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Divided societies project new cleavages into the contemporary divided world. Assessing cleavages as drivers of social change and evaluating their positive potential versus evident negative impacts is a key element in forecasting prospects of social development. The paper addresses social and economic statistical data, opinion polls and academic research input of the past decade to prove the need to balance tradition and innovation and combine tangible and intangible assets to support the progress of national and local communities. The trend to reduce social inequalities is an important criterion for evaluating the strategic consistency of such policies, whereas the main contextual factor important for their success is the dynamics of support for these policies and the engagement of citizens and communities in their implementation. The example of Ireland as a society that has managed to integrate divisions of the nation and of its historic territory into its development strategies and to promote past cultural traumas as drivers of social cohesion with a long-lasting effect is a representative case in this sense. This case is relevant for explaining the pendulum effects of economic development that can be compensated by consistent social policies, and by recurring to intangible cultural resources and diaspora support to promote an inclusive national identity. Ongoing deep transformations of the existing world order are creating new political spaces, and recourse to intangible resources of development may stimulate a reevaluation of the current conflictual political agenda.

Analyzing discourses on interethnic relations can contribute to a clearer understanding of the focal points of tensions in contemporary political communities sharing a common territory and common political institutions. These discourses represent the complex of problems related to nation-building and are generated both in the public sphere and in academic discussion. As such, they often develop separately one from the other. Assessing the current academic discourse on nations and nationalism, on nation-building and the nation-state, on citizenship, cultural diversity and interethnic conflict can contribute to the formation of the agenda of a politics of identity aimed at building a civic nation. Memory politics deserve special attention in this context, as the interpretation of historic memory has today become a powerful instrument that political elites can use to consolidate the nation and, in different contexts, to politicize ethnicity and deepen cleavages in existing nation-states. The affirmation of a positive civic (national) identity is a reference framework for modern democratic societies, and it is in meeting the challenges of politicizing ethnicity that political priorities and academic interests meet. However, the current domination of politics over academia in this conflict prone sphere contributes to its radicalization and to the formation of negative and exclusive identities that can be manipulated to pursue elitist group interests. Evaluating models of political organization alternative to the ones known today (such as "the nation-state") does not aspire to "write off" the nation, but this can help to come up with visions and ideas politics can take up to overcome the conflict potential that contemporary societies generate over ethnic issues. Acknowledgements. This article was prepared with financial support provided by the Russian Science Foundation [research grant № 15-18-00021, "Regulating interethnic relations and managing ethnic and social conflicts in the contemporary world: the resource potential of civic identity (a comparative political analysis)"]. The research was conducted at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), RAS.

The paper represents the materials of the discussion of the following topics: "The way of the evolution of social and cultural spaces" (N. Zagladin), "Russian political nation: problems of conceptualizing and consolidation" (S. Peregudov), "Realities of a changing world" (V. Sheinis), "Time and spatial integrity of the emerging global world"(L. Goricheva), "On economic growth and human development" (E. Sadovaya).

In October 2011, in the Center for Comparative Socio-Economic and Socio-Political Studies of IMEMO RAN the meeting of a scientific-theoretical workshop on the subject «"Alternative capitalism" or Alternative to Capitalism?» took place. Problems of conceptual crisis in social sciences and methodology of the modern socio-political changes analysis were in the spotlight. The discussion evolved over two main problems: 1. Knowledge crisis or development crisis? On methodology of the modern socio-political changes analysis and problems of a new social sciences research paradigm development. 2. Capitalism and modernization. Main ideas of presentations by scientists from IMEMO and other scientific institutions are outlined in two issues of the journal (No. 7, 8).