In the current context, regions face intensifying competition and an unstable external environment, making the issue of their sustainable development particularly relevant. Today, it is important not only to ensure economic growth, but also to create conditions for improving the quality of life, rational use of resources, strengthening social stability, and enhancing the region's capacity to adapt to new challenges. In this regard, the sustainable development of regions is viewed as an important foundation for long-term policy that should take into account economic, social, and environmental priorities. At the same time, scholarly literature still presents divergent approaches to the concepts of the “sustainable development” and related categories, while the factors influencing the development of regional socio-economic systems require further generalization and refinement. The study aims to systematize existing approaches to defining sustainable development of regions and to identify the dominant factors of such development. The methodological framework of the work is based on a systemic approach, which treats the region as a complex open socio-economic system. The research employs methods of systematization, comparison, and generalization. The theoretical foundation comprises scholarly works by Russian and foreign authors, regulatory and strategic documents, as well as the key tenets of the sustainable development concept. The study clarifies the content of the concepts of “stability” and “sustainable development”. Regional stability is proposed to be understood as the ability of a region to maintain its internal integrity, ensure the stable functioning of its key elements, and perform its core functions even under conditions of external and internal changes. The sustainable development is associated not only with maintaining a stable state, but also with long-term regional development manifested in qualitative and quantitative transformations. The paper also identifies the main characteristics of sustainable development of regions. These include systemic and integrated development, a balance of economic, social, and environmental processes, the ability of the regional system to adapt to changing conditions, the availability of a sufficient resource base, the possibility of targeted development management, as well as consideration of the interests of both the current population and future generations. In addition, the key factors influencing the sustainable development of regions are summarized and refined. The findings can be used in the educational process for teaching economic disciplines, as well as in the development and updating of strategies for socio-economic development of regions and the improvement of regional policy
Keywords
Region, sustainable development, stability, regional economic systems, sustainability factors, regional policy