Nikovskaya L. I., Yakimets V. N. Public Policy and Civil Society (case of Saint- Petersburg). POLITEX: Political Expertise, 2018, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 57-67.

Abstract

Problematic  issues of  public policy and civil society in a large metropolis  are considered within the public sphere context in the country as a whole based on findings of empirical sociological surveys conducted in 2009-2011 in several Russian regions. Improve the openness and transparency of public administration in modern Russia requires effective use of feedback tools, which allow the authorities to catch the trends of development of social processes and to make correction of managerial decisions, and the public to influence the formation of the agenda and the process of making management decisions, to participate in the solution of socially important problems and to monitor the quality of their solution. Civil society is increasingly maturing a request for a well-functioning institutions interaction. If we approach the analysis of multilateral and contradictory processes of socio-political transformation in Russia from the perspective of the interests of civil society actors, we can definitely say that in the current environment it demonstrates the trend of transition from the factor of socio-political modernization to become one of its subjects. In the process of its development it begins to act as a kind of indicator quality of the institutional environment of the political system, showing how deeply and organically it presents democratic beginning. It is very important to be able to empirically identify the quality of the public institutions of this interaction. In order to compare the effectiveness of different institutions of public policy, we have proposed a new criterion, the viability of the institutions of public policy.  Analysis of the functional effectiveness of public policy institutes is given. Weaknesses of important mechanisms of interaction of the local government and civil society in a public field in St. Petersburg are revealed.