D.ADZEMOGLU AND D.ROBINSON CONCEPT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT («NARROW CORRIDOR»): DETERMINATION OF HEURISTIC POTENTIAL FOR SOCIAL AND POLITICAL RESEARCH

Abstract

Emphasis placed on the search for new theoretical and methodological foundations for conducting modern social and political research. As the latter, it proposed to consider the leading propositions of the new version of the theory of social development by American researchers D.Acemoglu and J.Robinson, presented in their monograph «Narrow Corridor. States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty» (2019).In the context of achieving the specified goal, the following tasks solved:– the content of the theory of social development by D.Acemoglu and D.Robinson («narrow corridor»);– the main ideas of the concept are compared with other theoretical constructions of social development proposed by leading Western researchers – R.Dahrendorf, S.Lipset, R.Englgart and . Habermas;– the strategy of applying the concept of «narrow corridor» in relation to the research of the leading elements of socio-political reality is determined.As a result, the following conclusions are drawn: firstly, this conceptual construction of D.Acemoglu and D.Robinson can be considered as a certain theoretical construction, claiming the level of a new version of the theory of social development; secondly, its structure is made up of leading provisions capable of interpreting both the static aspect of the existence of social and political reality (civil society – the state) and the dynamic one – the mechanism of its constant development (the struggle between the elites and the state, on the one hand, and the masses and civil society, on the other hand); thirdly, its heuristic potential for social and political research can be realized through the following research strategy: choosing a research subject; justification of the group of variables that can characterize it; determination of the set of factors that led to its occurrence; determination of the set of factors affecting its further development; consideration of the context of functioning and development of this subject of research – on the one hand, from the standpoint of civil society development, and, on the other – from the standpoint of further state building.