Introduction. Destabilization as a Phenomenon of Social Dynamics

Abstract

The present issue, subtitled Entropy and Destabilization (which is the tenth in the series), is largely devoted to the various manifestations of destabilization. Destabilization, or at least the threat of it, is an inevitable stage in the historical development of any society. The question is to what extent a society is capable of resisting it, how institutionalized and adaptive, using S. Huntington's characteristics (Huntington 1968), it is to the various threats. The analysis shows that, on the one hand, societies capable of achieving a sustainably reproducible order are able not only to overcome such threats, but also to institutionalize mechanisms that will prevent the occurrence of such situations. On the other hand, historical experience shows that institutions become outdated and insufficiently effective. As a result, they no longer protect society from crises as they used to do. The migration crisis that hit Europe in early 2015 nearly split it, causing political disarray in a number of states, and showed that European countries at that time had forgotten to do what they used to do so well in previous years: to strictly maintain order and protect their borders. The 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections caused a considerable division of American society and an unprecedented confrontation in the political system since the Civil War. And the consequences of this confrontation continue to have a huge impact on American society.