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...

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 Naud (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...

…modern societies can also continue to evolve to enshrine opportunities for improving citizens quality of life, but the historical record indicates that this process frequently involves taking one step forward and two steps back before substantive changes are effected.

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…