Abstract: The subject of this research is the history of the development of the concept of “ideology” in the European sociopolitical theory. Emphasis is placed on constructivism as the general concept that incorporates a range of methodological approaches towards tracing the evolution of the phenomenon of ideology in the XX –XXI centuries. The study of the latest methodologies is part of the project of returning the concept of ideology to the modern sociopolitical discourse, which complies with the current standards of political knowledge. The used methodological approaches employ cultural-historical, comparative, critical-analytical and narrative methods. Special attention is given to narrative approach as an object of study and method used in the course of research. The conclusion is made on the dependence of certain aspects of the concept of ideology depend on the cultural-historical circumstances of its origin (i.e. the specificity of the Western European civilizational context). Substantiation is given to the special role of the principle of individualism as a fundamental characteristic, which distinguishes between the Western European ideology and its Russian alternative. The author determines the theoretical source that has the capacity for the development of relevant (corresponding to the theoretical inquiry of the XXI century) Russian project of ideology. The aforementioned statements define the scientific contribution and novelty of this work.

Abstract: Marxist understanding of ideology as a “false consciousness” should be recognized as most influential (in retrospective assessment) among classical theories of ideology of the XIX and XX centuries. The problem of overcoming this understanding substantiates current situation of distrust of the institution of ideology itself. The goal of this research consists in demonstration of fundamental novelty of certain methods of formation of the renewed political ideology that replace Marxist ideology. The establishing new perspective to some extent originates with the political and philosophical classics of the XX century. The starting point of this research is the fact that since the middle of the previous century, the ideology was perceived as one of the most problematic fields of the Western European political thought. The author examines the theoretical-methodological approaches of M. Foucault, enhanced with the method of morphological analysis. Applicable to the problem of modernization of ideology, the goal traced by Foucault lied in determination of the historically specific “discourse order” opposed to neoliberal polymorphism as the political “art of governance” (“the birth of biopolitics”). This approach suggests following the principle of self-criticism in philosophical cognition of ideology alongside other principles. Within the cognitive framework of political philosophy, it manifests as a solution, speaking of the “political”, going into the field of philosophical concepts from the established language of political science to where it is required by the task for describing “regime of the truth”.

Abstract: This article reviews the modern philosophical interpretation of the concept of free will. Majority of these works are published in foreign books and periodicals, which reflects that the Russian philosophical discourse lacks the tradition of relation to free will as a notion that holds a rightful place in the modern (including the modern politological) research. Special attention is given to consideration of most typical for the European thought topics and theoretical grounds for attracting the concept of free will into the discourse of popular Western philosophical movements. The key methods and approaches of the work correspond with the established in Western European philosophy of the XX century division into continental and insular philosophy. The scientific novelty consists in the task of overcoming the historically entrenched within the national thought trend of identification of the concept of free will with liberum arbitrium. The article reveals the characteristic to the concept of free will contemporary relevance; the political-philosophical potential of this concept is explained using the material of phenomenological doctrine of Merleau-Ponty, which in terms of this research is interpreted as a particular case of continental (nonclassical) European philosophy.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the analysis of the yet another stage of realization of the project of formation of national idea by the Russian political thought. The author affirms that the start of the search for national idea coincided with the establishment of the concept of identity within the sociopolitical discourse of the nation; a link is identified between these two processes. The author formulated a thesis on the nature of the connection between the search for Russian identity and a number of trends and movements within the sociopolitical life of the country. Thus, during the 1990’s this search has spontaneously became a chain reaction of “sovereignization” of the many constituents of the Russian Federation. Later, at the brink of the centuries, the search for the new Russian identity became one of the main factors of the formation of interest towards the topic of revolution. The critical analysis of the content of most representative, in author’s opinion, works on revolution, emerging in the country during 2008-2012, allowed us to demonstrate the intrinsic to the Russian discourse on revolution internal tendency to fade, which formed prior to the unfolding of the events in Ukraine of 2014-2015. This conclusion allowed the author to forecast the emerging public demand for a conservative alternative to the aforementioned forms of search for modern Russian identity.  

Abstract: The subject of this research is the historical-analytical commentary to the thesis on the specificity of political philosophy as a theoretical knowledge of a particular type. Christian civilization emerged in the Middle Ages is characterized by certain conceptual codes that express the attitude of Christians (and pro-Christians) towards the world of politics. Since the early medieval times, the quintessence of such attitude consisted in the notion of political society, which has been significantly reformed throughout time. On the stage of late Modernism the concept of “political society lost its relevance, thus in in this article the author correlates it with the notion of “political realm”. Theoretical novelty of the conducted research lies in clarification of the essence of a number of conceptual innovations within modern political science, such as the notion of “political” and why it is so important to distinguish in the “intellectual broth” of a specific era the ideas, concepts, and moods that directly affected the situation and historical path, as well as the political results they produced.