Civil Society in the Modern World: Civilizational Contradictions

In the conditions of systemic value transformations of modern society, the process of development of many socio-cultural phenomena is characterized by significant changes. The emergence of new ontological forms of civil publicity leads to the modification of the functioning of all systems of society. The aim of the article is to comprehend the methodological foundations of the study of the development of the sphere of civil society in the context of developing globalization processes. The research methodology is based on a critical analysis of theoret-ical approaches that define the framework of modern discussions about civil society; socio-philosophical reflection on the current stage of civil society development in the context of growing tension in the dialogue of civilizations. Scientific novelty of the research is defined in the following aspects: an axiological approach to the conceptualization of existing phenomena of civil publicity is proposed; the universalist model of historical development according to the scenarios of the Western world is opposed to the model of contextual vision of civil society forms, which recog-nizes its embeddedness in the network of political, social and historical space. The article systematizes domestic and foreign studies analyzing the problems of civil society; it reveals the factors that change the nature of civic activity in the development of the modern digital world. Further research of the problematic involves the expansion of methodological approaches, taking into account the historical traditions of different cultures and civilizations.