Conceptualization of identity politics and practices of its implementation in Russia and Armenia

The article analyzes the conceptual foundations of identity politics, the main subject of which in modern conditions is the national state. In addition to the conceptual schemes of interpretation of the concepts of ethnicity, nation, national identity, and identity policy, the paper also examines the practices of implementing identity policy in Russia and Armenia. Identity research has become particularly important in recent decades, but the identity construct itself is still difficult to define and analyze. The actualization of the identity problem occurred due to the fact that the phenomenon of social identity largely determines the features of the functioning of social systems nowadays and, above all, the state. This is clearly demonstrated by the situation in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia. Both countries are faced with serious challenges, while a number of common problems are revealed in the implementation of identity politics. For both Russia and Armenia, questions about the foundations of identity and criteria for inclusion in the national community remain relevant and open. At the same time, the future development, and even the existence of both countries as national states in the modern conditions of the globalizing world, largely depends on the understanding of the possibilities and application of technologies for effective regulating the identity politics, on the identification of current priorities and vectors of development of society. In theoretical and methodological terms, the article is based on the main provisions of the theory of identity, the concept of ethnicity, nation and nationalism. The study is based on an interdisciplinary approach that combines the theoretical and methodological principles of sociology, ethnology and political science.The article was prepared within the framework of the joint Russian-Armenian project “Mechanisms for the transformation of national identity in modern migration processes (on the example of the Armenia- South of Russia migration network)”, implemented with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) no. 20-511-05019 Arm_a and the Committee on Science of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia (GKN MESCS), no. 20RF-172