Abstract: Design is one of the most popular instruments for administration of policy in different fields and spheres. This is reinforced by creation, implementation, and support of numerous political projects of the local, regional, national, and global levels. At the same time, design and fulfillment of various political projects is complicated by the absence of sound understanding of the content and main approaches towards the key concept of project activity — “political design”. The modern social-humanistic scientific literature has formed explicit approaches towards understanding the stages of political design, the actors of project activity in the political sphere, resources of political design, criteria for the effective implementation of political projects, classification of political projects. However, the very concept of “political design” remains polemical. Its content is saturated with different meanings, which subsequently complicates the study of other aspects and vectors of project activity in the political sphere. This article aims to summarize the main approaches towards elucidation of the concept of “political design”, outline its key parameters, and formulate the relevant definition. Methodological framework for this article is comprised of the theoretical principles of the project approach towards interpretation of politics. The author provides the original definition of the concept of “political design”, systematizes the main approaches towards explanation of its structure and content, offers the socio-technological assessment of the key parameters of modern political projects, and develops additional grounds for their classification. The article identifies and compares the procedural, administrative, pragmatic, organizational, sociocultural, historical, and innovative models of project activity in politics, describes their heuristic capabilities and conceptual boundaries. The author also develops the criteria for assessing the quality of project activities in politics, and correlates them with the basic models of modern political design.

Abstract:  
This article discusses the political projects of civilizational level, which are designed and implemented in South America. The author examines MERCOSUR as the largest regional civilizational political project, its sociocultural foundation and institutional superstructure; functionality of the “core state” in formation and maintenance of the South American civilizational political project; problems of development and future implementation. The article reveals conflict potential of MERCOSUR, as well as sociocultural capabilities for its overcoming by the “core state” of the project. The research was conducted via application of civilizational-project methodology of interpretation of policy, which is based on methodological synthesis of the principles of project approach with provisions of the theory of civilizations. The author was able to determine the value grounds of MERCOSUR, which comprise its sociocultural foundation; identify the countries competing for status of the “core state” within the framework of this project. The nature of commonality between the key participants of the projects is identified. Problems and prospect of further development of MERCOSUR civilizational projects are defined.
 

Abstract: The subject of this research is the conflict models of transformation of civilizational political projects: “cyclic models” of conflict transformations, “linear” models of conflicts transformations, “impulse models” of conflict transformations, “discrete models” of conflict transformations. Analysis is conducted on the factors and mechanisms of conflict transformations of civilizational political projects: “energy sources” of conflict transformations, impact of “sociocultural potential” of a civilizational political project upon the character and vector of its changes. The article also assesses the heuristic capabilities of civilizational-project methodology of studying transformations of civilizational political projects. Methodological framework is comprised of the civilizational theory coupled with the project approach. The author examines the causes of conflict transformations of civilizational political projects, as well as highlights typical models of conflict transformations. The modern scientific literature has multiple studies dedicated to the specificity of creation, implementation and maintenance of civilizational political projects. The internal mechanism of their creation and functionality are subjected to detailed expert examination. At the same time, systematic scientific research that touch upon the problematic of transformation of civilizational political projects are carried out fragmentarily. It particularly pertains to the works focused on the conflict aspects of transformations of political projects.