Mikhaylyonok O.M. Introduction. Networks. Hierarchies. Politics. In: Transformation of political relations in a networked society: [[monograph] ...

Abstract

The models of perception of the world by people, the ways of cognition of objective socio-political reality are changing significantly against the background of global digitalization, mediatization and virtualization of the traditional socio-political space.Network theory remains the only significant alternative to existing approaches to understanding the essence of the social (and political), which gives some optimistic grounds for believing in the possibility of further progress on the path of cognition of the surrounding world. In the process of working on the monograph, the team of authors analyzed such problems as the relationship between the concepts of political networks and political relations in the context of the network – hierarchy alternative, new methods of studying politics, political relations already used in political science, their relationship with the already established methodological arsenal of sociology and political science. The questions are raised about what alternatives are currently seen in changing the understanding of political relations, what is the differentiation of political relations at such levels as global politics, regional, intra-country, municipal, what is power in the network perspective, what are the results of the impact of network reality on the state and what are the actors of social policy. The models of perception of the world by people, the ways of cognition of objective socio-political reality are changing significantly against the background of global digitalization, mediatization and virtualization of the traditional socio-political space.Network theory remains the only significant alternative to existing approaches to understanding the essence of the social (and political), which gives some optimistic grounds for believing in the possibility of further progress on the path of cognition of the surrounding world.In the process of working on the monograph, the team of authors analyzed such problems as the relationship between the concepts of political networks and political relations in the context of the network – hierarchy alternative, new methods of studying politics, political relations already used in political science, their relationship with the already established methodological arsenal of sociology and political science. The questions are raised about what alternatives are currently seen in changing the understanding of political relations, what is the differentiation of political relations at such levels as global politics, regional, intra-country, municipal, what is power in the network perspective, what are the results of the impact of network reality on the state and what are the actors of social policy.