Theoretical and methodological foundations for the study of federalism

RUDN University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Political Analysis and Management, Moscow, Russia

¹ Corresponding author: platonov-vm@rudn.ru

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to determine the basic methodological rules that allow to form a science-based concept of separation of powers between the levels of government, taking into account the cultural and historical conditions of development of Russian society, the establishment in it of stable principles of relations in the public sphere, standards and stereotypes of social interaction. The research conducted on the basis of the dialectical method, which was used in combination with the systematic method, the historical method and the socio-cultural vision of political and legal phenomena, showed the following results: a) there are only general guidelines that guide states in choosing a federal model, not any of its benchmarks; b) the problem of correlation of vertical separation of powers with responsibility and cultural and historical specificity in the implementation of powers in the sphere of joint jurisdiction of the federal center and the subjects of the federation is the key one; c) significant in the methodology of the study of federalism is the assessment of the weakness of political ambitions of the power elites in relation to the role of socio-economic factors that determine the degree of effectiveness of the implementation of their powers by the subjects of public authority; d) the separation of powers in a federal state is a dynamic process, the content and direction of which are conditioned by concrete and historical tasks; e) the centralization of federal relations in Russia is a factor in their evolution and dynamics. The novelty of the research is due to the author’s approach to the substantiation of the system of methodological rules, which will ensure a) the integrity of the state, b) the need for decentralization of power on the basis of the principles of federalism, c) the definition of the principles that determine the model of separation of powers.