Abstract
The structure of political opportunities was the study basis for determining the type of civil subjectivity based on the parameters of political competence (awareness) of the population living in the regions of Russia. The representatives of the expert groups from Belgorod region, Moscow region, the city of Moscow, Bryansk region, Vladimir region, Voronezh region, Lipetsk region, Orel region, Ivanovo region, Ryazan region, Yaroslavl region, Kostroma region, Tambov region, Tver region, Tula region took part in the research. This study has enabled the researchers to determine the preferred model of the political participation for each type of the region in the Russian Federation.Consequently, to suggest for recommendations, which will help to synchronise the structure of the political opportunities with the parameters of constructive political participation, which will lead to increasing the consolidation of the elite and mass groups and to deradicalisation of political interactions. It was proved, that it could be methodologically justified to view the category “political participation” in connection with the category “political activity”. On the basis of the main attributes of the activity, an operationalisation of the concept of “political participation” was conducted. Taking into account that the regions of the Russian Federation even within the boundaries of one Federal District differ from each other in levels of social and economic development, “structure of political possibilities”, types of the elite and mass value systems, the forms, directivity and effectiveness of the local initiatives also vary considerably. The complex research enabled the authors to verify the validity of the conclusions. The research employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The results of the expert survey demonstrated that the specificity of any form of political participation is determined by several factors: the political context, the social context, culture, a historical process and a level of political consciousness.
Highlights
The model of political participation is a subject of theoretical discussions by many researchers
An expert survey determined the interrelation of the priority-oriented models of civic participation and the peculiarities of the political space of the Russian regions
The reproduction of the system characteristics of the political process was found by measuring the degree of flexibility and the character of the risk liability of the administrative systems in the selected regions of the Central Federal District (CFD)
Summary
The model of political participation is a subject of theoretical discussions by many researchers. Olson’s collective action theory are subjected to criticism They are nonparticipation as an individual’s rational conduct in the frame of the “free-riders dilemma” and the necessity of a formal organisation for the unification of the collective action participants. Bimber and some other scholars have concluded that the general accessibility of modern news and communication media reduces costs and enhances profit from the successful collective action. This leads to a change in rational individual’s behaviour: a potential participant in collective action possesses greater possibilities than before to make a rational choice concerning his/her participation (in this regard, the “free-rider” variant is only one of many possible variants). The flexible network structures are predominant, and they are “more effective in the modern complex social context” than traditional hierarchical structures
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