Major features of transitional societies and comparative analysis

Major Features of Transitional Societies

Today, the geopolitical sphere is changing faster than ever before in history, and many modern societies are experiencing rapid, fundamental changes in their social direction and political ideologies that will have implications well into the 21st century. Although the United States stands out as a classic example of this process, it is reasonable to suggest that all societies experience these trends to some extent throughout their existence. In order to gain some new insights into these trends, the purpose of this paper is to review the relevant literature to identify the major features that are associated with the transitional societies. In addition, a comparison between the traditional, transitional, and modern societies based on each of the selected features is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning transitional societies in the conclusion.

Major features of transitional societies

As the term connotes, the term “transitional” is used to refer to societies that are experiencing some type of changes in its political, economic, social or cultural dimensions (Naudé, 2017). As noted above, virtually all societies are always changing in some way – for better or worse – indicating that the term is universally applicable at varying levels. For instance, according to Naudé (2017). “To various degrees, all societies face some form of transition, either abrupt or gradual. Consequently, all countries are best described as societies in transition. This is particularly true of developing or emerging countries across the globe” (p. 101). While the potential exists for modern societies to transition themselves downward, the term typically indicates that a society is transitioning for the betterment of its citizenry. In this regard, Naudé (2017) reports that, “In transitional societies, changes are significant and fundamental, and permeate almost every aspect of life; including the social, cultural, political, and economic dimensions. Thus, transitional societies create opportunities for re-imagining the intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions of life” (p. 101). In sum, some of the salient features of transitional societies include the fact that the changes that are involved are 1) significant, 2) fundamental and 3) positively affect the quality of life of their citizens and these features are applied to traditional, transitional and modern societies below.

Conclusion

The research showed that all human societies are in a state of transition to some extent, with some mired in their phase while others struggle to maintain their state of modernity. The research also showed that three salient features of transitional societies include changes that are significant, fundamental and which positively affect citizens’ quality of life, but this is not always the case. Indeed, some traditional societies are at risk of becoming failed states while even the most modern societies are similarly challenged to maintain the status quo, let alone achieve the continuous improvements which are needed to further improve their citizens’ quality of life.