Paradigms of Statehood and National Sovereignty in Sociological Discourse

Abstract

The article aims to study the paradigms of statehood and sovereignty in sociological discourse. Studies of statehood, national sovereignty and national security are important areas of modern sociology, especially in the context of globalization processes that significantly affect these concepts. The authors of the article examine the prospects of sociological research on these issues by analyzing a number of factors, including methodological approaches, the impact of international politics, new security challenges and the transformation of political institutions. The article analyzes in detail two key sociological paradigms – «world-systems» by Immanuel Wallerstein and a four-level model for studying the phenomenon of statehood by Neil Joseph Smelser, that allowed us to describe the role and functions of nation-states in the new realities of the global political crisis, in particular the impact of globalization on sovereignty, economy, politics, and social structures, as well as the search for effective models of political and social governance. The authors attribute the growing scientific interest in the study of geopolitical processes to the specific features of the development of the nation-state institution and the transformation of state sovereignty, which in today's realities is accompanied by a change in worldview paradigms. The active introduction of scientific discourse on the role and place of the nation-state in the modern world contributes to the intensification of sociological research on nation-building.