Institute of Sociology
of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology
of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Nikovskaya L. I., Yakimets V. N. Mechanisms and Technologies of Public Interest Promotion



Nikovskaya L. I., Yakimets V. N. Mechanisms and Technologies of Public Interest Promotion // Civil Sector in Public Administration / Ed. by A.I. Solovieva. M. MSU: Argamak-Media, 2018. P. 130-144.
ISBN 978-5-00024-104-2

Posted on site: 24.10.18

 


Abstract

It is shown that the growing complexity and multidimensionality of the transforming Russian society and the emerging pluralism of socio-political interests increase the demand of civil society for the viability of the institution of defending and promoting public interests in the public sphere. The modality of this request is enhanced by the crisis conditions of economic development. With the dominance of administrative and bureaucratic approaches to building public policy, there is a falsification of feedbacks, dysfunction of the public sphere in the direction of strengthening the influence of corporate and bureaucratic interests in relation to the public, which inevitably leads to an increase in social tension and protest moods, decrease. equal confidence in the activities of the state and the legitimacy of political power. The subject of the research is successful practices of formation and defense of public interests. The main goals and objectives: who and how to articulate the public interest; what is the role and influence of civil society institutions on the formation of regional policy in relation to problem situations; how the subject of public policy arises and is formed from interested citizens, lobbying the interests of the public; what are the role and opportunities of various dialogue platforms; what tools of defending public interests are effective and how well citizens and public structures are able to apply them. The method of case study was chosen as a basis, two types of cases were selected – problem and conflict. The method of content analysis of publications for each case was used, the description of cases was based on a single format. The methods of in-depth interviews and focus groups were used. The main results included the compilation of a list of recipes for success, it is shown that the development of institutions of public participation, mechanisms of intersectoral social partnership contribute to the rationalization of the interaction of government and society, contribute to the effectiveness of social representation of public interests in the context of incomplete processes of socio-political transformation, as well as stimulates the reform of public administration in the direction of increasing openness and publicity, this makes it possible to take more adequate account of the increasing pluralism and mobility of social groups and their socio-cultural preferences. The article also summarizes the results of studies of specific cases of identification and advocacy of public interests in three regions of Russia (Kostroma region, the Republic of Tatarstan and Yaroslavl region).The main conclusion is that improving the functioning of the institution of formation and protection of public interests increases the importance of the category of citizenship, considering it as an important resource and the basis for improving the quality of modern public administration and its democracy.

Content (in russ)


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