№ 3 - 2000
Kuznetzov I.I., Shestov N.I.
Geopolitical Self-Assertion of a Region (With Saratov Oblast as Example)

Using material related to Saratov oblast, the authors outline a new methodological approach in regional studies, one that takes into account not only quantitative characteristics, but also qualitative dynamics of overall regional processes. The article offers an original classification of regional phenomena, which must, to some extent, help overcome difficulties of assessing, with sufficient precision, the true scale of this or that research project to be carried out, and of securing adequacy of the apparatus conceptualis applied. The authors presume that the regional and local authorities’ clear awareness of the theoretical resource available, is bound to accelerate the search for the region’s identity and to promote its geopolitical self-assertion.