Global world and ethnic revolution

Abstract

The article develops the concept of ethnic revolution which the author regards as one of the major socio-historical processes of the modern stage of globalization. The ethnic revolution is associated with the phenomenon of the «revival of ethnicity» and understood as a general process of re-establishment of ethnicity and ethnic identities which is not limited to any particular territory. In this respect, the issue should refer to a new characteristic. The author examines different types of ethnicity in the context of renovation of social norms and relationships and suggests that the so-called «post-national identity» is only a transitional step towards the formation of fundamentally new ethno-national communities. The situational analysis in different countries, including the EU countries, Russia and other post-Soviet states, reveals specific features of ethnic revolution; its genetic dependence on the spatial structure of economic interactions and communications is described. The author warns against researchers’ attempts to define ethnicity as an archaism; presenting it as a form of socio-psychological and cognitive compensation for the growing complexity of the social world and as a factor of economic competitiveness (ethno-economy), the author proves its functionality in modern social practices.