Abstract: The problems of socio-political, cultural transformation of traditional society and modernization of the political system of Tajikistan have been in the focus of attention of Tajik and Russian political scientists since the independence of the republic. This article reveals some theoretical aspects and practical results of the post-Soviet transformation of institutions and modernization of the political system. The essential links between the categories "transformation", "modernization", "political transit", revealing the nature of the political and systemic transformations that have taken place in Tajikistan, have been established. It is concluded that the general trend for traditional societies engaged in "catching up modernization" is authoritarian methods of managing the modernization process, which is typical for Tajikistan. The topic of accelerating the modernization of largely traditional Tajik society and its political system is becoming increasingly relevant in the era of global changes in the world order. The contradiction between "tradition" and "modernity" is not only a clash of ideological and political attitudes, it is a question of the survival of power elites and the source of the development of the political system. The analysis of the vectors and completeness of the post-Soviet political-systemic and regime transformation of Tajikistan is relevant and important for assessing the resilience of the state and society to the growing global challenges and regional threats. The purpose of the article is to determine the typology, stages of processes characterizing the institutional, political, and social changes that have occurred over 30 years of independence. The goal is related to the research question: Is the current state of Tajikistan's political system and society the completion of the post–Soviet political transformation, the stage of democratic transit, or the next stage of modernization, institutional modification? We will begin the search for answers by considering the theory and etymological foundations of these categories.

Keywords: political transformation, political behavior, political science, transit, modernization, transformation, political system, Tadjikistan, institutional sphere, reformation