Роль граждан в современном государстве: механизмы и результаты влияния

Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Политология. 2026. Т. 28. № 1. С. 80–95.

Nisnevich Y. A.

The study presents an analysis of the role of citizens in a modern state, the
mechanisms and results of their influence on the management of state affairs, and how and what
influence they have on the activities of the state. It is shown that citizens of democratic states
exert a decisive influence on state activities through the institution of elections, which allows
them to periodically form political teams to manage state affairs. However, citizens’ electoral
behavior does not always facilitate the formation of professional management teams due
to significant support for both left-wing
and right-wing
populism. Between election campaigns,
citizens utilize traditional forms of political action—petitions, public statements, and collective
and individual appeals to government bodies. Modern information and communication
technologies (ICTs) create the conditions for expanding the scale and increasing the efficiency
of such actions. In the context of post-industrial
civilizational transition, traditional institutions
and mechanisms for citizen influence on state authorities are insufficiently responsive and
effective due to the delayed adaptation of political systems to new conditions. To compensate
for the resulting dysfunction, citizens began to use an inclusive political institution — public
mass protests. In authoritarian states, where all traditional institutions and mechanisms for
citizen influence over state power are blocked, protests become an institutional factor in the
transformation of ruling regimes. The study utilized a neo-institutional
approach combined
with factual analysis.

Keywords: популизм, государственная власть, state power, populism, институт выборов, граждане, mass protests, citizens, государство, state, electoral institution, political actions, политические действия, массовые акции протеста