Abstract: The relevance of the chosen issues is determined by the subject of research – the institution of the welfare state, which plays a crucial role in ensuring the normative order in society and the balance of interests between different social groups. It also guarantees the realization of citizens' political and social rights.The study focuses on the transformation of the welfare state's functions and priorities in social policy, influenced by a rapidly changing internal and external environment.
The main methodological foundation of the study is theoretical scientific methods and a systematic approach. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the research, the authors have drawn on both the results of sociological studies and a significant amount of data from international and domestic socio-economic statistics to address the identified issues.
The authors have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the factors that contribute to socio-economic change and how these changes directly affect the functioning of the welfare state. They conclude that, despite differences in each country's stable preferences, external and internal socio-economic conditions influence the social functions of states, institutions, and the mechanisms for implementing these functions.
Despite the fact that the principles and functions of the welfare state are implemented through specific measures that take into account the economic capabilities of the state, the peculiarities of state-building, national mentality, and the system of basic values, the idea of state paternalism remains at the heart of each model of the welfare state. This idea reflects the concept of state guardianship over the social sphere. In addition, there is a trend towards convergence among models of the welfare state in the modern world, which manifests itself in a steady trend towards unification of mechanisms for implementing social functions of the state and convergence in the scale of redistribution processes.

Abstract: The relevance of the topic chosen by the authors is determined by the very fact of global changes in the established social order taking place in the world, which create serious risks for the "welfare state" formed in the West after the Second World War. There is a transformation of the basic principles of the modern welfare state – the principles of social solidarity and social justice, the external and internal conditions for the modern state to perform its social functions are becoming more complicated. The ongoing global social transformations fully affect Russian society, especially since it was Russia that acted as their catalyst. Their socio–economic consequences for Russia are ambiguous. The purpose of this work is to analyze the identification of priorities of social policy in modern Russia in conditions associated with both risks and new opportunities in the context of global social changes. The main methodological basis of the research is theoretical scientific methods and a systematic approach. The interdisciplinary nature of the research within the framework of the identified issues requires the involvement of both the results of sociological research and a significant amount of data from domestic and international economic statistics. It is emphasized that in the field of social policy, which is initially based on the principles of redistribution of resources through the budget system, there are no solutions that provide all Russians with prospects for economic and social well-being. Given the complexity of developing universal government solutions capable of ensuring the realization of the social interests of all population groups, in order to preserve the solidarity of Russians in conditions of instability and resource constraints, it is necessary to identify the right priorities of social policy. Accordingly, the authors analyzed the main problems and prospects in the implementation of the main priorities of the social policy of the modern Russian state: overcoming inequality and poverty, support for the participants of the SVO and their families, family and demographic policy. The authors conclude that when developing and implementing social measures, the Russian state should avoid inflating "bubbles" of social obligations. In addition, it is necessary to keep in mind the limited budget resources and avoid "life on loan". Consequently, the authors substantiate the position on the need to implement the principles of rationality, targeting, and orientation towards solving the most acute social problems of modern Russian society in conditions of limited resources.

Abstract: The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the fact that globalization, being the most important factor in social dynamics, leads to tectonic shifts in absolutely all spheres of social life. These changes are ambiguous and dual in nature. The purpose of this work is to identify the contradictory nature of the influence of global transformation in the context of recent challenges (COVID 19, increased international economic competition, a complex of economic problems, sanctions policy, political instability) on the scale of inequality in the modern world, the functioning of the institution of the social state, consensus on issues of social cohesion, social justice and social solidarity. The theoretical basis of the article was the work of F. Fukuyama, I. Wallerstein, P. Rosanvallon, G. E. Anderson and others.
The interdisciplinary nature of the research within the framework of the identified problems requires the use of both the results of sociological research and a significant amount of international economic statistics. The authors have carried out a comprehensive analysis of the factors of global socio-economic changes that most directly affect the functioning of the modern social state.
Based on current sociological and statistical data, the authors prove the complex feasibility and partly even change in the basic principles of the “welfare state” associated with social justice, social cohesion and social solidarity in modern Western European countries, which until recently were considered a standard of high quality and living standards of the population, a developed social support system, and a large middle class. It is concluded that the negative trends of global social changes are unlikely to be changed in the foreseeable future, despite the measures taken by national governments and international institutions aimed at stabilizing the socio-economic situation.