«Transformative Agency» as a Subject of Research and Development in the 21st Century: A Review and Interpretation of International Experience

Abstract

The experience gained during the global pandemic shows that individual abilities for proactive transformative behavior in relation to social environment are essential for the efficient functioning and development of social institutions, for instance, in the field of education or labor. Despite their high practical relevance, the issues of (transformative) agency, that is, the proactive change of social institutions and structures through individual action, remain on the peripheries of mainstream social sciences. Moreover, a wide range of congruent developments from different disciplines, as well as from expert discourse, has not been analyzed systematically so far. The sociological conceptual framework «structure — agency» may be helpful for classifying related notions and findings.

The classification offered in this paper can serve as a basis for creating holistic and complex models of (transforming) agency, allowing to overcome the limitations of the mainstream social thought about the primary value of «external» structures and institutions in relation to the transformation potential of action. Such a «turn» in academic and expert discussions would adequately address the practical tasks and challenges that the world faces against the backdrop of the ongoing global pandemic.

Acknowledgements. The study uses the results of the project carried out as part of the HSE HSE Basic research program.

The authors are grateful to Timofey Redko and Alla Borodina from HSE University for their help in collecting and systematizing bibliometric information.