Foreign Researches of Socio-Cultural Adaptation Process of Refugees

Abstract

There are lots refugees in the world today. Therefore, the problems of their adaptation to the host society and culture comes a priority. Available foreign researches on these problems demonstrate a wide range of problems related to the socio-cultural adaptation of refugees. The purpose of the article is to review the work of representatives of the humanitarian sphere regarding the definition of key concepts of adaptation and the selection of modern scientific directions in its study. The research methodology is based on the historical method, the methods of historiographical analysis, synthesis and typology of scientific directions, and comparative analysis. Projects and scientific articles of researchers from the USA, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Belgium, Turkey, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries were analyzed. The most important directions of socio-cultural adaptation research in the field of cultural anthropology, psychology, sociology, cultural studies and political science are defined. They all agree that this process is long and difficult, and does not always end positively for refugees. However, modern foreign researches demonstrate such a broad thematic diversity, to take into account the latest political and global social problems, that the definition of socio-cultural adaptation is enriched with new essential features. Classical theoretical works of the XX century regarding the adaptation of a person to the environment are now giving way to thorough researches of the adaptive capabilities of various categories of migrants, in particular refugees, which are based on practical developments, numerous interviews, questionnaires and surveys. European researchers pay considerable attention to the analysis of generations of refugees, while Russian researchers pay attention to individual features of socio-cultural adaptation.