Studying the elites: theoretical and methodological problems
The article analyzes the problems of development, study and use of ideological and theoretical provisions and methodological principles of the theory of elites. The heuristic significance of the methodology and conceptual apparatus of the theory of elites for the analysis of socio-political processes is revealed. On the example of studies by authors representing different historical periods, various approaches to understanding the phenomenon of the political elite and the main thematic areas of the study of elites are considered. The author of the research has identified the most popular topics and methods of elitological research. The basic approaches to the interpretation of key concepts of the theory of elites and the criteria for identifying elite groups are indicated. Conceptualcategorical and methodological problems of the elitological concept are revealed. Considerable attention in the article is paid to the consideration of the history of the formation and development of domestic elitology. Stages and priority directions for the development of Russian elitological thought are indicated; the scientific studies of famous Russian elitologists are analyzed. A serious methodological problem is the insufficient development of the categorical-conceptual apparatus of elitology, the uncertainty of a number of basic concepts of this phenomenon, as well as the inconsistency of the conclusions obtained in the analysis of elites based on the same facts in the framework of sociological, philosophical and politological discourses.