Civil Society and the State: from Domination to Partnership
The article explores the theoretical and methodological foundations of the analysis of modern civil society, reveals the features of its development, the ability of civil society to influence the processes of dynamic change and renewal, leading to the formation of responsible public policy and public-state administration. It is shown that to solve the large-scale problems of the “technological breakthrough” in the Russian political system, political and social initia- tives of citizens, civil society technologies will play an increasing role: as the innovative type of development increases, the role of the social sphere and human capital increases, the influence of civil society institutions as subjects of public policy expands. The main purpose of modern civil society is to be a counterbalance to the undivided domination of the ruling bureaucracy, in the hands of which are the main levers of government, to contribute to the preservation of the necessary balance, social balance and to ensure the normal development of the democratic process. The main task of civil society is to ensure that the diverse interests and needs of members of society in the process of their free self-activity and self-organization are fully met. In its functioning and deployment, civil society “redefines” the boundaries of the state and increasingly promotes it in strengthening the rule of law based on the model of “responsive” bureaucracy. And if this does not happen in the long term in Russia, it indirectly indicates a slowdown in development policy and inability to step over the threshold that separates the industrial society from the post-industrial, information society. New forms of social partnership, which produce new social movements, the basis of which are NGOs, contribute to the formation of innovative and reformative layers and groups of society, strengthening the foundations of the consolidation of society and the quality of social capital, without the devel- opment of which it is impossible to solve the ambitious tasks of technological breakthrough.