摘要：The article suggests a synthesis of the current theoretical
interpretations of modernization and demonstrates that modernization is a
permanent, relative, non-linear and antinomic process which has to be
considered in the context of demodernization risks. Statistical analysis of
European Values Study (EVS) and World Values Survey (WVS) data during
1990’s–2000’s reveals the confounding value foundations of modernization and
demodernization in more successful countries, which are involved in the process
of European integration, as well as in post-Soviet Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.
If a gradual growth of well-being and a sense of existential security
contribute to the spread of emancipation values via socialization of younger
generations, which is a prerequisite for the modernization of political institutions,
acute socio-economic problems and a loss of confidence by social agents lead to
peril of demodernization through the strengthening of materialist value
orientations among the population. Thus, the study proves that the process of
modernization may be inextricably linked to demodernization over the same
period of time. Such a view allows better understanding of the contradictions of development trends of post-socialist Eastern Europe and the fundamental threats
of demodernization of present-day societies.
关键词：modernization; values; social change; demodernization; East
European countries;
