Abstract

By inclusion and exclusion here we mean the phenomena of inclusion of a certain category of persons into a certain community as “insiders” and, accordingly, exclusion as transformation of “insiders” into “outsiders” and even into “enemies”. The institutional nature of these processes means that they are not one-time and situational phenomena, but deep shifts with long-term consequences, entailing changes in the rules of interaction and attitudes of their participants. In the course of their development, different societies have experienced inclusion and exclusion according to the criteria of gender, age, religion, ethnicity, class social origin, level and nature of education, professional affiliation, etc. The article formulates causal conditions and factors contributing to inclusion and exclusion on the basis of general theoretical principles and historical generalizations.