Political Opposition and Xenophobia in Russian Region: An Attempt of Fuzzy Analysis

Abstract

The article provides an analysis of data on the current state of xenophobia and political opposition in one of the Russian regions. Aim: the main goal is to identify and analyze the hidden laws of functioning of the social and political sphere in modern Russia. Method: method of fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis was used for the study, because the traditional quantitative methods do not always allow to detect and obtain reliable information. The article explains the use of the appropriate method in the analysis of social and political phenomena and processes. Results: The main part of the paper contains the results of the analysis of empirical sociological research conducted in the Pskov region in Russian Federation (2013). The study revealed the complex relationship between the treatment of the political opposition and the xenophobic members of certain groups, which are considered “foes”. The obtained results show that the support of political opposition among Pskov Region respondents is in many ways determined by the level of their xenophobia. In particular, it failed to identify that the support of administrative bans in relation to different groups is a typical feature of the declared support of political opposition in Pskov Region. Conclusion: residents of the provincial regions of modern Russia have special understanding of the political opposition, based on different from the classical liberal idea. The revealed characteristics are also accompanied by the support of administrative bans as legal mechanisms preventing the spread of the factors that break the traditional way of life and are regarded as extraneous phenomena.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s2p26