CHANGING APPROACHES TO STATE FINANCING OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN UKRAINE

State Budget ◽

Current State ◽

Introduction. The functioning of the civil society institutions is beneficial for the state, as it delegates part of its powers to them. Accordingly, it is important for the state that the activities of these institutions be effective and efficient, which significantly depends on the financial resources at their disposal. The state cannot influence the financial position of all civil society institutions, the financial literacy of their representatives, the activity of individuals and legal entities in their support, and so on. Therefore, in order to increase the level of financial capacity of civil society organizations, it should use those tools that are directly available to the state. However, in our opinion, one of such tools is public funding, which still needs to be completely reset and revised. The purpose of the article is to investigate the current state and features of the distribution of public funding between those non-governmental organizations that have the right to it, and to suggest ways to improve it. Results. The current state of the state funding of non-governmental organizations of Ukraine, which, in accordance with current legislation, are entitled to it, is studied. Indicators of general financing of public organizations of Ukraine from the State budget, as well as such indicators as the share of revenues from state funding in the general structure of revenues of non-governmental organizations of Ukraine and the share of expenditures to support non-governmental organizations in the State Budget of Ukraine are analyzed. The presence of elements of discrimination and subjectivity in the distribution of public funding in favor of non-governmental organizations of Ukraine was revealed. It is proposed to use the method of "money follows the client" to eliminate these shortcomings and improve the process of distribution of public funding between non-governmental organizations that have a legal right to it. The possibility of pilot introduction of the above-mentioned method for the distribution of state funding between non-governmental organizations of physical culture and sports and the legislative changes that need to be adopted for this purpose are substantiated. A mechanism for determining the amount of funding for a particular organization is proposed.

The role of civil society in fostering government accountability in contemporary Serbia: On the limits of depoliticized social activism

Sociologija ◽

10.2298/soc1504637v ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

pp. 637-661 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Danilo Vukovic

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

International Development ◽

Rule Of Law ◽

Social Activism ◽

The State ◽

Government Accountability ◽

Public Officials ◽

It is often assumed that vibrant civil society is precondition for democracy, government accountability and rule of law. Following this assumption, international development agencies, civil society organizations and even governments are participating in activities aiming for the social accountability, that is, accountability of governments towards societies. In this article I am analyzing activities of prominent Serbian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field of fostering government accountability. The analysis focuses on their ability to shift the balance of social and political power away from the state. The analysis is primarily based on empirical data collected through a series of in-depth interviews with representatives of NGOs. It reveals that NGOs follow policy-not-politics, that is, a depoliticized approach, that they target individual citizens and not social groups and nurture relationships with state institutions and public officials with whom they cooperate. They demonstrate a weak ability to (1) initiate wider civic mobilization or (2) establish solid institutional preconditions for government accountability. Thus, available data suggests that Serbian NGOs have weak potential to contest power of the state and thus contribute to strengthening government accountability and rule of law.

From Local Activism to Local Politics: The Case of Moscow

Russian Politics ◽

10.1163/2451-8921-00304006 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 577-604 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yana Gorokhovskaia

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Local Politics ◽

Local Level ◽

The State ◽

Political Candidates ◽

Private Realm ◽

Local Problems ◽

Training And Support

Conventional wisdom holds that civil society is a sphere of activity separate from the state and the private realm. Due to a combination of historical, developmental and institutional factors, Russian civil society today is dominated by the state. While not all interactions with the state are seen as harmful, scholars acknowledge that most politically oriented or oppositional non-governmental organizations today face difficult conditions in Russia. In response to the restrictions on civil society and the unresponsive nature of Russia’s hybrid authoritarian regime, some civil society actors in Moscow have made the transition into organized politics at the local level. This transition was motivated by their desire to solve local problems and was facilitated by independent electoral initiatives which provided timely training and support for opposition political candidates running in municipal elections. Once elected, these activists turned municipal deputies are able to perform some of the functions traditionally ascribed to civil society, including enforcing greater accountability and transparency from the state and defending the interest of citizens.

Silencing Their Critics: How Government Restrictions Against Civil Society Affect International ‘Naming and Shaming’

British Journal of Political Science ◽

10.1017/s0007123419000693 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hannah Smidt ◽

Dominic Perera ◽

Neil J. Mitchell ◽

Kristin M. Bakke

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Civil Society ◽

The Other ◽

The One ◽

Naming And Shaming ◽

Flow Of Information ◽

Cross National

Abstract International ‘naming and shaming’ campaigns rely on domestic civil society organizations (CSOs) for information on local human rights conditions. To stop this flow of information, some governments restrict CSOs, for example by limiting their access to funding. Do such restrictions reduce international naming and shaming campaigns that rely on information from domestic CSOs? This article argues that on the one hand, restrictions may reduce CSOs’ ability and motives to monitor local abuses. On the other hand, these organizations may mobilize against restrictions and find new ways of delivering information on human rights violations to international publics. Using a cross-national dataset and in-depth evidence from Egypt, the study finds that low numbers of restrictions trigger shaming by international non-governmental organizations. Yet once governments impose multiple types of restrictions, it becomes harder for CSOs to adapt, resulting in fewer international shaming campaigns.

Political Scandal, Corruption, and Legitimacy in the Age of Social Media - Advances in Social Networking and Online Communities ◽

Participation, Civil Society and the Facebook Use of NGOs in Turkey

10.4018/978-1-5225-2019-1.ch010 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 223-246

Author(s):

Kamil Demirhan

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Civil Society ◽

Political Life ◽

Civic Culture ◽

Political Issues ◽

Emergency Education ◽

Political Events

This study finds out the use of Facebook by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Turkey to engage the social and political events of the country. NGOs are civil society organizations aiming at promoting participation of citizens in social and political issues. They are a part of democratic system and they have important role to struggle with corruptions and improve the legitimacy of political-legal organization in political system. NGOs work using social networks and promoting civic culture. Therefore, the use of new communication and interaction channels is necessary for NGOs to develop social networks and civic participation. Social media can be a new channel to promote social and political life. This study focuses on Facebook activities of 40 NGOs selected from eight different activity fields: politics, environment, woman rights, economy, emergency, education, human rights, and democracy. It uses content analysis method to understand the NGOs' activities in Facebook, in terms of social and political issues realized in the year of 2012.

The Silent Gatekeeper: Authoritarianism and Civil Society in China

Political Science Undergraduate Review ◽

10.29173/psur40 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 66-72

Author(s):

Kate Mah

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Chinese Communist Party ◽

Social Mobilization ◽

Authoritarian State ◽

History Of ◽

The Government ◽

Market Capitalism

This paper examines the emergence of civil society in China under the authoritarian system in the last thirty years. It seeks to explore the ways in which an initial, traditional notion of civil society has altered in the context of China, as well as the respective challenges faced by both the organizations and the government in carrying out their goals and governance. The rapid rise of market capitalism, globalization and Chinese economic success in the last forty years to present day has made room for the rise of non-governmental organizations as well as social mobilization and engagement from citizens. This paper suggests that China has been able to accept the emergence of civil society, however, despite these developments, the government has been able to sufficiently suppress civil society from carrying out any objectives of transparency, social justice and accountability. It surveys the history of civil society within the authoritarian state, analyzes the specific government-NGO relations between the Chinese Communist Party and civil society organizations, and reflects upon the implications of the current legal and political framework that Chinese civil society must operate under.

Introduction: Civil Society, the State and Non-Governmental Organizations in Central America

Supporting Civil Society ◽

10.1007/978-1-349-25178-0_1 ◽

1997 ◽

pp. 1-28

Author(s):

Laura Macdonald

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Central America ◽

The State ◽

‘What Will We Be without Them?’ Rural Intellectuals in the State and NGOs in Zimbabwe’s Crisis-Ridden Countryside

Critical Sociology ◽

10.1177/0896920516656762 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 44 (4-5) ◽

pp. 595-610 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David Moore ◽

Zenzo Moyo

Keyword(s):

Social Movements ◽

Civil Society ◽

Political Parties ◽

Urban Areas ◽

The State ◽

South West ◽

State Organizations ◽

The Many

Research on NGOs in rural Zimbabwe suggests that ideas of automatic opposition between ‘civil society’ and/or non-governmental organizations and authoritarian states are too simple. Rather, relations between state and non-state organizations such as those referenced in this article, in the rural district of Mangwe about 200 kilometres south-west of Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo, are symbiotic. This contrasts with urban areas where political histories have led to more contested state-civil society relations in the last two decades, during which social movements with a degree of counter-hegemonic (or counter-regime) aspirations were allied with many NGOs and opposition political parties. Gramsci’s idea of ‘rural intellectuals’ could complement the widely used notion of ‘organic intellectuals’ to examine the members of the intelligentsia appearing to be at one with subordinate groups in the countryside and at odds with the state. Likewise state workers distant from the centre and close to their class peers in NGOs as well as their ‘subjects’ may operate with autonomy from their masters in ruling parties and states to assist, rather than repress, citizens and also to co-operate with NGO workers. This research indicates that discerning how hegemony works across whole state-society complexes is more complicated than usually perceived, given the many regional variations therein.

Sabiedrība un kultūra: rakstu krājums = Society and Culture: conference proceedings - Sabiedrība un kultūra = Society and Culture ◽

Nevalstiskās organizācijas kā vēstures skaidrojumu veidotājas un izplatītājas valsts varas vajadzībām Krievijā

10.37384/sk.2021.23.055 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 55-64

Author(s):

Inese Grumolte-Lerhe ◽

◽

Ainārs Lerhis ◽

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

20Th Century ◽

The State ◽

The aim of this article is to analyse the activity of agents of civil society – the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Russia, which create and disseminate the interpretations of historic milestones of the 20th century. The article demonstrates how factors, which have classically been regarded as characte-ristics for the civil society that is independent from direct interference of the state, become the tools directly controlled by the state. Thus, democratic and rational discussion on milestones of history is dis-torted. Several NGOs disseminate narratives elaborated and supported one-sidedly by the state while pre-sented as independent from it and thus – reliable and sound. The arguments put forward by these agents to justify their claims marginalize alternative views due to their imperative nature.

CROSS‐NATIONAL MENTORING NGOS IN TRANSITION SOCIETIES: FIELD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTS IN BULGARIA

Journal of Business Economics and Management ◽

10.3846/1611-1699.2008.9.145-154 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 145-154 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mariana Bogdanova

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Management Practices ◽

Economic Transition ◽

Field Research ◽

Organizational Practices ◽

The Moment ◽

Cross National

Non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) in societies undergoing socio‐economic transition are widely regarded as central to building a civil society that encourages democracy. At the moment, the Bulgarian civil society depends greatly on foreign funding whilst NGOs are unable to empower their beneficiaries in decision‐making. Given this reality, are cross‐national NGO partnerships able to strengthen organisations? What kinds of support are on offer, what kinds of (inter) dependency relations occur and to what extent do NGOs model their management practices on their mentor and with what results? This paper sets out to situate these questions in the context of a proposed theoretical construct, organizational mentoring, which occurs where national or local organisations have access to and support of well‐established NGOs abroad. The model is constructed on the findings of a qualitative case study conducted in Bulgaria on the development of a Bulgarian NGO and its relationship with a UK NGO. This is preceded by a discussion on selected literature reflecting the meaning of transition, change in societal values and organizational practices in Eastern Europe, and the development of voluntary sector organizations in transforming countries. The theoretical model proposed here is relevant in providing a systematic discussion on organizational change towards a more enlightened engagement between civil society organizations in cross‐national partnerships. Such discussion has implications for the development of hybrid forms of coexistence between Eastern and Western European partners reflected in their interdependent organizational practices.

Legal aspects of interaction of public organizations with local self-government bodies

Public administration aspects ◽

10.15421/151842 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (8) ◽

pp. 15-23

Author(s):

O. V. Turii

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Legal Regulation ◽

Legal Aspects ◽

Public Affairs ◽

Political Activity ◽

European Convention ◽

The Right

The article deals with the basic legal acts defining the procedural aspects of the interaction of local self-government bodies with non-governmental organizations. Particular attention is paid to the coverage of international acts ratified by Ukraine and regulates the issues of such cooperation. The article highlights the dependence of the development of local self-government on the civil and political activity of the population. A detailed study of problems in the relationship of local self-government with citizens, associations of citizens, mass media and other civil society institutions has been formulated, proposals have been formulated to improve the solution of identified problems. As a result of the research, the author concluded that the main problem on the way of democratization of the national legislation of Ukraine is the inactive and ineffective participation of the public in the formation and implementation of state policy. The European Convention on Human Rights determines that the state must ensure the right of citizens to participate in the management of public affairs in order to establish a democratic and legal society, however, there are no mechanisms established by law for such participation. Investigation of the existing regulatory framework in Ukraine to ensure basic legal guarantees of citizens’ participation in the development and implementation of management decisions by local self-government bodies proves that not only these guarantees are not detailed, but also none of the existing normative acts establish clear procedures for ensuring the rights of citizens from the bodies of local self-government information regarding the issues discussed and regulated by these bodies, adopted regulatory acts, projects and mechanisms for the adoption of achymyh decisions for society. The article contains a number of concrete proposals for solving the problems of forming the basis of cooperation between local self-government bodies, the legal regulation of control and supervision activities in the field of local self-government, conflict resolution between local self-government bodies and civil society organizations, improvement of legal regulation of liability for non-compliance with legislation on civil cooperation society with local self-government bodies.