Natural resources as a factor of socio-economic development of the Arctic territories: Theoretical components of the research problem

Abstract

A number of modern scientific ideas concerning natural resources as factors of socio-economic territorial development have been considered in the paper. The relevance of considering arctic direction of such research and their specificity, i.e. interdisciplinary of the problem statement, theory and methodology has been stated. It has been emphasized that the issues of the relationship between the development of natural resources and the level of socio-economic development of the Arctic territories make the environmental aspect of research particularly relevant. It has been shown that the analysis of the state of the problem should also include the objectives of modern policy and management of Russia's Arctic zone. It allowed not only to systematize and critically comprehend the existing knowledge, but to highlight some problem areas of theoretical ideas from the standpoint of practical problems of the Arctic territories management as well. The significant activity of world research of this problem; extreme variety of views; the availability of fundamental contradictions that cannot be settled on modern level of scientific thought have been established. It has been concluded that a number of contradictions are due to the fragmentation of the consideration of natural resources problem as factors for increasing the level of socio-economic development of territories. It has been noted that up-to-date requirements for the Arctic development determine scientific relevance and practical need for interdisciplinary methodology development. This methodology is based on an understanding of the rationality of scientific knowledge that can ensure the quality of management of noospheric evolution in the context of natural resources involving in social relations.