Marginal modality of insurgent status: a sociological analysis

Abstract

The article proposes an alternative interpretation of the revolutionary subject that goes beyond traditional class-based and ideological explanations. It argues that the key factor in the formation of revolutionary potential is a state of social disintegration resulting from large-scale and institutionally unmanaged migration processes. The revolutionary subject is conceptualized not as a stable social group, but as a product of a transitional condition characterized by the loss of previous social ties and insufficient integration into new social structures.

The theoretical and methodological framework is based on the concepts of anomie developed by Emile Durkheim, social mobility by Pitirim Sorokin, and crowd psychology by Gustave Le Bon. Their synthesis allows migration to be interpreted as a fundamental mechanism of social transformation.

The empirical analysis includes historical cases such as Ancient Rome as an early model of a demographically open city, revolutionary processes in France and the Russian Empire, as well as institutional practices in the USSR, Israel and China as models of migration management.

The study concludes that revolutions emerge under conditions of mismatch between the scale of population movement and the capacity of society to ensure institutional integration. Revolutionary potential increases proportionally with the number of individuals experiencing social «placelessness». The findings provide a new perspective on both historical revolutions and contemporary challenges related to global migration and urbanization.