Agents of social change in a crisis society: variants of problematization and contours of conceptual framework of research

Abstract

In view of the permanent crisis of the social situation in our country, the question of agents of social change acting in these crisis moments is actualized. Two variants of scientific problematization of this issue are proposed. The first is on the platform of the theoretical vision of social change, proposed by P. Sztompka, which provides a descriptive and ascertaining study of the movements, leaders, ideas and revolutions which change our society. The second option addresses the dilemma of agents and structure, which has been debated for many years in the search for a compromise between micro- and macro-deterministic models of social change. It is emphasized that the terms social transformation, transition, and crisis are not identical; namely, the crisis is characterized by unpredictable consequences of social changes. The search for theoretical micro-macro-compromise for the situation of social crisis is suggested to be searched within the paradigm combination — the paradigm of complexity, the paradigm of practices and network theory. Social changes are specified by a change in the institutional order, which is analytically divided into formal (organizational) and informal (self- organizational) constituents. Тhe difference between the manifestations of agency within these institutional constituents is emphasized. The conceptual series and outline of a possible conceptual scheme of the study of the problem are proposed.