Ivanova E.Y. The Impact of Social Processes on the Transformation of the Institution of Specialized Education: The Case of a Professional Group of Diplomats. Theory and Practice of Social Development. 2026. No. 8 (220). Рр. 54-68. DOI: 10.24158 ...

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://tipor-hors.ru/teoria-praktika/2026/8/5 (дата обращения 07.10.2026)

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the educational and career trajectories of representatives of a professional group of diplomats in the context of the socio-historical development of Russia from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day. It examines the role of the emergence and diversification of specialized education as a factor in the professionalization of diplomatic activity. The study is based on the biographical data of specialists who served in the Russian Agency of Foreign Affairs at different stages of historical development (n = 4500). The relevance and novelty of this comprehensive biographical analysis stems from the growing role of diplomacy in resolving contemporary international conflicts, as well as from the lack of sociological studies of the impact of the level and quality of professional education on career advancement in diplomacy. The dataset was examined using qualitative and quantitative content analysis, as well as comparative multivariate analysis in the following areas: the educational trajectories of foreign affairs officials; vertical and horizontal professional social mobility; professional family continuity; the elite and elitist nature of diplomatic education; processes of transformation in specialized education, and others. Possible directions for further research into the methods, forms, and content of diplomatic education in accordance with contemporary socio-political development are proposed.