Social Policy As A Factor Of National And Public Security

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the study of the search for ways of evolution of forms and methods of public administration for the successful interaction of state institutions and civil society in the conditions of the crisis of the modern national state as a complex process of macro-social regulation. The paper analyzes the problems of social policy affecting the basic principles of the national state in the conditions of globalization. The aggravation of socio-economic problems necessitate the activation of social policy of the state, since it directly affects vital national interests. The impact of the state on social processes through a set of legislative, administrative, budgetary measures serves the strategic goal of ensuring national security and state sovereignty. Social policy is seen as an active state policy in the field of social relations and as a result of the interaction of state institutions and civil society. Successful social policy is one of the key factors in ensuring national security and state sovereignty.

Keywords: Civil societynational statesocial policy

Introduction

Today one of the most relevant issues is the study of civil society, its genesis and evolution, national models, economic, social, cultural and political conditions of functioning, since civil society in the history of social evolution is associated with the main aspects of human existence and stage of development.

Problem Statement

The study of the civil society seems relevant for Russia. The ongoing reforms, the inclusion of many segments of the population in the administration or the exclusion from it largely depends on the way in which the civil society will be formed in Russia. The identity and national and state specific character make it necessary to move towards a pan-European process of theoretical reflection and practical implementation of the principles of civil society, as well as to take into account the significant obstacles related to specific historical conditions of the country’s development.

Research Questions

This paper undertakes to analyze the nature of the interaction between the state and civil society in the implementation of the state’s social functions.

Subject of the study – modern aspects of interaction between the state and civil society in the sphere of regulation of social relations in the implementation of social policy.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to analyse the trends of interaction of institutes of the state and civil society in modern historical conditions of social development and on the basis of it to develop methodological recommendations which could help in the analysis of interaction of civil society and the social state in Russia in the course of their formation.

Research Methods

The study was based on the principles of social-philosophical, sociocultural analysis, elements of historical-philosophical analysis, systemic, structural-functional and comparative method.

Findings

An important condition for achieving social harmony and stability in the country is the development of a clear strategy of development goals and objectives based on the combination of key values shared by an absolute majority of citizens. The results of the sociological study showed that the key idea for reforming the Russian society, preserving stability and balance of modernization forces of the Russian social structure is the idea of respect for human rights, equality of all before the law, which “at the present stage is common and “universal”; in the second place is the provision on the need to fight corruption, and in the third place – the thesis of ensuring social justice (this option was most often chosen by the older generation – respondents above 50 years of age)” (Gorshkov et al., 2010, p. 313).

One of the main provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is the provision that Russia is a social state. Acute socio-economic problems required the activation of the social policy as its results directly affect the key national interests of the Russian Federation causing the strengthening of provisions on the “sociality” of the state in the forthcoming amendments to the constitutional reform. The National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2020 includes a separate section concerning a set of social measures that are referred to as the strategic goals having enormous importance for the security of the state – Improving the Quality of Life of Russian Citizens (Kortunov, 2009). It should be noted that one of the most important national priorities in the concept of the National Security Strategy is the need to respect human rights and freedoms. This approach is favorable because it emphasizes the exceptional importance of the promotion and protection of human rights and recognizes that without human rights to a decent life, the social base, which the state security and national sovereignty are based on, is being destroyed. The document emphasizes that the strategic goal is to achieve a level of economic and social development that corresponds to the status of Russia as the leading world power of the 21st century, which occupies advanced positions in global economic competition and reliably ensures national security and enforcement of constitutional rights of its citizens.

One of the main tools of public administration of social development of the society is public social policy. It is characterized as the impact of the state on social processes in the society through a set of legislative, administrative, budgetary and other measures. In order to achieve the strategic goal of ensuring the national security and state sovereignty, active state policy in the field of social relations is envisaged. Thus, in order to solve social and economic problems of the national security, the Concept of Long-term Social and Economic Development of the Russian Federation for the period until 2020 was adopted, which highlights the main targets of the state social policy (Kochetkov, 2015; Solovyova, 2016). One of them concerns the problem of impoverishment and poverty of the population. In Russia this problem became disastrous in the 1990s due to the fundamental breakdown of the state system, the transition from a socialist system to a liberal market economy (Kochetkov, 2009; Lukasheva, 2013).

Since the early 2000s, the number of the poor in the country has declined since the 1998 default as a result of the economic crisis. In Russia’s modern political doctrine, the first challenge is to further reduce the absolute poverty, from 13.4 % in 2007 to 6–7 % in 2020, and the relative poverty (or low-income population) from 22 % in 2007 to 15 % in 2020, increasing the size of the middle class up to the level of above 50 % of the population by 2020 (Mau & Kuzminov, 2013).

The anti-crisis program for the development of Russia primarily includes social obligations of the state to citizens – the population of the country, as the state has the main emphasis on preventing and eliminating the institutionalization of poverty in Russia (Lukashuk, 2000; Oleynikova, 2015). But the implementation of federal programs, projects involve the activities of regional authorities and non-profit organizations, so it is important to distinguish the tasks of the federal, regional and local community in order to solve the social problems. The creation of social communities, social harmony organizations, the use of social resources for economic development contributes to “reducing the burden on the budget through such tools as crowdsourcing, which helps to combat not only economic but also social poverty:

  • investments in educational organizations by socially responsible businesses, stimulated by the state;

  • system of single paid expertise from highly qualified specialists of the public sector – education, health care, etc.” (Shakhovskaya, 2016, p. 4).

The state of the society as a whole depends on the state of its qualitative certainty, which includes the social structure and its interacting elements: individuals, social groups, classes, social communities, social institutions, organizations, etc.

The implementation of social policy implies a certain regulatory effect on the relevant spheres of society, phenomena and processes on the part of its actors, especially the state. The spheres, social phenomena and processes, social links and relations to which the regulatory influence of social policy actors is directed should be considered as its objects (Smorgunov, 2012). Thus, social groups with their social interactions, relationships, specific interests and lifestyles, should be considered as objects of social policy, and therefore as objects of governance of the society as a whole.

Regulatory effects on these facilities include financial, administrative and legal assistance to social groups, as well as the mitigation of social contradictions and the harmonization of interests of different social groups.

The level of public expenditure on social development becomes a criterion for the efficiency (or inefficiency) of economic and political development of the country, state economic and social policy. At the same time, the level of social development can accelerate or slow down the development of economic and political subsystems of the society. “The measure of social development is the standard and quality of life, the level of income differentiation of the population and the level of poverty, the degree of accessibility and the level of quality of education and health care” (Vostrenkova & Zhirnov, 2017, p. 9).

In 2013, The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration and the National Research University Higher School of Economics developed and presented to the Government of Russia the analytical report Strategy 2020 , which defined measures affecting the stabilization of social and economic development progress of the country, as well as the proposed increase in the rate of investment, reorganization of the public sector and pension system. The text also justified the requirement for more funding of science, education and health care (Mau & Kuzminov, 2013). The need to move to a new model of economic growth and to implement a new model of social policy was justified. The development strategy, which provides for a new model of social policy, which can be called the “new social state” (Gaponenko, 2015, p. 76), was intended to increase guarantees of social and economic rights of citizens, to equalize the differentiation of the society by social status. The gap between the living standards of different segments of the population is increasing, and this is a serious symptom of stagnation, social distortion, when the income gap between the richest is estimated to be 24–45 times higher than that of the poor. Such a situation can deepen the exclusion of the people and the authorities, which ultimately causes great damage to the mechanism of coherent interaction between the state and the society (Mau & Kuzminov, 2013).

The social structure of the Russian society, having undergone qualitative changes in comparison with the social structure of the Soviet society, is still in the stage of its design and is characterized by internal instability. The completion of the formation process is primarily caused by the change in the mechanism of social stratification, which implies a reorientation of the social policy system towards its differentiation and targeting. One of the possible directions of the social policy in modern Russia is the creation of optimal conditions for the formation of the so-called “middle class”, which serves as a social stabilizer in the society. Modern social policy of Russia does not have all the features typical for other national models. The established model can be described as an emerging, conditional institutional model where the state lays a leading role. Besides, the preservation of the social responsibility of the state alongside with the increase of the social responsibility of the business, awareness of social development priority, re-evaluation of sustainable development factors make it possible to consider the formation of a social policy model, which can be described as a model of solidary (mutual) social responsibility.

The multiplicity and complexity of social problems, risks and contradictions make it necessary to conclude a specific agreement, an agreement between the state, business and society in the field of social policy on the basis of mutual interests and mutual social responsibility.

The concept of “social responsibility” is the responsibility to those (persons, groups of persons, organizations) who may be directly or indirectly influenced by decisions taken by the subject of management, i.e., responsibility to the parties concerned and the society as a whole (Smorgunov, 2012).

Combating threats to national security in such a social area as improving the quality of life of Russian citizens is only possible through the mobilization of domestic resources, namely, the means of public administration to ensure national security in cooperation with civil society institutions.

The social structure of the society in any country is the result of not only spontaneous evolutionary selection of the most effective institutions, but also of the state actions. Consequently, “the social mechanism of institutionalizing the interests of the society implies active participation of not only various groups of social movements and organizations, but also of the state responsible for the full realization of social rights and interests” (Shakhovskaya, 2016, p. 10). The state shall make attempts to improve the legislation of the Russian Federation and to establish the necessary legal institutions that set economic indicators of poverty depending on market conditions.

Conclusion

The study concludes that historical experience gives rise to and reproduces the dominance of social institutions such as family, political, economic, educational, religious traditions and customs. With the transformation of traditional foundations, the state becomes particularly important for stability. This is confirmed by both local and world examples of destructive trends. Against the background of development of local government, market regulation, public self-government the state regulation keeps and strengthens its importance. It is a systemic factor of any society, and if ignored, there is a struggle of conflicting social groups, layers, ultimately resulting in chaos and arbitrariness (Aganbegyan, 2012). At the present stage, there is a value reorientation of the state social policy, which is based on the awareness of the fact that abstract categories should not be blindly observed but should be placed at the center of the rights of a particular person with his or her urgent problems and needs. Since 2000 Russia has been facing a complex contradictory but at the same time progressive process of forming a modern state concept of the social policy. The upcoming Russian constitutional reform reinforces the “sociality” factor of the modern Russian state.

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27 February 2021

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National interest, national identity, national security, public organizations, linguocultural identity, linguistic worldview

Cite this article as:

Gaponenko, L. B., & Рetukhova, T. N. (2021). Social Policy As A Factor Of National And Public Security. In I. Savchenko (Ed.), National Interest, National Identity and National Security, vol 102. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 299-304). European Publisher. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2021.02.02.38