Ontological security and cultural tradition in the context of modernization

The paper focuses on ontological security as a means of ensuring the effectiveness of modernization strategies in society. The relevance of the topic is determined by the embeddedness of reasoning in the modern paradigm of modernization analysis, which emphasizes the importance of traditions, culture, and identity in social transformations. The classic concept of ontological security proposed by E. Giddens and P. Shtompka as an existential protection of a person in the sphere of routine everyday practices, which they associate with social risks, identity, and the cultural climate of trust/distrust, is used to study the modernization project of modern Russian society. It is proved that the parameters of cultural adaptation and preservation of ontological security were not taken into account in the initial modernization strategies of the Russian Federation, which resulted in a series of adaptation crises. Using the example of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, it is shown that the discrepancy between modernization transformations and existing cultural foundations and traditional social practices has led to the activation of protective mechanisms for the crisis protection of ontological security, resulting in the archaization of social relations and the spread of non-legal practices.