POLITICAL THEORY RESEARCH AT ST. PETERSBURG UNIVERSITY: CURRENT ASPECTS OF ANALYTICS

Abstract

The article contains a review of current political theory research conducted at St. Petersburg State University. The history of the institutionalization of political science in Russia demonstrates that the establishment of the first national Department of Political Science at the Faculty of Philosophy led to the high importance of political theory for the St. Petersburg School of Political Science. Understanding the large-scale transformations at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries became the starting point of the modern stage of political and theoretical reflection of university professors. The development of political theory is a priority of the Department of Theory and Philosophy of Politics, headed by Doctor of Philosophy, Professor V. A. Gutorov. His academic works are devoted to a wide range of issues, including the analysis of political ideologies and Russian political thought. Prof. V.A. Gutorov formulated the basic principles of interpreting the world’s political and philosophical heritage in a national context, noting the leading role of political education as a mechanism for transmitting tradition. The works of the Doctor of Political Science, Professor K.F. Zavershinskiy reveal the theoretical and methodological aspects of the study of political culture as a system of symbols and meanings. The principal interest of the Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, head of the Department of Political Governance L. V. Smorgunov is the enrichment of formal approaches to public administration with philosophical and ethical content. The professors of the School of International Relations are engaged in formation and research of the subject field of philosophy of world politics. In general, devotion to the classics of political and philosophical thought coupled with focus on solving urgent problems is the most important characteristic of the St. Petersburg school of political theory. Its representatives are worthy successors of the 300-year-old traditions of St. Petersburg State University.

Keywords:

political theory, St. Petersburg State University, political ideologies, political culture, political philosophy, theory of international relations