The concept of “youth” as a definition of a socio-demographic group dates back to the end of the 18th - early XIX centuries Before this, young people as special social group were not recognized. Up to late XIX centuries, the problems of youth were considered through the problems of personal development, education of a citizen of a historically specific society, which found scientific expression in pedagogy, philosophy, psychology of the Renaissance, modern times, Western philosophy of the 17th-18th centuries. The actualization of theoretical studies of youth and the creation of independent concepts of age occurred at the beginning of the 20th century and were developed in sociological theories of youth.

Youth as a special social group was recognized according to objective criteria that determine the existence, development and change of all aspects of a given social entity.

The starting position of the life cycle, coinciding with youth and associated with the process of preparation for adult functions, appeared in the process of transition from traditional to industrial society. The process of socialization in a traditional society is carried out through the transmission from generation to generation of values, activities, means and goals of which have existed for centuries as stable patterns and social norms. IN modern conditions The need for qualitatively different ways of preparing and integrating the individual into society has increased.

Therefore, today it is impossible to study youth either only from the point of view of sociology (socio-demographic group), or only from the point of view of a cultural approach (spiritual values ​​and ideals of youth). This makes the learning process one-sided. The solution lies in combining the two approaches into a single, inextricable sociocultural approach.

Concepts of youth in the sociocultural aspect began to be developed in the 50s of the 20th century. such researchers as G. Shelsky, K. Mannheim, A Tenbroek, S. Eisenstadt. In the domestic literature on youth issues, the sociocultural approach does not always receive proper objective coverage.

Today, in the circles of sociologists, a view has been established on youth as a reference, socio-demographic group, the most important features of which most authors consider age characteristics and associated features of social status, as well as socio-psychological qualities determined by both, which allows us to say on a multi-level analysis of youth as a social phenomenon.

However, the question of the final definition of the concept of “youth” remains controversial. Scientists are divided different approaches to the subject of study - from the perspective of sociology, psychology, physiology, demography, etc.

Researchers Vishnevsky Yu.R., Kovaleva A.I., Lukov V.A. and others identify the following as the most typical approaches found in the scientific literature:

• - psychological: youth is the period of development of the human personality between “puberty” (puberty) and “maturity” (full maturity);
• - socio-psychological: youth is a certain age with its biological and psychological relationships, and as a result - all the characteristics of the age class;
• - conflictological: youth is a difficult, stressful and extremely important period of life, a long-term conflict between the individual and society, a problematic stage in human development;
• - role-based: youth is a special behavioral phase in a person’s life, when he no longer plays the role of a child, and at the same time is not yet a full-fledged bearer of the role of an “adult”;
• - subcultural: youth are a group with their own specific way of life, lifestyle, cultural norms;
• - stratification: youth are a special socio-demographic group, limited by age, with specific positions, statuses, roles;
• - socialization: youth is a period of social growth, primary socialization;
• - axiological: youth is a socially significant, important stage of a person’s life cycle, it is at this stage that the formation of a system of value orientations of individuals, a special attitude, aspiration for the future, and optimism occurs.

• - age;
• - socio-historical;
• - sociological;
• - spiritual and cultural;
• - socio-psychological;
• - cultural.

Thus, within the framework of the considered approaches, there are many definitions of youth that reflect, to a greater or lesser extent, certain aspects of life activity and the qualitative characteristics of this social group.

Young people have a higher degree of life satisfaction, which is associated with greater confidence in own strength, orientation towards the realization of personal goals and interests, towards achievement and success. Young people are characterized by a commitment to the values ​​of individualism, personal initiative and independence.

Success for a significant part of young people is characterized by achieving high material status. Higher education is less valued as a condition for achieving success. However, in the minds of young people, prestige higher education very high compared to the average.

The attitude towards work is very contradictory. On the one hand, young people generally do not consider work to be one of the most significant values. This is partly explained by the abolition of the ideology of the special social significance of labor and labor education. However, interesting work plays a big role for many. At the same time, the main motive of young people explaining their choice of work is the opportunity to earn more income. This is due to the weakening in the youth consciousness of the connection between money and work in its labor meaning.

Most representatives of today's youth assign a fairly important role to the family, considering it an indispensable condition for happiness. Cohabitation as a way of organization family relations in many ways inferior to marriage. Most believe that prerequisite family happiness are children. Among the main factors ensuring the sustainability and stability of the family, young people name the following: respect and support between spouses, marital fidelity, satisfaction sexual relations, decent income, normal living conditions, living separately from parents and willingness to discuss problems that arise between spouses. The trend is gaining momentum according to which the role of women in the material support of the family is increasing. One can note the increased role of material factors in the functioning of youth families.

Value orientations determine the spiritual core of a person, express his attitude to the world and to himself, influence the direction and content of social activity, fill life with meaning, represent the main channel for a person to assimilate the spiritual culture of society, transform cultural values ​​into incentives and motives for practical behavior, are system-forming element of the worldview. youth family social educational

In a broad sense, youth is a set of group communities formed according to age and related activities. I.S. Kohn defined youth as “a socio-demographic group identified on the basis of a combination of age characteristics, characteristics of social status and socio-psychological properties determined by one or another.” The definition of the concept of “youth” is interconnected with the characteristics of generational relations in society, with its social structure, including layers, masses and social groups. This definition builds a clear structure, the initial link of which is “generation”, then “class” (or “stratum”) and, finally, the young part of the class - youth.

This conclusion has important methodological significance for defining the concept of “youth”. At the same time, researchers proceed from the fact that young people do not occupy a special place in the system of social relations, being distributed among various classes and social groups of society, possessing class characteristics to one degree or another. This does not deny the social characteristics of young people, determined by age, socio-psychological, physiological characteristics, specific interests, needs and value orientations. In accordance with this, the question of its age limits has a certain significance for the sociological study of youth. Currently, there are three main approaches to defining these boundaries.

The first, so-called demographic approach, considers youth as a special part of the population, i.e. as people born in a certain year and at a certain time included in working life. The chronological boundaries in this case are from 18 to 30 years.

The second approach is statistical, where time indicators are taken as the basis for determining age boundaries. average duration life and the period of time from the birth of parents to the birth of their children. In accordance with this, the age of youth is determined by the period from 14 to 30 years.

The third approach is sociological, when the age range is determined by the essence of the object of study, i.e. a specific group of young people, characterized by certain professional, educational, socio-psychological characteristics. Most researchers limit this range to ages from 16 to 30 years, although in some cases a limit of up to 33 and even 40 years is allowed.

Adhering to a generally sociological approach to defining the concept of “youth,” one cannot help but note that this social group reflects complex differentiation social life modern society. Apparently, this is why various studies characterize internal structure youth from different points of view.

In sociology, youth are usually divided into the following age groups:

• a) students of incomplete and complete secondary schools;
• b) youth aged 16 to 19 years;
• c) aged from 20 to 24 years;
• d) from 25 to 30 years.

Based on this, it can be argued that the concept of “youth” includes the following groups of the young population, divided by place in social work.

• - Production workers. Machine operators, farm workers, transport workers, builders. Basically, they have a special education based on courses and still represent quite large group youth. Although it is 2 times less than among people over 30 years of age, it cannot be ignored, including from the point of view of consumption of public goods.
• - Persons engaged in unskilled and manual labor still represent a fairly large group of young people. Although it is 2 times less than among people over 30 years of age, it cannot be ignored, including from the point of view of consumption of public goods.
• - Technicians, technical support personnel. An actively growing layer of young people in the conditions of computerization of work and the emergence of new professions in servicing modern equipment.
• - A special group of young people consists of managers, realtors, agronomists, livestock specialists, as well as production organizers and specialists in various fields of the economy. In this group the most high level secondary and higher education.
• - Recently, another group of young people has been actively forming - the scientific and creative intelligentsia. It should include medical workers, teachers and workers public education, culture. This group has the highest percentage of brain drain.
• - Students are not homogeneous in their age composition and structure. Firstly, these are schoolchildren studying in secondary schools. Secondly, students of colleges, lyceums, vocational schools. Thirdly, students of secondary vocational and higher educational institutions studying in various forms (full-time, part-time, part-time, part-time). The age range of this group of young people is from 14 to 30 years old, their needs are very diverse.

So, youth is that part of the population (aged 14 to 30 years) that is associated with a modern way of life, participates in at least one type of life activity and work, and is the bearer and consumer of all modern forms of culture

Of particular value for today's youth is the opportunity to do what they love. As a specific socio-demographic group, youth are characterized, in addition to age, by the presence of a certain place in the structure of society, as well as by the characteristics of social formation and development. Within the framework of the characteristics of the younger generation, one can distinguish main and secondary ones. The main characteristics include physiological, psychological, age and social class. These characteristics are common to all young people. Secondary signs follow from the main ones and appear depending on the type of activity, place of residence and social status of the young person.

N.F. Golovaty identifies the following objective circumstances that determine the special role of youth in the life of society:

• · youth play an important role in national economic production, because is the only source of replenishment of labor resources;
• · youth are the bearers of the intellectual potential of society; they have great abilities for work and creativity in all spheres of life;
• · youth are able to acquire new knowledge, skills, and professions much faster than other social groups, thanks to which they have a greater social and professional perspective.

The role of youth as an object and subject in historical process development of society also has its own specifics. When entering public life, a young person is the object of social influence from the environment. external environment: family, friends, educational institutions, etc. As he grows up, he learns and begins to engage in creative activities, becoming the subject of socio-economic, political and social transformations.

Youth is a special socio-demographic group that plays an irreplaceable role in society. Youth is the only source of replenishment of labor resources, the bearer of the intellectual potential of society. She is more capable of adapting to new conditions, learning and assimilating new knowledge and skills. The value orientations of young people cannot but influence the life of society as a whole.

Topic 12. Youth as a social group

The youthis a socio-demographic group identified on the basis of a combination of age characteristics (approximately from 16 to 25 years), characteristics of social status and certain socio-psychological qualities.

Youth is a period of choosing a profession and your place in life, developing a worldview and life values, choosing a life partner, starting a family, achieving economic independence and socially responsible behavior.

Youth is a specific phase, stage of the human life cycle and is biologically universal.

– Transitional position.

– High level of mobility.

– Mastering new social roles (employee, student, citizen, family man) associated with changes in status.

– Active search for your place in life.

– Favorable prospects in professional and career terms.

Young people are the most active, mobile and dynamic part of the population, free from stereotypes and prejudices of previous years and possessing the following socio-psychological qualities: mental instability; internal inconsistency; low level of tolerance (from Latin tolerantia - patience); the desire to stand out, to be different from the rest; the existence of a specific youth subculture.

It is typical for young people to unite in informal groups, which are characterized by the following features:

– emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in specific conditions of a social situation;

– self-organization and independence from official structures;

– obligatory for participants and different from typical, accepted in society, behavior patterns that are aimed at realizing life needs that are unsatisfied in ordinary forms (they are aimed at self-affirmation, giving social status, gaining security and prestigious self-esteem);

– relative stability, a certain hierarchy among group members;

– expression of others value orientations or even worldview, behavioral stereotypes that are uncharacteristic of society as a whole;

- attributes that emphasize belonging to a given community.

Depending on the characteristics of youth amateur activities, youth groups and movements can be classified.

The acceleration of the pace of development of society determines the increasing role of youth in public life. Joining in social relations, youth modify them and, under the influence of transformed conditions, improve themselves.

Sample assignment

A1. Choose the correct answer. Are the following judgments about the psychological characteristics of young people true?

A. For a teenager, external events, actions, and friends are primarily important.

B. In adolescence higher value acquires inner world person, the discovery of one’s own “I”.

1) only A is correct

2) only B is correct

3) both judgments are correct

4) both judgments are incorrect

Transitional position

· high level of mobility

· mastering new social roles (employee, student, citizen, family man) associated with changes in status

· active search for your place in life

· favorable professional and career prospects

B. Youth is the most active, mobile and dynamic part of the population, free from stereotypes and prejudices of previous years and possessing the following socio-psychological qualities:

mental instability

· internal inconsistency

· low level of tolerance (from Latin tolerantia - patience)

· desire to stand out, to be different from others

· the existence of a specific youth subculture

It is typical for young people to unite in informal groups, which are characterized by the following characteristics:

2. Signs of informal youth groups

· emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in specific conditions of a social situation

· models of behavior that are mandatory for participants and differ from typical ones accepted in society, which are aimed at realizing life needs that are unsatisfied in ordinary forms (they are aimed at self-affirmation, giving social status, gaining security and prestigious self-esteem)

· expression of other value orientations or even worldviews, behavioral stereotypes that are not typical for society as a whole

self-organization and independence from official structures

· relative stability, a certain hierarchy among group members

· attributes emphasizing belonging to a given community

Depending on the characteristics of youth amateur activities, youth groups and movements can be classified.

Types of youth activities

Type name	Its characteristics
Aggressive initiative	It is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values, based on the cult of persons. Primitivism, visibility of self-affirmation. Popular among teenagers and young people with a minimum level of intellectual and cultural development
Shocking (French epater - to amaze, surprise) amateur performance	It is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions, both in ordinary, material forms of life - clothing, hairstyle, and in spiritual ones - art, science. “Challenge” aggression to yourself from other persons in order to be “noticed” (punk style, etc.)
Alternative amateur performance	Based on the development of alternative, systemically contradictory models of behavior, which becomes an end in itself (hippies, Hare Krishnas, etc.)
Social activities	Aimed at solving specific social problems (environmental movements, movements for the revival and preservation of cultural and historical heritage, etc.)
Political amateur activities	Aimed at changing the political system and political situation in accordance with the ideas of a specific group

The acceleration of the pace of development of society determines the increasing role of youth in public life. By getting involved in social relations, young people modify them and, under the influence of transformed conditions, improve themselves.

Ethnic communities

1. Modern humanity is a complex ethnic structure, including several thousand ethnic communities (nations, nationalities, tribes, ethnic groups, etc.), differing both in size and level of development. All ethnic communities of the Earth are part of more than two hundred states. Therefore, most modern states are multi-ethnic. For example, India is home to several hundred ethnic communities, while Nigeria is home to 200 peoples. As part of the modern Russian Federation more than 100 ethnic groups, including about 30 nations.

2. Ethnic community - is a historically established stable collection of people (tribe, nationality, nation, people) in a certain territory, possessing common features and stable characteristics of culture, language, mental makeup, self-awareness and historical memory, as well as awareness of their interests and goals, their unity, differences from other detailed formations.

A.

Types of ethnic communities

Genus

Tribe

Nationality

Nation

A group of blood relatives descended from the same line (maternal or paternal)

A set of clans interconnected by common cultural features, awareness of a common origin, as well as a common dialect, unity of religious ideas and rituals

A historically established community of people, united by a common territory, language, mental makeup, culture

A historically established community of people, characterized by developed economic ties, a common territory and a common language, culture, and ethnic identity

2. The concept of “ethnic minorities” is widely used in sociology, which includes not just quantitative data:

its representatives are at a disadvantage compared to other ethnic groups due to discrimination(belittling, belittling, infringement) on the part of other ethnic groups

its members experience a certain sense of group solidarity, “belonging to a single whole”

· it is usually to some extent physically and socially isolated from the rest of society

3. Prerequisites for the formation of the ethnic group

· The natural prerequisite for the formation of one or another ethnic group was community of territory, since it created the necessary conditions for joint activities of people. However, later, when the ethnic group has formed, this feature loses its main meaning and may be completely absent. Thus, some ethnic groups and in conditions diaspora(from the Greek diaspora - scattering) maintained their identity without having a single territory.

· Other important condition formation of an ethnic group - community of language. But this feature cannot be considered universal, since in a number of cases (for example, the United States), an ethnic group takes shape during the development of economic, political and other ties, and common languages ​​are the result of this process.

· A more stable sign of an ethnic community is the unity of such components of spiritual culture as values, norms And behavior patterns, as well as related socio-psychological characteristics of consciousness And people's behavior.

· An integrative indicator of the established socio-ethnic community is ethnic identity - a sense of belonging to a particular ethnic group, awareness of one’s unity and difference from other ethnic groups. An important role in the development of ethnic self-awareness is played by ideas about common origin, history, historical destinies, as well as traditions, customs, rituals, folklore, i.e. those elements of culture that are passed on from generation to generation and form a specific ethnic culture.

National interests. Thanks to ethnic self-awareness, a person keenly feels the interests of his people and compares them with the interests of other peoples and the world community. Awareness of ethnic interests encourages a person to engage in activities in the process of which they are realized.

Let's mark two sides national interests:

5. Ethnonational communities develop from clan, tribe, nation, reaching the level of nation-state.

Derived from the concept of “nation” is the term “ nationality”, which is used in Russian as a name for a person’s belonging to any ethnic group.

Many modern researchers consider a classic interethnic nation, in which general civic qualities come to the fore and at the same time the characteristics of the ethnic groups included in it are preserved - language, their own culture, traditions, customs.

Interethnic, civic nation is the totality (community) of citizens of a particular state. Some scientists believe that the formation of such a nation means the “end of the nation” in the ethnic dimension. Others, recognizing the nation-state, believe that we should talk not about the “end of the nation,” but about its new qualitative state.

Interethnic relations, ethnosocial conflicts, ways to resolve them

1. Interethnic relations, due to their multidimensional nature, are a complex phenomenon.

A. They include two varieties:

B. The methods of peaceful cooperation are quite diverse.

Lecture:

Youth as a social group

Youth is the most active and dynamic social group of people growing up. Throughout history, society's attitude towards youth has changed. There were times when children worked equally with adults for 10-12 hours a day. Before the transition of society to the industrial stage of development, youth were not identified as a separate social group. And in modern society it is a special demographic group, characterized by an age range from 14 to 30-35 years.

Youth is a very important period for a person, when the formation of personality occurs, the acquisition of one’s “I”, the assimilation of knowledge and values, and the mastery of social roles. This is the period of the most important events in life. Firstly, the young man completes his schooling and enters a vocational training educational institution. Secondly, he reaches adulthood, which characterizes his civil formation - the achievement of full legal capacity. Thirdly, he acquires a profession and gets a job. And finally, fourthly, he creates a family.

Let's consider the features of the social status of the youth group:

Transition of position – search for oneself, frequent change of activities and hobbies, formation of social status.

High level of mobility - young people are not tied to a specific place by any obligations, for example, family ones, and actively move along social elevators.

Favorable prospects for choosing a profession and starting a family.

An active search for one’s place in life, tireless experimentation, creative growth.

Mastering new roles, for example, student, employee, family man.

A special psychological make-up, the desire to assert one’s individuality.

The value-orientation orientation of the personality, which different people different. For example, Andrey is interested in music, reading books, visiting museums, and art is his value. Marat is a master of sports in freestyle wrestling, he never spends a day without training, for him the value is sport. Sasha is interested in banking, he knows how and at what price you can buy Sberbank shares, for him the value is money).

Its own subculture, distinguished by a special image, slang, behavior patterns and often subject to criminalization.

Youth problems and youth policy of the Russian Federation

The position of young people in modern society is quite contradictory. On the one hand, youth is the most favorable period for professional development and family formation. But on the other hand, a number of problems arise during this period. Firstly, unemployment and material insecurity among young people who are forced to live at the expense of their parents. Secondly, low wage busy young people and the inability to purchase their own housing. Thirdly, lack of confidence in the future and postponing the creation of a family “until better times.” These problems reduce the living standards of young people and contribute to the growth of crime, alcoholism, and drug addiction. In addition, modern sociologists note the degradation of the spiritual values ​​of young people. The reason for which is the impact of mass culture and Westernization, as well as the cultivation of the younger generation's consumer attitude towards everything.

Only the state can solve these problems. Our country has developed a Resolution “On the main directions of youth policy in the Russian Federation.” Its goals are the spiritual and physical development of youth, the prohibition of discrimination based on age, the creation of conditions for the full inclusion of young people in all spheres of society, support for talented youth, etc.

Based on these goals, the directions of youth policy are:

ensuring the rights of young people (for example, parents are responsible for ensuring access and creating conditions for their children to receive school education);

guaranteeing employment and employment (the employment service temporarily attracts unemployed youth to public paid work, so that the young person can try himself in something new and, perhaps, find something of his own);

stimulation of entrepreneurial activity (a young person who wants to do business has the right to do this after reaching 16 years of age, for this he needs the written consent of his parents);

support for young families (in the Russian Federation there are social programs for improving the living conditions of young families);

support for talented youth (organization and holding of competitions of various contents aimed at identifying and encouraging talented youth), etc.

Additional materials for the lesson :

Social studies mind map No. 37

👩‍🏫 Greetings, dear reader, and thank you for your interest in my author’s course! It will especially help those who are preparing for the Unified State Exam or Unified State Exam on their own. Well, if any of you are experiencing difficulties and want to prepare for the exam with me, then sign up for online classes. I will teach you how to solve all CMM tasks and, of course, explain incomprehensible and complex theoretical questions. You can contact me 👉

Aggressive initiative

It is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values, based on the cult of persons. Primitivism, visibility of self-affirmation. Popular among teenagers and young people with a minimum level of intellectual and cultural development.

Shocking (French epater - to amaze, surprise) amateur performance

It is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions both in everyday, material forms of life - clothing, hairstyle, and in spiritual ones - art, science. “Challenging” aggression on yourself from others in order to be “noticed” (punk style, etc.)

Alternative amateur performance

Based on the development of alternative, systemically contradictory models of behavior that become an end in themselves (hippies, Hare Krishnas, etc.)

Social activities

Aimed at solving specific social problems (environmental movements, movements for the revival and preservation of cultural and historical heritage, etc.)

Political amateur activities

Aimed at changing the political system and political situation in accordance with the ideas of a specific group

The acceleration of the pace of development of society determines the increasing role of youth in public life. By getting involved in social relations, young people modify them and, under the influence of transformed conditions, improve themselves.

Ethnic communities

In ancient times, people lived a closed life - each group (clan, tribe) had its own habitat, its own occupations, special insignia, its own language, its own beliefs. All others were considered enemies, and therefore constant clashes occurred. Gradually the situation changed - tribal unions and other associations of different groups appeared. At the same time, the special features of the previous groups remained. This is how the interaction of ethnic groups appeared.
Ethnic group- a group of people who have special ethnic, that is, cultural, linguistic or racial characteristics, who share a full or partial common origin and who themselves are aware of their involvement in a common group. Mastered and perceived ethnic differences - language, culture, religion, racial traits - are inherited. As a rule, numerous ethnic groups live in modern states.
Characteristic feature of an ethnic group- the fact that its members classify themselves as a separate group with their own culture, which they strive to preserve by all means. There are 4 mandatory criteria for assigning an individual to a certain ethnic group: self-determination (assigning oneself to an ethnic group, own wish the individual to belong to it, to classify himself as a member of the group), the presence of family ties, cultural characteristics, the presence of a social organization for internal contacts and for interaction with others.
Thus, an ethnic group can be characterized as an association of people who share common cultural, linguistic, religious or racial characteristics, are characterized by a common origin and are aware of their belonging to a single group.
The main feature of such groups is to distinguish themselves from the people around them, understand the characteristics of their culture and strive to preserve it by all means. Most scientists highlight three main types of ethnic communities that existed in human history: tribes, nationalities and nations.
While studying the history of the ancient world, you often heard about clans and tribes . The clan was an association of blood relatives with a common origin, commonplace settlements, common language, common customs and beliefs.
The next step in uniting people there was a tribe - an association of several clans. Exactly tribes are considered historically the first ethnic union. Each of them had a special myth about its origin, showing its originality and dissimilarity from other tribes. Many traced their ancestry to animal ancestors and tried in every possible way to resemble them - in dances they tried to repeat the habits and movements of sacred animals, they painted themselves as tigers, bears or snakes. So it was emphasized own position in the surrounding world. Now there are almost no tribes left in the world - they survive only in some areas of Africa, on the Pacific Islands, in forests South America. Their life remains the same as thousands of years ago; their ancestors’ ideas about the world, traditions, lifestyles, and behavior patterns are passed on from generation to generation. Representatives of these tribes have never seen cities, modern cars, and know nothing about television and cinema. Scientists study surviving tribes and draw conclusions about what life was like for people in ancient times.
With the emergence of states, tribes began to turn into nationalities are larger communities with a unity of language, territory, economic and cultural ties. They often formed one state, but they themselves still remained quite disunited, because a subsistence economy dominated, in which each village produced everything necessary for life and had little need to establish trade ties. Not all nationalities were able to survive to this day - the fate of the Scythians, Etruscans, Assyrians, Khazars and many others is mysterious. And yet most of them have become nations and exist in modern world.
Nations are understood as a stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common origin, a common culture, living together and close communication with each other. The most important thing in the formation of nations is established relationships - economic, political, cultural and interpersonal. Historically, they appeared with the spread of trade relations. Historians date the formation of many European nations to the 16th–17th centuries. These groups are also characterized by the presence of their own national idea, which is understood as their answers to questions about the origin of the people, the meaning of their existence, their place in the world, their relations with neighbors, their unique features and characteristics. national character.
The unity of a nation is expressed in a special national culture.

Interethnic relations

In the modern world, not a single nation can live in complete isolation and must enter into interethnic relations, establishes economic, political, ideological, cultural, legal, diplomatic and other connections. They can be stable (constant) and unstable (periodic), based on competition and cooperation, equal and unequal. However, it is not always possible to do without conflicts. Usually their causes are territorial disputes, historical tensions, oppression of small nations and peoples, the use of national feelings by individual political leaders to create a tense situation, the desire of individual peoples to leave a multinational state and create their own (otherwise known as separatism).
There are enough examples of national conflicts in the world - the crisis and many years of bloody war in the former Yugoslavia, territorial disputes between the republics of the former Soviet Union, separatist sentiments in Northern Ireland and the Canadian province of Quebec, wars between Central African states and so on.
The basis of these conflicts are ideas about the special role of one’s group in society, which have been characteristic of many peoples since ancient times. Let's give an example from one Indian myth: “To complete the structure of the world, God fashioned three human figures from dough and put them in the oven. After some time, burning with impatience, he took out the first little man from the stove, whose appearance was too light and not very pleasant. It was “uncooked” inside too. A little later, God brought out the second one, it was a great success - it was beautifully brown on the outside and “ripe” on the inside. With joy, God made him the founder of the Indian family. Well, during this time the third one got very burnt and became completely black. The first of the baked men became the founder of the white family, and the last - the black one.” This approach in its extreme forms leads to the conclusion that certain people, by their biological racial qualities, are initially supposedly more gifted and talented, both physically and mentally, and therefore more capable of leadership and management.
Positions of ethnic superiority ultimately lead to discrimination- reduction or deprivation of rights and freedoms for a certain group of the population. In everyday life, this is expressed by prohibiting visits to certain restaurants, beaches, cinemas or urban areas; in the production sector - a ban on professions, inaccessibility of education, impossibility of a successful career; psychologically - with offensive nicknames, ridicule, jokes about “underdeveloped” people, etc. In extreme cases, minorities live separately in special settlements and marry within their group. This system of separation existed for a long time in South Africa (Republic of South Africa), where the black population was isolated and deprived of most rights.
The 20th century gave many examples of inciting passions on national grounds. Nazi Germany adopted racist ideas about the superiority of one group of people over all others and the existence of a special race Aryans - the chosen people who should rule the whole world. The implementation of this idea led to the desire to completely destroy Jews, Gypsies, Poles, and subjugate others to the “true Aryans.” The external parameters of the superior race were even determined - a certain hair color, physique, eye shape, face shape, etc. It is curious that neither Hitler nor many of his associates themselves fit these parameters.
Now many neo-Nazi parties and movements have emerged that use nationalist ideas to increase their authority and popularity. Who doesn't want to hear that he is the best in the world, the most intelligent and noble, has the only true religion, has a heroic history, and his ancestors dominated other people? Similar ideas are used at rallies and preached in the press. The newly-minted leaders declare unfair oppression from “strangers” and the need to “restore order” by force, for which special combat units are being created. Usually, the less internal culture a person has, the easier it is to convince him of special exclusivity and the presence of enemies who do not allow it to manifest itself. The people behind all this strive for power, fame and popularity, for personal enrichment through pogroms. Behind their visible concerns about the fate of the nation are clearly expressed personal interests. This was, is and will probably still be the case. How long? Much depends on the citizens themselves - as long as there is painful national pride and the desire to blame internal or external enemies for their personal failures, ethnic contradictions and hostility between peoples will remain.

Humanity is trying to solve this problem. There are various organizations dealing with issues of interaction between peoples - the United Nations, the League Arab states, Organization of African Unity, Association of Southeast Asian Nations and others. Many conflicts were ended thanks to their assistance or with the direct intervention of these organizations.
A reasonable solution to national problems is possible only by combining two main trends in the development of national relations - differentiation(the people’s desire for independence, preservation and development of national culture, economy, politics) and integration(close cooperation, exchange of cultural values, overcoming alienation and maintaining mutually beneficial contacts). The diversity of national cultures should not lead to their isolation, and the rapprochement of nations does not mean the disappearance of differences between them.
When resolving interethnic conflicts, it is necessary to adhere to the following humanistic principles:
- renunciation of violence and coercion;
- search for agreement (consensus);
- recognition of human rights and freedoms as the most important principle;
- readiness for peaceful resolution of controversial issues.

Causes of interethnic conflicts:

Socio-economic - inequality in living standards, different representation in prestigious professions, social strata, government bodies.

Cultural-linguistic - insufficient, from the point of view of an ethnic minority, the use of its language and culture in public life.

Ethnodemographic - a rapid change in the ratio of the numbers of contacting peoples due to migration and differences in the level of natural population growth.

Environmental - deterioration of the quality of the environment as a result of its pollution or depletion natural resources due to use by representatives of a different ethnic group.

Extraterritorial - discrepancy between state or administrative borders and the boundaries of settlement of peoples.

Historical - past relationships between peoples (wars, former dominance-subordination relationship, etc.).

Confessional - due to belonging to different religions and confessions, differences in the level of modern religiosity of the population.

Cultural - from the peculiarities of everyday behavior to the specifics of the political culture of the people.