The process of individualization is a component of the general process of formation of modern societies. The other components are: the formation of capitalism, of industrialism, the process of democratization, urbanization, the formation of modern political and state order. The result of the process of individualization is formation of modern individual. The function and importance of the process is obviously underestimated in sociological theory as compared to the attention given to the processes of formation of capitalism or industrialism. This has become clear as the latest sociology has characterized the contemporary society as “individualized society”. The article is dedicated to the analysis of the social-historic process of individualization. Its aim is to bring to light the basic mechanisms through which this process was realized. These basic mechanisms are social differentiation, rationalization and civilization. The analysis of the mechanisms of individualization is based on classical and some contemporary sociological theories. The analysis of social differentiation takes the starting point in the analysis of methodo logical principles of theory of society and theory of social development of E. Durkheim and G. Simmel. The authors strive to point to the fundamentals of the historic process of social differentiation and its main stages. Rationalization is the main mechanism of the process of individualization. The sociological theories of M. Weber, M. Horkheimer and J. Habermas form the basis of its analysis in the article. This analysis also points to the fundamentals of the process of individualization and to its main stages. “Civilization” is the third mechanism of the process of individualization. The analysis of this mechanism is based on theories of N. Elias and M. Foucault. The article shows the interconnections of the mechanisms of differentiation rationalization and civilization in the social-historic process of individualization. The article also strives to show the significance of the principles of individual liberty and equality as fundamental to the modern ideology.

This article examines modern concepts of social stratification and social mobility in China. The approaches of modern Chinese sociologists Lu Xueyi, Li Qiang and Gu Hui, who belong to different generations of scientists, are analyzed. Each of them puts forward his unique concept, relying on a large number of statistical data and sociological approaches. In the course of reasoning, Lu Xueyi, Li Qiang and Gu Hui are examining various social problems that arise as a result of changes in the processes of social mobility and the reform of the social structure that cause dissatisfaction among part of the population. Modern Chinese society can not be called stable. One of the main problems of Lu Xueyi calls the lag of social development from economic development, which generates social crises. Li Qiang analyzes the barriers to vertical mobility, among which is the registration system for the place of residence, unequal access to education and jobs. Gu Hui in his studies draws attention to the fact that the Chinese model of stratification and social mobility is becoming increasingly closed, emphasizes the importance of family origin, increases the closure of the transition between social classes, especially the transition to the upper class. Independently from each other, the aforementioned scholars come to the conclusion that since the reform policy (1978) the coefficient of social mobility in China has increased, and the opportunities for mobility have also increased, however, moving along social mobility channels is not always unhindered, the phenomenon of securing the social structure of modern society occurs.

The article deals with the works of the French philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre, devoted to urban problems. The evolution of the ideological and theoretical foundations of Lefebvre’s approach to understanding the features of urban development and its key characteristics is presented. The presentation of A. Lefevre on the nature of the city is disclosed, the concept of the crisis of the modern city and the factors that determine it are analyzed. The main attention is paid to the concept of “the right to the city”, which D. Harvey continues to develop in modern urban studies. The prerequisites of the urban revolution and its desired results are analyzed.

The study “women’s issue” is considered in this article, on the basis of the analysis of primary sources in works of the famous jurist, representative of the neokantian direction of the Russian sociology of XIX – the beginnings of the XX century of Veniamin Mikhaylovich Hvostov is considered (1868–1920). “Women’s issue” as a complex of social problems is an object of research in a modern western and domestic scientific thought, especially actively developed in the framework of feministic sociology. Now the subject area of feminist sociology developed, discussed and criticized. It is considered to be that for the first time this question arises in the Western European social thought. In this article the author pays attention that the problem of a provision of women attracted a keen interest of representatives of the most different directions of sociological science in Russia during its forming. Statement of a problem of inequality, overcoming a dependency of the woman, providing her rights in Russia differs from western in special specifics. These specifics are caused by historical and social development of society, formation of a system of law, religious consciousness. One of the most pressing issues and at the same time the least studied is consideration of the prospects of the birth of feminist ideas within neokantianism schools of Russian sociology. The author comes to a conclusion that the neokantian direction in sociology, the leading role in which belonged to scientific jurists and historians, led to reorientation of a social thought in general and allowed to open new opportunities for development of scientific knowledge and transformation of the public relations. One of the most important problems of these public relations was the problem of a women’s provision. V.M. Hvostov raises a number of important issues in the development of the problem, in particular we are talking about the possibility of a radical change of women in connection with a radical change in the conditions of life and activities. Under the influence of such progressive thinkers as V.M. Hvostov changes the look on social reality in general.

The article examines the features of a comparative analysis of interest groups and lobbying. This is a relatively new trend for political sociology and comparative politics that only begins to gain theoretical and methodological outlines. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the comparative analysis of interest groups and lobbying has gone beyond the scope of American political science and American studies, the scientific community still lacks understanding what should be the basis of the research. The variables for comparative analysis that are proposed in this paper are based on the revision of Gabriel Almond’s views, as well as on the concepts that have been used in the study of lobbyism in the last two decades. The author shows that Almond’s approach to comparative analysis of interest groups and interest groups systems has not lost its acuteness, but it requires actualization in the current stage of political systems’ development. As a result, the author proposes the following variables: types of interest groups systems, the interrelationship of interest groups with the party system, the interaction of interest groups with bureaucracy, the influence of interest groups on public opinion, their role in public policy, the processes of lobbying institutionalization, types of strategies used by interests groups in interaction with authorities. This set of criteria covers the most part of theoretical and methodological spectrum of comparative studies of interest groups and lobbying which are conducted by different scientists in different countries. The article aims to show that a more comprehensive and in-depth comparative analysis of interest groups and lobbying brings new opportunities for studying contemporary political processes under the conditions of changing institutional, social and economic environment of the society.

The article is devoted to the crisis situation in global health connected with the problem of neglected tropical diseases and its social effects. Negative social consequences of this group of diseases, include increase in mortality and disability, are most often due to the fact that their importance for modern society is considered in the context of their epidemiological potential. As a result, diseases that are prevalent in certain regions but are not of an infectious nature can be displaced to the periphery of the health agenda. This fact leads to appropriate modifications in the behavior of international companies that form the global market for biopharmaceuticals. As the example we take the problem of snake bites, which was on June 9, 2017 included by the World Health Organization in the list of “neglected tropical diseases”. Since the beginning of the 2000s, in various tropical and subtropical countries, there have been situations called “snake bite crisis” or “serum crisis”. Increasing the cost of the main means of therapy for snake bites – specific immunoglobulins (antiserum or antivenins) leads to the fact that the health systems of developing countries are unable to purchase it, and producers lose interest in developing this kind of biopharmaceutical products. Since the early 1980s, several major producers of antivenins – Syntex, Behringwerke AG, Sanofi-Pasteur, Wyeth – have stopped production of them or have completely left the market. This resulted in a deficit of antivenins observed in several regions, which led to the destruction or distortion of the model of interaction between patients and medical structures, the revival of archaic practices that have become an alternative to modern techniques that have shown inefficiency due to the lack of a key component. It is concluded that a qualitative change in the situation is possible only as a result of the coordinated interaction of various groups of actors (representatives of the expert community, biopharmaceutical companies, national governments, health authorities and international organizations, including WHO).

The article is devoted to the analysis of reproductive health among Russian women of childbearing age as one of the main components of population’s health and demographic development of Russia. The aim of the article is to assess the most important indicators of women’s reproductive health in Russia, such as the sickness rate preceding and during the pregnancy, the level of infertility, the prevalence of abortions and its dynamics, infant, perinatal and maternal mortality. Artificial termination of pregnancy is considered as the main indicator of reproductive health. Noting the positive trend in reducing the number of abortions, the author shows the differences in this indicator between Russia and other developed countries with a similar legislation on abortion. The article also touches the dynamics of infant and maternal mortality, and the problem of infertility. The author notes that it is necessary to predict, diagnose and correct the reproductive health of women of childbearing age by improving the culture of health with the aim of increasing the reproductive potential of the population of Russia. The empirical base is the data of the Federal State Statistics Service, the Public Opinion Foundation, the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the World Health Organization concerning the reproductive health of Russian women. This article will be of interest to specialists in the field of the sociology of medicine, the sociology of the family and demography, as well as readers interested in the social aspects of reproductive health in Russia. The materials of the article will be useful for healthcare professionals, social workers, sociological and demographic community, university students.

In modern society the phenomenon of polyamory arises in terms of growing tendency of personality individualization, crisis in nuclear family, spiritual and moral fragility, increasing feelings of abandonment and loneliness, “shrinking present” and shortening of interpersonal relations due to the extension of social circles and intensified interaction. The paper aims to define the concept of polyamory, its formal and substantive boundaries, to research components of ethos of polyamory, and also to detect prerequisites for the emergence and spread of the phenomenon of polyamory in modern social reality. The analysis is devoted to transformation of intimacy – from classical kind of love to nascent neopostclassical, from romantic relationship through confluent love to polyamory. Besides, it is a demarcation between promiscuity and polyamory. It is also emphasized that postclassical confluent love is in a substantial crisis now – sexuality without love is being transformed into omnisexuality, which has a variety of forms and absence of sense, and then converted to asexuality, transsexuality and love to inanimate objects. In such a case polyamory tries to bridge the crisis of sexuality and reincarnate the elements of history by combination of different sexual practices of postclassical love and spirit of classical love.

Academic and political establishment in the United States traditionally abides by two approaches towards the implementation of foreign policy. That is isolationism, on the one hand, and globalism (internationalism), on the other. These approaches are based on different principles of foreign policy actions, namely, non-involvement in the affairs of Eurasia and those of the world in general (isolationism) and, on the contrary, active geopolitical and geo-economic expansion (globalism). Despite certain contradictions in choosing foreign policy instruments, in particular, the concepts of “soft power” or “hard power”, unilateral or multilateral actions, representatives of each of these schools of thought adhere to the main fundamental principle of the U.S. foreign policy, that is, the defense of U.S. national interests in the face of the “image of enemy”. Therefore, globalists and isolationists, “realists” and “idealists”, the so-called “hawks” and “doves” in the American foreign policy establishment are jointly countering the “external threat”. Since the Cold War period, such a “threat” has been traditionally identified in the face of Russia. Around her, first and foremost, “the image of enemy” is being formed. The article deals with geopolitical concepts of U.S. foreign policy, which preconditioned global expansion of that country on the international arena, such as the moving “Frontier” concept, the “Anaconda” concept, the “Heartland” concept, the “Rimland” concept and etc. Considering the aggressive nature of the U.S. foreign policy, the analysis of the above concepts allows to considering the latter as being the geostrategy, which is aimed at establishing the new world order. The analysis of its geopolitical foundations allows us to reveal fundamental processes in world politics and to predict possible scenarios of the coming world order. The research of the geopolitical foundations of the U.S. strategy also makes it possible understanding of the true reasons for the U.S. opposing the Eurasian integration process.

At the end of the XX – beginning of the XXI century in international relations the issue of identity comes to the fore. This is connected with the restructuring of the international system after the collapse of the USSR. In a crisis, the question of identity sets the direction for development and achieving stability. Formation of national identity is one of the key moments for democratic countries, depending on external and internal factors. Global changes around the world have revealed the fundamental differences underlying the existing national identity. Obviously, the need for a strong national identity is now faced by most developed countries. This issue is significant for most European countries building a contradictory multicultural society. Appeal to the practice of such states will allow to analyze the national identity. An analysis of the national identity of Greece is of particular interest and can contribute to a better understanding of current events. The study of national identity in modern Greece is of great importance for a correct understanding of how this state and its citizens identify themselves. The economic crisis in Greece struck not only the financial sector, but also caused a crisis of national identity. The research is based on general scientific principles of cognition of social phenomena. Systemic, historical and comparative approaches are used to reveal the specifics of national identity in Greece these days. The system approach allowed using a set of methods for analyzing scientific literature, conference materials and scientific articles on this topic. With the help of the historical approach, it was possible to identify the role of Orthodoxy and Byzantine heritage in the formation of national identity in Greece.

Transition to postindustrial society is accompanied by the onrush development of new information and communication technologies. Consequently, social capital of humans development becomes necessary and very important. Along with the willing ness to increase social capital many people are interested in realizing their entrepreneurial activities. Spreading of such non-standard forms of employment as remote work, freelancing (in particular, electronic freelancing) and downshifting, providing a new type of social-labor relations, increasing number of people seeking to self-organization labor activity. Thus, detailed consideration of non-standard forms of labor organization, entrepreneurship and ways of employee’s professional development is very actual. The article discusses such phenomena as entrepreneurship and downshifting in context of personality’s professional development, and also exploring reasons and ways of engagement in ideologies of both two phenomena. A distinctive feature of the author’s view is that concepts of “entrepreneurship” and “downshifting” are not in the opposition as different vectors of career development. These methods of labor organization are considered as similar by backgrounds that motivate per son to leave stable job in a global context or in a concrete company. In the article for more complete understanding complementarity of entrepreneurship and downshifting in context of personality’s professional development, there is a brief historical background, regarding history of each phenomena – globally, and particularly in Russia.

Current article is dedicated to conference “La rivoluzione bolscevica. Un secolo dopo” (Bolshevik revolution. A century after) that took place in Sapienza University of Rome on 19 October 2017. Conference was organized by the Faculty of Sociology of Lomonosov Moscow State University and Department of Social and Economic Sciences of University of Rome.

The article is devoted to the International scientific conference in interdisciplinary poverty research held at the University of Salzburg. The focus theme of the Conference was the study of the relationship between the problem of poverty and religion.