Models of Youth Patriotism Formation: Historical Experience and Contemporary Context

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by the transformation of youth policy in the context of digitalization of the public space, the expansion of the range of actors involved in the formation of patriotism, and the intensification of competition among symbolic and value narratives. In the situation of network fragmentation of identity, public administration faces the need to develop mechanisms for the formation of civic and national identity that are adequate to the logic of digital communications and public-network policy. The purpose of the article is to identify the managerial potential of historical experience in the formation of patriotism and to substantiate directions for its adaptation in the system of state youth policy in the context of digitalization. The methodological basis of the research includes institutional and comparative approaches, which allow considering the formation of patriotism as a result of purposeful state policy in changing socio-political and technological conditions. The study employs a typological method to identify structural characteristics of historical and contemporary models of patriotism; comparative historical analysis to compare pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and digital models of identity formation; as well as systems analysis, which enabled the identification of sustainable managerial principles and mechanisms of their transformation in the context of digitalization of the public space. The study identified three institutionally distinct models of patriotism formation: the imperial model (19th – early 20th centuries), characterized by hierarchical structure and sacralization of statehood; the Soviet model (exemplified by the pre-war period of the 1930s), based on mobilization-mass integration; and the modern digital model, distinguished by network organization, competition of narratives, and limited state monopoly on symbolic space. Sustainable managerial principles are identified: systematic educational environment, coherence of symbolic politics, and integration of value orientations into everyday participation practices. The conclusion states that the effectiveness of modern mechanisms for forming patriotism is determined by their ability to integrate educational practices with digital participation formats and provide young people with the opportunity for positive self-presentation in virtual space.