The paper is a part of the project "Distorting mirror" of the conflict: the role of online discussions in representation and dynamics of ethno-political conflicts in Russia and abroad". This article describes methodological basis of the study, gives theoretical background and main approaches to online social networks research. The case of microblogging, and Twitter in particular, demonstrates possibilities of qualitative analysis based on theory of social networks and theory of conflict discourse. The result is author method of studying online discussions that reveal value stratification and lead to political mobilization. The method includes linguistic analysis and reconstructing patterns of communication. It allows to describe the nature of the relationship between socio-valuable stratification of society, the characteristics of online discussions and the subsequent political behavior of citizens; describe the role of the complex communication platforms in the ethno-political conflicts, identifying factors of radicalization and harmonization of ethno-centric network discussions - in relation to the peaks of political mobilization.