Values Projection in the Context of Identity Politics

Abstract

The article examines value-based design, understood as concrete actions (projects) aimed at presenting, promoting, and coordinating values in the context of identity politics and the current trend toward popularizing "social architecture" in contemporary Russia. The research problem directly links public policy decisions in this area with an attempt to influence the value sphere of social life and thus regards value-based design as a deliberate effort by public authorities to prevent or mitigate value conflicts within the state and society. The authors argue that identity politics, now a major area of the so-called non-material activities of public authorities, encompasses the fundamental work of defining, organizing, and coordinating values. This work is critically important for preserving and reproducing legitimate and conventional collective understandings of who people are. However, it also involves numerous complex and problematic issues that, if ignored, may render it ineffective and unproductive and contribute to escalating social risks.