An Ideologically Oriented Model of State Policy for the Support of Compatriots and Its Theoretical and Methodological Foundations

Abstract

Aim. The study examines the transformation of the theoretical foundations of state policy to support compatriots living abroad, focusing on the State Program for Promoting the Voluntary Resettlement of Compatriots to the Russian Federation. Initially, the State Program was based on the general principle of prioritizing the socio-economic development of Russian regions in the resettlement of compatriots. However, in recent years, this model has been transformed into an ideologically oriented model. Methodology. This study employs a formal-legal and comparative analysis of the regulatory framework governing the State Programme. Additionally, it draws upon the theoretical insights of the French sociologist and political scientist A. Sayad, whose extensive research into migration issues has not yet received sufficient recognition in wider academic discourse. Results. The study outlines the propositions according to which an economy-centric model views a migrant as a mechanical body that poses a threat to sovereignty. Conversely, an ideologically oriented model for assisting the resettlement of compatriots expands the state's physical space to the limits of the citizens' value-based acceptance of the “state ideology.” Research implications lie in the contribution to the development of the theory of state policy towards compatriots through the integration of A. Sayad’s ideas, which enable a conceptualisation of migration as an instrument for the ideological expansion of sovereignty. Furthermore, the findings can be utilised to adjust regional resettlement programmes, enhance their ideological efficacy, and optimise mechanisms for the social integration of returnees.