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Congruency as a parameter of political stability

Telin K.O.,

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, kirill.telin@gmail.com

elibrary_id: 712039 | ORCID: 0000-0002-1402-3778 | RESEARCHER_ID: J-7014-2016

Article received: 2019.09.28. Accepted: 2019.12.23
DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2022.05.12

Rubric: Theory and methodology of political studies

For citation:

Telin K.O. Congruency as a parameter of political stability. – Polis. Political Studies. 2022. No. 5. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2022.05.12

The research was financed by the grant of the President of the Russian Federation for state support of young Russian scientists – candidates of sciences (project MK-4685.2018.6 “Problems of Political Stability: Modern Approaches”).

Abstract

Despite the significant number of definitions of “stability” that can be found in contemporary political science, this problematic field, truly critical for applied research of contemporary public governance, is characterized, according to the author, by a lack of attention to improved sociological tools related to the citizens’ assessment of the congruence of public governance and people’s notion about the necessary format of the functioning of the latter. The author sees the key task of the current article to fill this gap and emphasizes that the study of political stability, understood as the legitimate state of the political system, in which its status actors within the framework of existing sustainable institutions are able to initiate and effectively implement the actions necessary for adaptive changes, requires attention not only to the formal and normative side of the activities of the main institutions and not only to the parameters of technical (economic) efficiency, but also to the population’s views and perceptions of observable institutions, mechanisms and structures. In support of his own position, the author refers to the most significant and systematic scientific works devoted to political stability. Within the article, congruency is understood as the state of coherence and mutual acceptability of the institutions of the political system and the dominant elements of political culture. The author discusses the main problems related to the two presented concepts (including existing discussions on the interpretation of both “institutions” and “political culture”). The article emphasizes that, despite the long-standing informative ideas in modern science related to the consideration of congruence and incongruence, there are few applied techniques that could be used for the analysis of existing state systems – and, moreover, some of the approaches, in the theory devoted to the study of public trust and involvement, are already used by politicians in their own reputation and rating interests. In conclusion, the author presents possible tools for measuring congruency – sociological (1), quantitative (2) and a third approach, focusing on the study of attitudes towards separate institutions, perceived as key elements of political system. 

Keywords

public governance, political stability, congruency, political culture.

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