CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POLITICAL PROTEST: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS AND RUSSIAN PRACTICE

Abstract

Aim. Identification of the determinants that define political protest, as well as consideration of Russian political practice related to political manifestation based on the proposed methodology. Methodology. The article analyzes various methodological approaches that conceptualize political protest. In particular, the attributive qualities of the theories of relative deprivation, communicative behavior and resource mobilization, as well as the communicative concept are revealed. In addition, the analysis focuses on modern political actionism, which is inextricably linked with the virtualization and networking of public practices. Accordingly, the aspects that reveal the postmodern specifics of political protest are touched upon. Results. The main methodological approaches that interpret the phenomenon of political protest in connection with regime consolidation are defined. In the example of the Russian case, characterized by protest manifestation, its features are analyzed on the basis of the relevant methodology. The basic conclusion is that the present-day domestic protest practices are determined and developed according to imperatives and in line with a set of scientific approaches. Research implications. The results are mostly practical in nature, as they explain the motives and logic of the contemporary political protest development in Russia. The political elite can reconsider the political situation and take a set of measures aimed not so much at damping the protest, but at creating socio-economic conditions for the development of social strata (especially young people) and channeling political energy into a conventional channel.