Public life is a multifaceted concept. However, the progress of Russian society, as we see from history, directly depends on the quality of the specific creative intellectual process carried out in it. What is institutionalization? This is an organization by a developed civil society of a standardized passage of social processes. The tool is the intellectual formations developed by society - institutions with a fixed scheme of functioning, staff structure, job descriptions. Any sphere of public life - political, economic, legal, informational, cultural - in order to progress society is subject to generalization and streamlining by this process.
Examples of institutionalization are, for example, a parliament created on the basis of meetings of townspeople; a school that crystallized out of the work of an outstanding artist, painter, dancer, thinker; a religion that has its origins in the preaching of the prophets. Thus, institutionalization is, of course, in its essence, ordering.
It is carried out as a replacement of sets of individual behaviors with one -generalized, regulated. If we talk about the constructive elements of this process, then the social norms, rules, statuses and roles developed by sociologists are an operating mechanism of institutionalization that resolves pressing social needs.
Russian institutionalization
It should be recognized that institutionalization in Russia in the new century is indeed a reliable economic basis. The growth of production is ensured. The political system has been stabilized: a "working" Constitution, a capable separation of the branches of legislative, executive, judicial power, existing freedoms provide the basis for such development.
Historically, the institutionalization of Russian power has gone through the following stages:
- First (1991-1998) - transitional from the Soviet regime.
- Second (1998–2004) – change in the model of society from oligarchic to state-capitalist.
- Third (2005-2007) - the formation of effective institutions of society.
- The fourth (starting from 2008) is the stage characterized by the effective participation of human capital.
In Russia, there is an elitist model of democracy that limits the circle of people actively participating in the political process, which corresponds to the Russian mentality, which presupposes the dominance of the interests of the state over the interests of the individual. Civil society's support for the political course of the elite is of fundamental importance.
It must be recognized that development remains a constrainttraditional, brought up in the "dashing" 90s, the legal nihilism of a part of the population. But new principles of democracy are being introduced into society. The institutionalization of power in Russia has led to the fact that political institutions are divided not only into power institutions, but also into institutions of participation. The role of the latter is currently growing. They have a directed impact on certain aspects of the progress of society.
The sphere of influence of the authorities is the entire population of the country. The main political institutions include the state itself, civil society. A feature of Russian institutionalization is its modeling taking into account the interests of the country's development. Blindly importing Western institutions is not always effective here, so institutionalization in Russia is a creative process.
Institutionalization and social institutions
Social institutions and institutionalization are important as universal tools for bringing together the efforts of many people living in various subjects of the federation for the optimal distribution of resources and satisfaction of Russian society.
For example, the institution of the state implements power to meet the needs of the maximum number of citizens. The institution of law regulates the relationship between people and the state, as well as between individuals and society as a whole. The Institute of Faith helps people gain faith, the meaning of life, truth.
These institutions serve as the foundation of civil society. They are generated by the needs of society, which are characterized by mass manifestation, the reality of existence.
From a formal point of viewFrom the point of view, a social institution can be represented as a "role system" based on the roles and statuses of various members of society. At the same time, acting in the conditions of a federal state, Russian institutions are doomed to combine the maximum set of traditions, customs, moral and ethical standards in order to gain maximum legitimacy. The regulation and control of social relations is carried out with the help of institutions that implement legal and social norms developed taking into account these traditions and customs.
For the Russian mentality, it is important to reinforce the formal organization of the functioning of an institution with an informal one in order to achieve maximum efficiency.
Distinctive features of institutions that help to determine their presence in the diverse social life of the country are numerous constant types of interactions, regulation of both official duties and the procedure for their implementation, the presence of "narrow" specialists trained in the profile in the staff.
What social institutions can be called the main ones in modern society? Their list is known: family, he althcare, education, social protection, business, church, mass media. Are they institutionalized? As you know, for each of these areas in the government there is a corresponding ministry, which is the "top" of the corresponding branch of power, which covers the regions. In the regional system of executive power, relevant departments are organized that control directperformers, as well as the dynamics of relevant social phenomena.
Political parties and their institutionalization
Institutionalization of political parties in its current interpretation began after the Second World War. It can be said about its composition that it includes political and legal institutionalization. The political streamlines and optimizes the efforts of citizens to create parties. Legal establishes the legal status and direction of activity. Important issues are also the problem of ensuring the financial transparency of party activities and the rules for its interaction with business and the state.
The generalized legal status of all parties (a place in state and other organizations) and the individual social status of each (reflects the resource base and role in society) are normatively established.
The activities and status of modern parties are regulated by law. In Russia, the task of institutionalizing parties is resolved by a special federal law “On Political Parties”. According to him, the party is formed in two ways: by a founding congress or by the transformation of a movement (public organization).
The state regulates the activities of parties, namely the rights and obligations, functions, participation in elections, financial activities, relations with government agencies, international and ideological activities.
Restrictive requirements are: the all-Russian nature of the party, the number of members (more than 50 thousand), non-ideological, non-religious, non-nationalnature of this organization.
Representation of parties in legislative bodies is provided by associations of deputies (factions) elected in them.
The legislation also defines the legal personality of parties: administrative, civil law, constitutional law.
Institutionalization of conflicts
Let's turn to history. The institutionalization of the conflict as a social phenomenon finds its origins in the era of the birth of capitalist relations. The deprivation of peasants of land by large landowners, the transformation of their social status into proletarians, the conflicts of the emerging bourgeois class and the nobility who do not want to leave their positions.
In terms of conflict regulation, institutionalization is the resolution of two conflicts at once: industrial and political. The conflict between employers and workers is regulated by the institution of a collective agreement, taking into account the interests of wage workers by trade unions. The conflict over the right to control society is resolved by the suffrage mechanism.
Thus, the institutionalization of conflict is a safety instrument of social consensus and a system of balances.
Public opinion and its institutionalization
Public opinion is a product of the interaction of various segments of the population, political parties, social institutions, social networks, and the media. The dynamics of public opinion has increased significantly thanks to the Internet, interactivity, flash mobs.
The institutionalization of public opinion has created specific organizations that study public opinion, make ratings that predict election results. These organizations collect, study the existing and form a new public opinion. It should be recognized that such studies are often biased and rely on biased samples.
Unfortunately, the structured shadow economy distorts the concept of "institutionalization of public opinion". In this case, the judgments and wishes of the majority of people are not embodied in the real policy of the state. Ideally, there should be a direct and clear connection between the will of the people and its implementation through parliament. People's deputies are obliged to serve public opinion by promptly adopting the necessary legal acts.
Social work and institutionalization
At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, in Western European society, in connection with industrialization and the involvement in social production of various groups of the population, the institution of social work arose. It was mainly about social benefits and assistance to the families of workers. In our time, social work has acquired the features of reasonable altruistic assistance to people who are not sufficiently adapted to living conditions.
Social work, depending on the subject of its implementation, is state, public and mixed. State institutions include the Ministry of Social Policy, its regional departments, local institutions serving socialunsecured people. Assistance is provided to certain members of society. It is regular, carried out by full-time social workers and relies on budgetary funds. Public social work is voluntary, performed by volunteers and most often irregular. As you understand, the institutionalization of social work gives the greatest effect in a mixed version, where its state and public forms coexist simultaneously.
Stages of institutionalization of the shadow economy
The process of institutionalization is gradual. Moreover, all stages of its passage are typical. The root cause of this process and at the same time its nourishing basis is the need, for the implementation of which the organized actions of people are necessary. Let's take a paradoxical path. Consider the stages of institutionalization in the formation of such a negative institution as the "shadow economy".
- I stage - the emergence of a need. Scattered financial transactions (for example, the export of capital, cashing out) of individual economic entities (starting from the 90s of the last century) have become widespread and systematic.
- II stage - the formation of certain goals and the ideology serving their implementation. The goal can, for example, be formulated as follows: “The creation of an economic system “invisible” to state control. Creating a climate in society when those in power enjoy the right to permissiveness.”
- III stage - the creation of social norms and rules. These norms initially establish rules that determine the “closedness” of power for control by the people("Byzantine system of power"). At the same time, laws that “do not work” in society force economic entities to “go under the roof” of illegitimate structures that actually carry out the regulatory function lost by laws.
- IV stage - the emergence of standard functions associated with the norms. For example, the function of "protecting business" by the powerful by the security forces, the function of legal cover for raiding, cashing out finances under fictitious contracts, creating a system of "kickbacks" with budget financing.
- V stage - practical application of norms and functions. Gradually, shadow conversion centers are being created that are not advertised in the official press. They work with certain clients steadily and for a long time. The percentage of conversion in them is minimal, they successfully compete with the official converting organizations. Another direction: shadow wages, which are 15-80%.
- VI stage - the creation of a system of sanctions that protect the criminal structure. Positions of state officials are privatized by capital to serve the business. They, these officials, are developing "rules" that punish "slander", for "moral damage". Manually controlled human rights and tax authorities are turning into a private "team" of those in power.
- VII stage – shadow verticals of power. Officials turn their levers of power into a resource for their entrepreneurial activity. Power ministries and the prosecutor's office are actually isolated from the function of protecting the interests of the people. Judges who ensure the policy of the regional authorities and are “fed” by it for this.
The process of institutionalization, as we see, is universal in terms of its main stages. Therefore, it is fundamentally important that the creative and legitimate social interests of society be subjected to it. The institution of the shadow economy, which worsens the quality of life of ordinary citizens, must be replaced by the institution of the rule of law.
Sociology and institutionalization
Sociology studies society as a complex institutional system, taking into account its social institutions and the connections between them, relationships and communities. Sociology shows society in terms of its internal mechanisms and the dynamics of their development, the behavior of large groups of people and, in addition, the interaction of man and society. It provides and explains the essence of social phenomena and the behavior of citizens, and also collects and analyzes primary sociological data.
The institutionalization of sociology expresses the inner essence of this science, which streamlines social processes with the help of statuses and roles, and is itself aimed at ensuring the life of society. Therefore, there is a phenomenon: sociology itself falls under the definition of an institution.
Stages in the development of sociology
There are several stages in the development of sociology as a new world science.
- The first stage refers to the 30s of the 19th century, it consists in highlighting the subject and method of this science by the French philosopher Auguste Comte.
- Second - the "development" of scientific terminology, the acquisition of qualifications by specialists, the organization of operational scientific exchangeinformation.
- Third - positioning themselves as part of the philosophers "sociologists".
- Fourth - the creation of a sociological school and the organization of the first scientific journal "Sociological Yearbook". The greatest merit belongs to the French sociologist Émile Durkheim at the Sorbonne University. However, in addition to this, the Department of Sociology was opened at Columbia University (1892)
- The fifth stage, a kind of "recognition" of the state, was the introduction of sociological speci alties in the state professional registers. Thus, society has finally accepted sociology.
In the 60s, American sociology received significant capitalist investments. As a result, the number of American sociologists has increased to 20 thousand, and the number of sociological periodicals - up to 30. Science has taken an adequate position in society.
In the USSR, sociology was revived after the October Revolution in 1968 - at Moscow State University. They created the Department of Sociological Research. In 1974, the first periodical was published, and in 1980 sociological professions were introduced into the country's professional register.
If we talk about the development of sociology in Russia, it is worth mentioning the department of sociology opened in 1989 at Moscow State University. He "gave a start in life" to 20,000 sociologists.
Thus, institutionalization is the process in Russia that took place, but with a delay - relative to France and the United States - for a hundred years.
Conclusion
In modern society, there are many institutions that exist not materially, but in the mindof people. Their formation, institutionalization, is a dynamic and dialectical process. Outdated institutions are being replaced by new ones generated by key social needs: communication, production, distribution, security, maintaining social inequality, establishing social control.
