The study of social capital as a mechanism of consolidation in a multiethnic society

In the context of modern challenges and "external" threats, the identification of mechanisms for the consolidation of society is becoming one of the critically important areas of scientific research. In turn, this initiates the study of such an object as social capital. Because it is its nature and structural elements that greatly contribute to the unification processes and the maintenance of order in society. The purpose of the study is to identify the theoretical and methodological foundations and the relevant structure of elements for assessing social capital at the macro level, taking into account the ethnic diversity of the regions and the current conditions of Russia. The basic theories and their leading positions, which are of fundamental importance in relation to the study of social capital at the macro level, are highlighted. Considerable attention is devoted to highlighting the traditions and main provisions of Russian research on social capital, which have theoretical and methodological potential for its research in regional societies, taking into account the peculiarities of functioning in relation to the conditions of Russia. The work is based on the application of general scientific methods, including synthesis and generalization, as well as on a structural approach, methods of systematic and comparative analysis. The paper reflects the results of a theoretical and empirical study of the social capital of multiethnic societies. The work concludes the operationalization of the concept of social capital of a multiethnic society, which allows us to describe and assess the current state of its structural elements such as: the level of generalized, interpersonal and institutional trust, the level of tolerance between peoples, the level of tolerance towards migrants, civil and national identity, the level of civic participation. Also, as an example of the practical implementation of the presented methodology, the work contains a fragment of the results of a sociological study conducted with the participation of the author in one of the multiethnic regions of Russia – the Republic of Bashkortostan. The research conducted according to the methodology described in the work allowed us to conclude that the pressure of external threats really contributes to social unity and cohesion of regional communities as components of Russian society, as evidenced by the received trend of movement of indicators of social capital towards a positive orientation.

social capital, consolidation, multi-ethnic society, social stability, social processes, non-material factors of development, social resources, trust, identity, ethnic diversity