontaneously but are stable (3-10 people). Such a group is characterized by socio-psychological community, a sense of solidarity, mutual trust, common destiny. Its boundaries may coincide with formal ones or differ from them.

The group spontaneously forms its own norms of behavior, which each member must follow. In this way, a socio-psychological mechanism of intragroup control is developed. In a group, its members are distributed according to a scale of prestige. This distribution often does not coincide with the job and rank structure. The structure of the team is divided into formal and socio-psychological (unit - group, manager - leader, position - prestige). Such a split can lead to phenomena of disorganization. For this reason, the task of a sociologist is to find ways to combine formal organization and socio-psychological organization (recruitment of personnel, election of managers, etc.).

The formal structure is opposed not only by the socio-psychological, but also by the informal organization of the personnel. Often, in order to solve work problems, employees have to enter into relationships with each other that are not provided for in the instructions. This occurs when employees cannot resolve all issues through the “top” and establish “horizontal” relationships among themselves. An informal organization arises as a result of the desire of workers to better solve their official affairs, due to the inability to cover all relationships and situations with official standards. For this reason, an organization usually has a “parallel” system of connections and norms. It must be very beneficial to the organization or harmful.

Organizational goals. The key element of an organization is purpose. It is for this purpose that people come together in an organization; it is for the sake of its achievement that they line up in a hierarchy and introduce management. The goals of an organization come in three varieties: 1) goal-tasks: plans, instructions given to the organization by subordination to the broader organizational system, and reflecting the external purpose of the organization as a social instrument; 2) goals-orientation: the common interests of the participants correspond to the property of the organization as a human community; 3) the goals of the system are balance, stability, integrity.

While there is a certain unity of goals of organizations, some discrepancies and contradictions are also possible between them. For example, innovations cause an imbalance in internal connections in organizations, which aggravates the problem of system goals and can result in organizational resistance to innovations. For this reason, the coordination of all components of the target structure of organizations is the most important task management, and their mismatch is a source of dysfunction and pathology in organizational relations. These goals are basic, their achievement is associated with the emergence of secondary, derivative goals - improving product quality, improving working conditions, strengthening discipline, etc.

To organize collective action, a hierarchy is necessary. Social hierarchy is a universal form of constructing social systems (state, organization, settlement, family) on the basis of subordination. The hierarchy manifests centralization of management, unity of command, and leadership. Hierarchy acts: 1) as a function of joint activity in the form of coordination, division of labor “horizontally” and “vertically”; 2) as a personal regime in an organization, one-sided personal dependence of one individual on another (in the form of statuses); 3) as power, the subordination of members of a given organizational system to rules and instructions (coercion, sanctions for deviation).

Functioning of organizations.

Management in organizations. Management consists of three components. The first of them - purposeful external control influence, or self-government, including goal setting and goal implementation, constitutes the core of management. The second component of management is social self-organization, ᴛ.ᴇ. spontaneous processes of intra-collective regulation (leadership, “prestige scale”, informal group formation, social norms). Both of these components form the third - organizational order, which includes both the products of “past” managerial work (decisions, job structure, administrative routine), and a system of spontaneously formed rules and norms of relations in the team.

Management issues include such problems as the relationship between formal and informal structures, the relationship between leadership and subordination, the participation of performers in the development of common decisions, the combination of personal, group and organizational goals, evaluation of managers, personnel adaptation, etc. .
Posted on ref.rf
In recent years, sociological problems of managing technical and organizational innovations, the formation of flexible organizational structures, and management consulting have also begun to be actively developed. Objects of management are an individual, a group, an organization, others social formations and processes.

Management methods are a complex of purposeful influence on employees, groups and teams. In relation to an individual employee, one can distinguish different types influence on his behavior (management methods): 1) direct (order, task), 2) through motives and needs (stimulation), 3) through a value system (upbringing, education, etc.), 4) through the environment social environment(changes in working conditions, status in administrative and informal organizations, etc.). In relation to a group, social management methods are distributed as follows: purposeful formation of group composition (according to qualifications, demographics, psychological signs, quantity, location of jobs, etc.); group cohesion (through organizing competition, improving leadership style, using socio-psychological factors, etc.).

In the social organization of an enterprise, the following methods are used: 1) coordination of formal and informal structures (overcoming contradictions between planned and actual connections and norms), 2) democratization of management (increasing the role of public organizations, widespread involvement of workers in decision-making, election of some production managers, development of labor activity, etc.), 3) social planning (improving the qualifications of workers, improving the social structure of the team, improving well-being, etc.).

Relationships "leadership-subordination" The concept of “leadership” is close to the concept of “management” and is used to denote organizational relations, the work of a manager with subordinates in direct contact to solve official problems. First of all, leadership is a relationship between different statuses, levels of the administrative structure, which has legal basis and manifested in the form of unilateral dependence of one employee (position) on another. Secondly, leadership is the relationship between the individual work functions of the overall labor process: organization and execution. Thirdly, leadership is also a relationship between individuals, a specific type of communication. In the latter case, its socio-psychological content is considered - mutual recognition, influence, style, interests.

The listed sides of the leadership-subordination relationship cannot exist in isolation from each other. The influence of management on subordinates is aimed at inducing them to a certain work behavior. There are two possible ways of influence: direct (order, task) and indirect, motivating (through incentives). In the first case, management is aimed directly at the activities of subordinates, reinforced by sanctions for deviation from appropriate behavior, and in its extreme form acts as coercion. The second method involves influencing the employee’s motives and needs. The motivation to work occurs through the satisfaction of individual needs, which acts as compensation for labor contribution.

Leadership style can be defined as the systematic manifestation of any personal qualities of a leader in his relationships with subordinates, in ways of solving business problems. The leadership style depends on the individuality of the leader, his culture, attitudes, character, experience, knowledge, and are determined by psychological and social factors. cultural factors inherent in a given leader, team, region, social category. The following types of leadership style are distinguished: 1) authoritarian - the leader does not take into account the opinions of his subordinates and imposes his will on them; 2) democratic - subordinates are involved in the development of common decisions; 3) weak (non-interfering) - the leader withdraws himself from management, his influence in the team is insignificant.

The leadership style is manifested in stimulating work. Stimulation is a method of indirectly influencing an employee’s work behavior, his motivation through satisfying the needs of the individual, which acts as compensation for labor effort. Orientation to obtaining satisfaction more strongly motivates a person to a certain behavior than direct managerial influence on him. The division of incentives into “material” and “moral” is conditional. Thus, a prize is not only a monetary reward, but also a certificate of recognition and respect. Incentives include working conditions, a flexible working time system, relationships in a team, etc., but the main incentive remains material interest. Stimulation is effective to the extent that these two systems are organically combined.

The main product of management is the decisions it produces. A management decision is a formally recorded project for any change in the organization, in the implementation of which other members of the organization participate. Such a decision is an element of the relationship of leadership - subordination, ᴛ.ᴇ. acts as a factor of power in the organization. Making a management decision means determining the extreme importance and purpose of the proposed change, as well as including it in the system of organizational relations; The implementation of a management decision implies the presence in it of a plan, and then of the activity itself to achieve the goal.

The following types of management decisions are distinguished: 1) strictly determined decisions, on the content of which individual characteristics the manager is not affected; 2) “initiative” decisions (not strictly determined), the content of which involves the individual contribution of the subject. For management research, it is the latter that are of primary interest, since they include organizational design and most to a greater extent associated with the personal contribution of the leader. The share of such decisions in the total volume of management decisions is relatively small (from 5% to 30%) from total number orders.

In accordance with the degree of participation of different categories of workers in decision-making, individual decisions and group decisions can be distinguished; between them there are many different combinations of both. Management decisions focus on the main goals, interests, contradictions of the organization, and social relations within it. Analysis of management decisions is extremely informative from the point of view of studying the mechanisms and efficiency of enterprise management. For this purpose, the following are used: analysis of documents (orders, instructions, plans, minutes of meetings), fixed observation (photos of the manager’s working day, meetings), expert assessments (determining the effectiveness of decisions, etc.).

Self-organization and self-government. Self-government is also inherent in organizations. From a sociological point of view, self-government acts as collective management, as the participation of all members of the organization, the population in the work of the relevant governing body, and the inclusion of performers in the processes of developing common decisions. Self-government does not deny a separate governing body and professional management activities. The technology of modern management requires qualified technical, legal, organizational justification for decisions, rational procedures for their approval, and monitoring of execution. Self-government combines democracy with specialization, which determines its production and social efficiency.

An important management factor is social self-organization. It means the manifestation of spontaneous processes in society, in teams, groups, spontaneous processes of social regulation (market relations, public opinion, traditions, norms). In labor organizations, self-organization acts as an informal organization (leadership, prestige, cohesion - conflict). Self-organization is a product of social interaction on a mass, collective or group scale. The use of self-organization in management significantly increases the efficiency of the latter and constitutes an important factor of development in labor organizations. Self-organization processes can play both constructive and destructive roles.

Social regulation completes the management cycle. It means a purposeful control action aimed at maintaining balance in the controlled object by introducing regulators into it (norms, rules, goals, connections). Social regulation is “indirect” control. Through social regulation, opportunities and restrictions on activity are created, which should cause in the managed object the motivation and goal-setting desired from the point of view of the subject of management. The use of social regulation methods presupposes a high degree of independence of managed objects, developed self-government and self-organization in them.

An integral characteristic of management effectiveness in organizations is their controllability. Controllability is the degree of control of an organization. The most adequate criterion for the degree of controllability is the feasibility of management decisions. Increased controllability is ensured by improving the quality of control actions, uniting personnel around common goals and developing a motivation system.

Typology of social organizations.

Forms and types of organizations. Various organizational formations are quite widespread in any society. The presence of such features as separation of functions, hierarchy, decision-making, fixed membership distinguishes organizations from such social communities, as classes, nations, etc. The following organizational forms exist:

1. Business organizations - firms and institutions that are created to solve individual problems. The goals of employees are not always related to the goals of owners or the state. Membership in them provides workers with a means of subsistence. The basis of internal regulation is administrative regulations, principles of unity of command, and commercial expediency.

2. Public unions, mass organizations, the goals of which are developed “from within” and represent a generalization of the individual goals of the participants. Regulation is ensured by a jointly adopted charter, the principle of election, ᴛ.ᴇ. dependence of management on those led. Membership in them satisfies political, social, economic, and amateur needs.

3. Intermediate forms - cooperative (agricultural, fishing, mining artels), which combine the main features of unions, but perform entrepreneurial functions. They should be distinguished from consumer cooperative organizations.

4. Associative organizations - family, scientific school, informal group. They exhibit some autonomy from the environment, relative stability of composition, hierarchy (supremacy, leadership), relatively stable distribution of participants (by roles, prestige), and adoption of common decisions. Regulatory functions are carried out by spontaneously developing collective norms and values. However, the degree of their formalization is insignificant.

5. Settlement. Initially, people settle together in order to use each other’s activities and abilities through neighborly connections, while submitting to the expediency of the whole (observing the layout of streets, the shape and size of the home, the structure of specialization, etc.), which each individual does not need . With urbanization, the factor of integrity increases, becomes depersonalized and isolated even more.

The most common types of organization are formal and informal. The main criteria for their separation is the degree of formalization of the connections, statuses and norms existing in the systems. A formal organization arises as a result of an administrative, political decision; it is based on the division of labor, it is characterized by deep specialization, the activities of such an organization are clearly regulated by legal norms, etc. The division of labor acts as a system of statuses - positions, a hierarchy is created: leader - subordinates. For a formal organization to function successfully, business information is necessary. Its passage and the adoption of the right management decision depend on the organization of multilateral relations, including the reverse. As a rule, a formal organization is impersonal, designed for individuals trained to perform certain functions. At the root of the activities of such an organization is the principle of expediency.

Informal organizations also arise and function in society. Οʜᴎ appear spontaneously or deliberately to satisfy social needs. They have their own norms of interpersonal and intergroup communication, different from formal structures. Οʜᴎ arise and operate where formal organizations do not perform any functions important to society. Informal organizations, groups, associations compensate for the shortcomings of formal structures.
Posted on ref.rf
As a rule, these are self-organized systems created to realize the common interests of the subjects of the organization.

A member of an informal organization is more independent in achieving individual and group goals, has the ability to more freedom in choosing a form of behavior, interaction with other types of organization, group. This interaction largely depends on personal attachments and sympathies. Relations with other entities are not regulated by orders, management guidelines, or regulations. Solutions to organizational, technical and other problems are most often distinguished by creativity and originality. But in such organizations or groups there are no strict rules of discipline; they are less stable, more flexible and subject to change. Their structure and relationships in it largely depend on the current situation.

Bureaucracy. M. Weber argued that a formal organization tends to turn into a bureaucratic system. He rather highly assessed the role of bureaucracy, arguing that without it technical, technological, and organizational progress is impossible. Weber formulated the main features of an ideal type of bureaucracy: 1) management activities are carried out constantly; 2) there is a sphere of power and competence at each level and for each subject in the management apparatus; 3) a superior manager exercises control over a subordinate official, who is separated from ownership of the means of management; 4) the position is separated from the subject; 5) management work becomes a special profession; 6) there is a system for training officials; 7) management functions are documented; 8) the main thing in management is the principle of impersonality.

Weber argued that the main advantage of bureaucracy is high economic and economic efficiency. It is ensured by accuracy and speed in work, knowledge and consistency management process, official secrets and subordination, unity of command and efficiency, minimizing conflicts and respect for the professionalism of the team. These are the main advantages of bureaucratic management of an organization. But he also pointed out the danger posed by the strengthening of bureaucracy

Ethnic communities. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Ethnic communities." 2017, 2018.

Socio-ethnic communities and relations

1. Socio-ethnic communities.

2. Ethnosocial processes and interethnic relations.

3. Social aspects of ethnonational conflicts.

1. The social structure of society, along with other aspects, is characterized by the presence and interaction of socio-ethnic communities. Sociology studies the genesis, essence, functions, general patterns of development of ethnic groups, interethnic (international) relations and develops the basic methodological principles of their study. The ethnosociological study of modern society has primarily practical value. Research into the sociological aspects of ethnic processes, relationships, and differences is especially significant for multiethnic, multinational states, including the Russian Federation.

Communities of the socio-ethnic type include a tribe, nationality, nation, ethnic group and other ethnic formations of people that arose as a result of the natural historical process. To reveal the essence of these phenomena, it is necessary first to consider the content of such basic concepts as “people” and “ethnicity”, since all ethnic units are correlated with them.

The term “people” is very ambiguous. In everyday language, the people usually refer to the population of the state, the inhabitants of the country. In the language of the social sciences, and above all ethnography, a people is a community that differs in a number of characteristics from other similar historically developing groups. In this sense, we say, for example, “Russian people” or “Uzbek people”, “Polish people”, “Hungarian people”, etc. In this case, the term “people” is equivalent to the term “nation”. Sometimes the term “people” is used to refer to the totality of various socio-ethnic groups: nations, ethnic groups, national minorities, etc. For example, the multinational people of the Russian Federation, the people of Kazakhstan, etc. As can be seen, the term “people” refers to very different types of communities, and also acts as a collective in relation to several socio-ethnic communities.

In recent years, the concept of “ethnicity” has been widely used in social sciences. True, it has been used in Western sociological literature for a long time.

The concept of “ethnos” (a word of Greek origin denoting a tribe, people) is the starting point for characterizing socio-ethnic communities, since it makes it possible to unambiguously express what is common in the concepts of “nation”, “nationality”, “ethnic group”, etc. This is common - the presence of a certain linguistic, cultural and everyday specificity, a common self-awareness. It is customary to call it ethnic, and groups of people - “ethnic groups”. The concept of "ethnicity" covers all socio-ethnic communities.

Ethnicity is a historically established stable collection of people in a certain territory, possessing a common culture (including language) and psychological make-up, awareness of their unity and difference from other similar entities (self-awareness). The formation of an ethnic group usually occurs on the basis of the unity of territory and economic activity. Signs that express the systemic properties of an ethnic group and separate it from other ethnic groups - language, folk art, customs, rites, traditions, norms of behavior, habits, i.e. such components of culture that, passed on from generation to generation, ultimately form a specific ethnic culture.

Ethnicity is a specific holistic formation in which its various objective components can come to the fore. In some cases it is language, in others it is economic and everyday features, in others it is character traits behavior, etc.

When characterizing an ethnic group, it is important to clarify its ethnogenesis. Ethnogenesis refers to the process of formation of ethnic communities. In some cases, ethnogenesis is considered as a synonym for the concept of “origin of an ethnos,” i.e., they are limited to the period of formation of an ethnos up to the formation of its self-awareness. In others, the term “ethnogenesis” combines the origin and subsequent ethnic history of an already established community. Both approaches differ in details and have a right to exist.

According to L.N. Gumilyov, it is legitimate to speak of ethnogenesis as a process whose driving forces are natural, biosphere factors. These same factors indirectly determine the social forms of life that are created by people of different ethnic groups. Ethnicity is also associated with the process of interaction between human races. Almost all known ethnic groups were formed in a complex way from several heterogeneous parts, until they realized themselves as a unity and acquired a single ethnonym, i.e., its self-name.

Ethnicity is the basic unit of the ethnic classification of humanity, along with which there are ethnic communities of various orders (tribe, nationality, nation, etc.).

A tribe is an ethnosocial community of a pre-class society, based on consanguinity and consisting of clans. It has its own territory, tribal economic community, has a single language, its own name, and unity of religious ideas and rituals. In a developed primitive society, a tribe is characterized by organs of power that are not of a political nature. In the modern era, tribes are preserved in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In Russia, some peoples of Siberia, the North and the Far East have preserved remnants of tribal traits.

In the course of further sociocultural development, the tribes united and formed nationalities. A nationality is an ethnic and social community of people that historically follows the tribe and precedes the nation. It is formed on the basis of the mixing of tribes and tribal unions during the period of decomposition of the primitive communal system, and is characterized by the increasing importance of territorial ties, the formation of a common language based on tribal languages. Nationalities are also characterized by the presence of economic ties, elements of a common culture, and a common collective name. With the development of capitalist relations, nationalities are transformed into nations, although some nationalities (mainly due to their small numbers and insufficient development) are never transformed into nations.

The main element of the socio-ethnic structure of society is nations. In the modern world, more than 90% of the population are nations.

In scientific and political literature, the concept of “nation” is used in several meanings. In Western sociology, the prevailing view is that a nation is a collection of citizens of a state, and therefore is a people who have achieved high level culture and a high degree of political organization, constituting a community with a common language and culture and united on the basis of a system of state organizations. Thus, in the understanding of Western sociologists, a nation is co-citizenship, i.e., a territorial-political community.

In this case, the nation coincides with the state. It is these nation-states that form the global community of states, including the United Nations. In the same context, in the world political language and in international legal practice and theory, the concepts of “national state”, “national interests”, “national security”, “national army”, “national science”, etc. exist and are used. For the study of multinational states, the term “national” can be used very conditionally.

No less common is the understanding of a nation as a historically established stable community of people, which is characterized by a common economic life, language, territory and certain psychological features (national character, self-awareness, interests, etc.), manifested in the peculiarities of its culture and way of life. As a socio-historical phenomenon, a nation arises during the period of the elimination of feudal fragmentation and the development of capitalist relations, when economic ties between individual regions of the country are strengthened, and a national market is formed. The state plays an important role in the consolidation of nations, although the presence of statehood is not a mandatory feature of a nation.

The formation of a nation is a complex and lengthy process, and socio-economic factors play a decisive role in this process. At the same time, the identification of a nation among other social communities is possible on the basis of its own ethnic properties. The economic and political consolidation of a nation contributes to the formation of a single national language, on this basis a national culture is formed, features of the national character are formed, national self-awareness arises, which includes awareness of the ethnic community, commitment to the national language, territory, culture, a sense of national pride, as well as certain stereotypes of attitude towards one’s nation and other communities are developed. A nation belongs to an ethnosocial organism and is considered the highest form of socio-ethnic community.

Most nations of the modern world are multi-ethnic in their internal structure, including various subethnic groups, that is, communities that are part of ethnic groups, where special ethnic properties are expressed with less intensity than in the main ethnic units. In other words, ethnically nations are not homogeneous (not homogeneous). A typical example in this regard is the United States, where the American nation consists of many ethnic groups and is a multilingual nation. The ancestors of modern Americans came from 40 countries. Although English is the predominant language in the United States, 7.7 million Americans consider Spanish their native language, 5.1 million - German, 4.1 million - Italian, 2.5 million - Polish, 2.4 million - French and 1.2 million - Yiddish1. This testifies to the ethno-national diversity of American society.

Derived from “nation” is the term “nationality”, which is used in two meanings. Firstly, to indicate a person’s belonging to a certain ethnic community (the section in the passport indicates the actual ethnicity), and in Western European countries - mainly to indicate the nationality of people (citizenship). For these purposes, the expression “ethnic nationality” is often used. Secondly, the term “nationality” is used as a collective term in cases where it replaces a list of various forms of socio-ethnic communities (nations, nationalities, ethnic groups, excluding tribes). For example, when they say that people of more than 130 nationalities live in the Russian Federation, they mean the totality of all forms of socio-ethnic communities.

Derivatives from the concept of “ethnos” are “ethnic group” and “ethnographic group”.

An ethnic group is a group of people characterized by similar languages ​​and some other cultural features that are related in origin and have survived to this day. Many ethnic groups live, for example, in Dagestan, the Pamirs and other regions of Russia. An ethnic group includes local, territorial communities of people who, although they speak the same language and are aware of their belonging to a single ethnic group, often differ from each other in secondary cultural, everyday, and sometimes linguistic characteristics. For example, Mingrelians, Svans and Laz. They are an integral part of the Georgian nation. Although the vast majority of them speak Georgian, Mingrelian, Svan and Laz languages ​​are still used in everyday life.

Territorial-cultural communities are usually called “ethnographic groups” or “sub-ethnic groups”; their formation may coincide with the areas of distribution of linguistic dialects, although such a coincidence is not obligatory. Ethnographic groups are characterized by such features as the presence of certain specific elements of life, culture, language, religious beliefs, etc. Many ethnographic groups have self-names and self-awareness. Such ethnographic groups in Russia are Pomors, Kamchadals, and Cossacks. Similar ethnographic groups can be identified in almost every more or less large nation. These are, for example, the “upper” and “lower” Germans, the difference between whom is both ethnographic and dialectological in nature. Smaller ethnographic groups of the same people can be considered “Upper” and “Lower” Saxons, Bavarians, Westphalians, Swabians, Franconians, etc.

In social sciences the concept of “national (ethnic) minorities” is used. These are groups of people of any socio-ethnic community living outside their statehood in a foreign environment and, as a rule, constituting a minority of the population in their countries of residence. National minorities are characterized by the preservation of national (ethnic) identity, culture, way of life, traditions, and language of the main part of the ethnic community.

There are no completely mononational states in the world. National minorities exist almost everywhere. In multinational states, where no single people constitutes the majority of the population, the concept of “national minorities” to a certain extent loses its meaning. The problem of national minorities looks different in federal and unitary states. National minorities in the modern world are very diverse in origin (existing on their territory even before the emergence of the state; formed as a result of changes in political borders; formed during migration); by the nature of settlement (from compact within the borders of one country to dispersed within several countries); by absolute and relative numbers and by other criteria.

In relation to the Russian situation, the term “national minorities” arose in opposition to the term “aliens”. An alternative to the term “national minorities” is often the term “citizens of non-indigenous nationalities”, although it is not completely adequate to the group of people being described.

In recent years, the term “Russian-speaking population” has been used in relation to the states that emerged in the former USSR. This is a collective name for people of Russian and any other ethnicity who use primarily the Russian language and usually consider it their native language. IN in the narrow sense- these are groups of people of non-Russian nationality whose native language is Russian. The term "Russian-speaking population" is used to designate the Russian-speaking population located outside the borders of the Russian Federation. It is adequate to the term "national minorities". After the collapse of the USSR, Russians and parts of others Russian peoples objectively found themselves in the position of national minorities in the former Soviet republics. This is 25 million Russians and 10 million ethnic Russians of other nationalities. They found themselves separated from the national majority due to changes in the political situation in their own area of ​​​​residence. In this regard, the term “divided people”, which is very close to it, should be distinguished from the term “national minorities” - a community of people divided by political and state borders.

What is the socio-ethnic structure of the population of the Russian Federation?

Currently, no more than 30 nations, about 60 nationalities and more than 40 ethnic and ethnographic groups live in Russia. Some of the ethnic groups are part of nations with statehood outside of Russia.

According to the 1989 census, the number of peoples of the Russian Federation is as follows. The Russian nation, being the largest nation, numbers 120 million people (82% of the country's population). Each of the four nations has over a million people: Tatars, Chuvashs, Bashkirs, Mordovians. All five named nations make up 90% of Russia's population. Of the remaining ethnic groups, 26 exceed 100 thousand people each. The smallest ones include 26 nationalities of the North of Siberia and the Far East, together accounting for 181 thousand people. 16 ethnic groups (7.8 million people in total) represent the peoples of the CIS and Baltic countries; 30 ethnic groups (1.3 million people) represent peoples who have their own statehood outside the CIS countries (Hungarians, Bulgarians, Finns, Poles, etc.); another 8 ethnic groups (173 thousand people) represent peoples mainly living outside the former USSR (gypsies, Assyrians, Uyghurs, Kurds, etc.).

These data show that Russia is a multinational state with a complex socio-ethnic structure of the population.

2. Ethnic phenomena have a very close connection with socio-economic ones, which ultimately determine them. In this sense, each of the specific forms of existence of an ethnic group represents a certain socio-economic integrity. The nature and state of interethnic and interethnic relations depend on the level of socio-economic development of the country. In multiethnic countries, interethnic relations are influenced by ethno-territorial differences of a socio-economic nature, differences in the conditions and living standards of people different nationalities. Social benefits such as wealth, prestige, and power are often distributed according to ethnicity. For example, in the USA, blacks and Latinos, compared to representatives of the white population, receive significantly lower wages for the same work, occupy less prestigious positions, etc.

IN former USSR the socio-economic position of nationalities was not the same, especially due to different starting historical conditions, differences in the level of development of regions and territories where certain peoples live compactly. Differences in the living conditions of the urban and rural population also affect the sphere of interethnic relations, since the ethnic composition of the city and village differs even within the republic, territory, region.

In the cities of the Russian Federation, as a rule, the Russian population lives, in rural areas - mainly representatives of the titular (i.e., which gave the name to this national-state formation) nation (nationality). At the same time, in the capital and other large cities of the Russian republics, over the past decades, a national intelligentsia has been formed (managerial personnel, scientific and creative workers etc.), the number of national students is growing. Among industrial workers and employees, and the engineering and technical intelligentsia, the non-titular population continues to predominate.

The ethnic parameters of the socio-professional stratification of society are to some extent inevitable, although they are quite flexible and amenable to influence. In order to optimize interethnic relations, strict canonization of ethnicity into social niches and disproportions in the social conditions of life of directly contacted groups are hardly acceptable. A set of measures is needed here to ensure equal conditions for the social advancement of citizens, regardless of their nationality.

In recent years, interethnic relations have become significantly more complicated in Russia, especially in connection with the implementation of market reforms and the privatization of state property. At the same time, unequal starting conditions, different speeds of radical reforms, distance from the center, significant differences in the standard of living of the population of the regions and in the conditions of their development aggravate interethnic relations. In addition, the federal center provides individual republics (for example, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Yakutia) with special privileges, which does not contribute to the achievement of interethnic harmony.

The division of state property and resources during privatization causes an aggravation of competitive relations between groups and leads to the consolidation of clan and narrow ethnic groups that use blood solidarity for purely pragmatic purposes.

The nature of the distribution of political power in the republics, the limited availability of land resources and privatization funds in a number of regions encourages the use of economic transformations in the interests of certain national groups to the detriment of the rights of the rest of the population. This is especially true for the region North Caucasus. In a number of republics and autonomous districts, there is already a “usurpation” of economic resources and means of economic activity in favor of the non-titular population, which limits the opportunities for the development of the ethnic group originally living in this territory. This especially applies to Siberia, the North and the Far East. This practice gives rise to tension in interethnic relations, which is aggravated by the fact that a number of regions where nationalities are densely populated have extremely negative environmental, demographic and socio-cultural characteristics.

So, in a multiethnic, multinational society, there is actual inequality of nationalities, and ethnic solidarity is used to achieve social and political advantages.

The history of the emergence of nations is associated with the formation of nation states. Today, the nation state is typical for the entire civilized world. Therefore, when deciding whether an ethnic group is a nation, special importance is often attached to the presence of “its own” state. However, “one’s own” state is far from being a mandatory feature of a nation. History knows many examples of the presence of several nations within one state. Nations can exist even when they are deprived of their own statehood, as, for example, Poland during the period of partitions.

Russia is a multinational state. In terms of the form of government, it is a federal state; it includes: 21 republics, 6 territories, 49 regions, 2 federal cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg), one autonomous region, 10 autonomous districts. A total of 89 subjects.

The basis of the state structure of the Russian Federation was initially based on two principles: national-territorial and administrative-territorial. The presence of these principles gives rise to certain contradictions and problems in the sphere of interethnic relations. First of all, the rights of national-state formations (republics) and administrative-territorial ones (krais and regions) differ significantly in favor of the former. In addition, in the republics themselves the population is divided into representatives of “indigenous” and “non-indigenous” nationalities. The “indigenous” feel like masters in “their” republic and enjoy advantages and privileges.

Meanwhile, in 15 out of 21 republics, the “indigenous” population makes up less than half of the inhabitants. In the republics of the Russian Federation taken together, the “indigenous population” is 32%, and in the autonomous okrugs it is even less - 10.5%. Still, the “indigenous” population of the Russian republics, autonomous regions and autonomous okrugs together constitute 7.6% of the country’s population.

The terms “indigenous” and “non-indigenous” population are very arbitrary, unclear, and therefore controversial. According to this distinction, in Tatarstan and Yakutia, for example, Tatars and Yakuts are “indigenous”, and Russians are “non-indigenous”, although they have been living there for four hundred years. Moreover, according to the logic of the doctrine of national statehood, Russians in the republics (like other non-titular population) are classified as national minorities, although in some of them they may constitute the majority or the largest ethnic group (for example, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Karelia). Of course, such terminological confusion does not contribute to an objective understanding of the ethnopolitical situation in the republics.

The administrative boundaries of the national republics in Russia are only conditionally correlated with the ethnic areas of the peoples. At one time, these borders were established with priority to the interests of national minorities and the tasks of economic development of the newly created republics. In modern conditions, interethnic harmony can be achieved on the basis of compliance with the principles of national equality. The equality of rights and freedoms of all citizens, regardless of their nationality, as provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, must be strictly ensured. The source and bearer of power in the republic is its entire population, regardless of nationality. No single ethnic group can have exclusive control over territory, institutions and resources. It is unconstitutional and therefore unacceptable to divide residents into representatives of “indigenous” and “non-indigenous” nationalities and allocate different rights depending on this.

The issues of fair ethnic representation in the bodies of power and administration of republics (national entities) are very relevant. The usurpation of power by representatives of one of the ethnic groups, and even more so any legislative formalization of advantages or discrimination based on ethnicity, inevitably causes aggravation of interethnic relations and serves as one of the main factors ethnic conflicts. Thus, in recent years, dissatisfaction with their political representation in the republican authorities has occurred on the part of the Balkars in Kabardino-Balkaria, the Kumyks in Dagestan, and the Cossack atamans in Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygea.

In Tatarstan, there was a radical redistribution of power and prestigious positions in favor of the Tatars. Although Tatars in the republic make up less than half of the population, at the same time they occupy 80% of the positions of heads of city and district administrations, senior officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the prosecutor's office, and other administrative bodies. Approximately the same share of Tatars in the republican authorities and administration.

Interethnic relations are associated with demographic and migration processes. Sharp differences in ethno-demographic processes can significantly change the ethnic balance of the administrative territory and national-state formation. In many cases, the population reacts painfully and negatively to sudden changes in ethnic groups. This happened in the Baltic countries, when, as a result of ethnographic and migration factors, the ratio of “indigenous” and “non-indigenous” populations changed over the decades in favor of the latter.

For the same reasons, the growth of the “indigenous” peoples of the North is decreasing. Thus, compared to 1989, the share of the “indigenous” population decreased: in the Evenki Autonomous Okrug from 21.6% to 14%; in Taimyr - from 17.3% to 13%; in Nenets - from 12.8% to 11.9%; in Yamalo-Nenets - from 16.2% to 4.2%; in Chukotka - from 10.0% to 7.3%; in Khanty-Mansiysk from 3.8% to 1.3%. If this trend continues, then in the foreseeable future many of the small peoples may simply disappear among other ethnic groups. It should be noted, however, that since the beginning of the 90s, the influx of population to the North has sharply decreased, and the return flow from the North, on the contrary, has increased.

The ethnopolitical situation may worsen due to the massive displacement of citizens, huge flows of refugees and migrants to multinational regions. Such influxes of population increase intergroup competition in the distribution of resources and social benefits, create additional cultural and psychological barriers, dramatically changing the socio-political situation and provoking interethnic tension and conflicts. There are many facts of this kind in Russia, where more than 2 million refugees and internally displaced persons have arrived. For this reason, interethnic conflicts arise in the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, Moscow, St. Petersburg and other regions and cities.

Ethnosociologists divide the ethnic structures of multinational states into two systems: dispersed and centralized. A dispersed ethnic system refers to a state whose population consists of several small ethnic groups. Under a centralized system, some of the ethnic groups that make up the population of the state are so large that their relationships are constantly at the center of socio-political life. Russia belongs to centralized systems with a clearly dominant (numerically and in status) Russian nation. Therefore, the state of interethnic relations in Russia depends decisively on the national well-being of Russians.

Modern humanity is a complex ethnic structure, including several thousand ethnic communities (nations, nationalities, tribes, ethnic groups, etc.), differing both in size and level of development. All the ethnic communities of the world are part of more than two hundred countries. Therefore, most modern states are multi-ethnic. For example, India is home to several hundred ethnic communities, while Nigeria is home to 200 peoples. The Russian Federation currently includes more than a hundred ethnic groups, including about 30 nations.

An ethnic community is a historically established stable collection of people (tribe, nationality, nation, people) in a certain territory that have common features and stable characteristics of culture, language, mental makeup, self-awareness and historical memory, as well as awareness of their interests and goals, their unity, and their differences from other similar entities.

There are different approaches to understanding the essence of ethnic groups.

Various approaches (theories) to understanding the essence of ethnic groups and their origin:

1) Natural-biological or racial-anthropological approach - recognizes the inequality of human races, the cultural superiority of the Caucasian race. The imperfection of racial characteristics is the basis of the cultural backwardness of nations and nationalities.

2) Marxist theory - proclaims economic relations as the main basis for the formation of a nation. Recognizes the right of nations to self-determination up to and including secession, the idea of ​​their complete equality, and proletarian internationalism.

3) Sociocultural approach - considers ethnic communities as components of the social structure of society, revealing their close connection with social groups and various social institutions. Ethnic community is an important source of self-movement and self-development.

4) Passionate theory of ethnogenesis (origin, development of an ethnos) - considers an ethnos as a natural, biological, geographical phenomenon, as a result of the adaptation of a human group to the natural and climatic conditions of its habitat. The history of mankind is a chain of numerous ethnogenesis. The source of the emergence of a new ethnic group is a passionary impulse. Passionarity is a certain characteristic of human behavior and natural properties, determined by the energy of space, the sun and natural radioactivity affecting society. Passionaries are especially energetic, gifted, talented people.

Types of ethnic communities:

A clan is a group of blood relatives descending from the same line (maternal or paternal).

A tribe is a collection of clans connected by common cultural features, awareness of a common origin, as well as a common dialect, unity of religious ideas and rituals.

A nationality is a historically established community of people united by a common territory, language, mental makeup, and culture.

A nation is a historically established community of people characterized by developed economic ties, common territory and common language, culture, ethnic identity.

In sociology, the concept of ethnic minorities is widely used, which includes not just quantitative data.

The characteristics of an ethnic minority are as follows:

Its representatives are at a disadvantage compared to other ethnic groups due to discrimination (belittling, belittling, infringement) on the part of other ethnic groups;

Its members experience a certain sense of group solidarity, “belonging to a single whole”;

It is usually to some extent physically and socially isolated from the rest of society.

A natural prerequisite for the formation of one or another ethnic group was the common territory, since it created the necessary conditions for joint activities of people. However, later, when the ethnic group has formed, this feature loses its main meaning and may be completely absent. Thus, some ethnic groups even in the conditions of the diaspora (from the gr. diaspora - dispersion) retained their identity without having a single territory.

Another important condition for the formation of an ethnic group is a common language. But this attribute cannot be considered universal, since in a number of cases (for example, the USA) ethnicity takes shape in the course of the development of economic, political and other ties, and common languages are the result of this process.

A more stable sign of an ethnic community is the unity of such components of spiritual culture as values, norms and patterns of behavior, as well as the associated socio-psychological characteristics of people’s consciousness and behavior.

An integrative indicator of an established socio-ethnic community is ethnic self-awareness - a sense of belonging to a particular ethnic group, awareness of one’s unity and difference from other ethnic groups.

An important role in the development of ethnic self-awareness is played by ideas about common origin, history, historical destinies, as well as traditions, customs, rituals, folklore, i.e. such elements of culture that are passed on from generation to generation and form a specific ethnic culture.

Thanks to ethnic self-awareness, a person keenly feels the interests of his people and compares them with the interests of other peoples and the world community. Awareness of ethnic interests encourages a person to engage in activities in the process of which they are realized.

Let us note two sides of national interests:

It is necessary to maintain your peculiarity, uniqueness in the flow human history, the uniqueness of their culture and language, strive for population growth, ensuring a sufficient level of economic development;

It is necessary psychologically not to fence yourself off from other nations and peoples, not to turn state borders in the “Iron Curtain”, you should enrich your culture with contacts and borrowings from other cultures.

Ethnonational communities develop from clan, tribe, nation, reaching the level of nation-state.

A derivative of the concept “nation” is the term nationality, which is used in Russian as the name of a person’s membership in an ethnic group.

Many modern researchers consider a classic interethnic nation, in which general civic qualities come to the fore and at the same time the characteristics of the ethnic groups included in it are preserved - language, their own culture, traditions, customs.

An interethnic, civil nation is a collection (community) of citizens of a particular state. Some scientists believe that the formation of such a nation means the “end of the nation” in the ethnic dimension. Others, recognizing the nation-state, believe that we should talk not about the “end of the nation,” but about its new qualitative state.