Political mindset of contemporary Kyrgyzstan

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice

UDC 32.001                                        

The few definitions of the concept of 'political mindset' found in the literature tend to rely on general conceptions of mindset. A political mentality is a set of political beliefs, values, habits and clichés, both conscious and unconscious, of a particular social community in the sphere of political reality.

Mindset is a groundbreaking idea that helps us understand situations involving change, growing and learning. How we approach political issues can also be influenced by the mindset concept. Political messages are on the increase. It is important to have an understanding of what people are saying and the reasoning that motivates their senses. A mindset can also help you better understand your political beliefs. People tend to have one of two very different approaches to learning - a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. How you approach other goals, tasks and problems is dramatically affected by this fundamental difference.

The stereotypical people have a belief that their basic skills, intelligence and abilities are characteristics that cannot be changed. Their goal is to look smart, not stupid, because they only have so much. They choose situations in which they are likely to succeed and avoid problems in which they are likely to fail. If you have many of these positive qualities, stereotypes work well. They become more of a problem in the face of failure. People with stereotypes have a tendency to see failure as a diagnosis of their worth. They become paralysed in the face of failure because they equate failure with badness and stupidity [1].

Growth minded students understand that with hard work, good teaching and perseverance, they can develop their talents and skills. People with a growth mindset are passionate about challenging themselves and persevering when things go wrong. Even in the most challenging times, this mindset allows people to thrive. Growth mindset benefits include increased self-esteem and confidence, less reliance on stereotypes, less perfectionism, more enjoyment of learning and less discouragement from setbacks.

Policy decisions can be seen as successes or failures, and successful decisions are kept in place, while there is a desire to eliminate so-called shortcomings. Complex problems can also be avoided because they seem intractable and increase the risk of losing something. Those who have a calm way of thinking may want to go back to a time when things were simpler and it was easier to succeed. New information can also be threatening to those with a stereotyped mindset [2]. Especially if there is a sense that they should already be in the know. They may feel stupid because they don't know.

So how can we use this concept of thinking to help us understand the way in which we perceive political issues? Either failure condemns them. They attribute the results either to good influences or to bad influences. In order not to fail in the future, they try to eliminate what they think is bad and emphasise what is good. It involves believing that they are good and that other groups are wrong, and trying to eliminate or marginalise so-called bad groups. We can see policies as succeeding or failing, and we want to keep the successes and get rid of the so-called failures.

Complex problems can also be a source of avoidance because they have the appearance of insoluble problems that increase the risk of loss. People with a calm mindset may be nostalgic for a time when things were simpler and success easier. Even for those with stereotypes, new information can be threatening. Especially if they are in the belief that they should already be in the know. They may feel stupid for not knowing.

In the growth mindset, people see situations, problems, etc. as opportunities for learning, expansion and growth. All information is good information because it is an opportunity for further learning. The past is seen as a series of valuable learning experiences, rather than as a series of successes and failures. Rather than seeing the current challenge as a situation in which you must prove yourself by succeeding and avoiding failure, you see it as an opportunity to learn. A growth mindset is future-focused, using the past as a constant source of learning and improvement, rather than as a way of judging one's skills and talents [3].

There is also a view of political mentality in the context of ordinary mass consciousness, defining it as "a set of symbols formulated in a certain semantic-temporal space, which are fixed in the consciousness of people in the process of communication among themselves, that is, by repetition. These signs (terms, images, and ideas) serve in everyday life to explain, express knowledge about the political world and about a person in this world. The identity of the political consciousness of its bearers is ultimately determined by the commonality of socio-political conditions in which their consciousness is formed, and manifests itself in the fact that they are able to give the same meaning, interpret and express the same political phenomena of the objective and subjective political worlds in the same way.

In addition to the above, there are two other aspects of the formation of the political mentality and its dynamics.

On the one hand, the mentality, which is largely created and supported by traditions, rituals, the direct educational influence of the closest reference environment - the mass media, and which crystallises at a fairly early stage of a person's ascent to social maturity, is both an indicator, a means and a result of the process of transmission of socio-political experience from one generation to the next. In fact, it proves the fact of its continuity [4].

On the other hand, mentality, which is not based on established rules, customs and traditions, can change qualitatively under the conditions of cardinal social changes.

Since becoming independent in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has made significant progress in becoming democratised. It has a diverse civil society and independent media, and is the only country in Central Asia to have held free and fair elections.

Kyrgyzstan is currently going through a difficult period in its development history. Cultural, economic and political changes have had an impact on all aspects of society, and these processes are often painful and accompanied by serious and sometimes violent social upheaval. An integral part of the dynamics of social transformation aimed at establishing market relations in the republic is the constant transformation of the values on which the worldview of people who grew up in traditional and then Soviet society is based. In this respect, the search for adequate explanations for the processes that are taking place in the country's political culture is natural.

Like all post-Soviet countries, Kyrgyzstan's political and cultural transformation has been marked by heterogeneity, polarisation and fragmentation. As in all post-Soviet states, Kyrgyzstan's political culture is heterogeneous, polarised and segmented. It is characterised by different values, contrasts between traditional and modern, between secular and religious orientations, between elite and mass culture, and between the subcultures of urban and rural, urban and rural voters. The fragmentation of the modern political culture of the Kyrgyz people is linked to its having emerged based on several factors [5].

Firstly, contemporary domestic practice is shaped by normative acts and socio-political realities. In the modern Kyrgyz Republic, there are groups that want the state structure to be traditional, that is to say, to make use of the historical division of Kyrgyzstan into left and right; a second group that is based on Islamic values; and a third group that wants to modernise the country on a secular footing. The second factor is ethnic tradition. Continuity is the basis for the development of the political culture of any society, especially a society with stable, centuries-old traditions. It is political culture that gives meaning, form and predictability to the political process. The traditions of a society, the spirit of its social institutions, the emotions and collective intelligence of its people, and the style, the current code of behaviour of its rulers, are not accidental products of history, but interconnected parts of a larger whole.

The political culture of Kyrgyzstan is patriarchal, tribal and charismatic, with the ajo, kagan, biy, manap chosen on the basis of merit and their ability to protect and feed their people in the rigours of nomadic life. At each historical stage, as the political structure of states, including the Kyrgyz state, changed, tribes and clans (uruu) served as the social basis and internal regulator of clan relations. Nowadays, the word "Kyrgyzchylyk" is used by the Kyrgyz themselves to refer to the entirety of preserved ethnic traditions. It includes a set of rules based on hypertrophied, idealised national traditions and Kyrgyz cultural characteristics. The creative intelligentsia's attempt was to define it as the basis for the formation of social relations and rules of behaviour, both in everyday life and in political life [6].

In the process of transformation of the sovereign state with the transition to market relations, the political culture of the modern Kyrgyz people is segmented. The transformation of the political culture follows its own logic and parameters, both in terms of its own quality, resulting from the specific experience of the political development of the state, and in terms of institutional transformations under the influence of social development and the acquisition of new experiences by political agents. This transformation is not an unidirectional process of transition from traditional to modern values. It is contradictory and complex.

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Therefore, its structure, including socio-perceptual, intellectual and emotional-volitional blocks, must be considered when analysing the political psyche, revealing the role of political consciousness and unconscious processes and states. In the system of the political psyche, the political mentality occupies a special place.