Cross-border interactions as an object of sociological research: methodological aspects.

Abstract

The unprecedented increase in the intensity of cross-border interactions in the modern world is emphasised, and the necessity of sociological monitoring of these processes is substantiated, the precondition of which is the creation of an appropriate methodology and methods. The stages of formation of theoretical sociology with particular attention to the genesis of cross-border interactions are considered. It is found that the main milestones in the formation of modern methodological principles of sociological analysis of this phenomenon are the post-classical stage of development of theoretical sociology (according to G. Zborovsky's periodisation), the methodology of social constructivism, spatial turn and mobility in social development. The work of J. Urry's sociology of mobility is considered, and its application to the Ukrainian realities is offered. Models of state regulation of cross-border mobility as one of the types of cross-border interactions, defined as the model of "gardener state" and "forest state", are analysed. It is emphasised that these models had an explanatory power concerning the nation-states of the modern industrial era, but in the era of globalisation distort the understanding of central social processes and phenomena. The author analyzed the views of foreign and Ukrainian researchers on the methodological aspects of research on cross-border interactions. The systematic methodology of cross-border research, proposed by S. Ustych, is used and proposals for its improvement and implementation in research practices are formulated. The author's position on methodological bases of sociological study of cross-border interactions as a differentiating and solidifying factor is offered.