Plan

1.1 The concept and essence of public policy.

1.2 Basic theoretical approaches to the study of public policy.

1.3 The relationship between public policy and public administration.

1.4 Functions and levels of public policy.

1.5 Methods of research and analysis of public policy.

 

1.1 The concept and essence of public policy

Public policy is an integral element of public administration and represents a system of goals, principles, methods and tools through which State power regulates social processes. It covers various spheres of life, including the economy, social sphere, education, health, security, foreign policy, etc. The essence of state policy is the purposeful influence of the state on social processes in order to achieve an optimal balance of interests of various groups of the population.

The concept of «public policy» can be interpreted in several ways:

- as an active activity of the state in managing the object, and the state acts as the main subject of policy and management;

- as an active activity of the aggregate subject of politics, including the state and non-state structures, to implement the needs and interests of the subject and object of politics on the basis of the value base and goals declared by the subject of politics as universal.

- as a value-and goal-oriented process of political organization and self-organization. In this case, independent activity is assumed not only on the part of the subject, but also on the part of the object of state policy. The methodological basis here is a systematic approach.

In this regard, it can be concluded that public policy is a political process of managerial influence of state institutions on the main spheres of society.

There are the following main types of components of the public policy system:

- a substantial component. The source element here is power. The power of the state is imperative, since it involves the use of a wide range of measures and methods of coercion and violence to implement the processes of managerial influence on the society and its subsystems provided for by law on the allocation of resources, distribution and redistribution of public goods, etc.;

- the human component. As subjects of the state policy system, first of all, the people are referred to as the source of state power. There are also leaders of the state and its main institutions, as well as a class of professional managers – civil servants. Also, the subjects of state policy include various types of political elites;

- institutional component. Usually, this component includes the institution of the head of state. Also, according to functional characteristics, state institutions of general competence that operate in the system of legislative, executive and judicial authorities are distinguished. A separate place in this component is occupied by state institutions that have a narrow specialization (ministries, departments). Also in this case, we can mention the institution of law, numerous legal norms that are expressed in the country's constitution, laws, codes, etc.;

- the process component. This component characterizes the variety of structural relationships and relationships of subjects and institutions of state power (for example, the management cycle).

- spiritual component. This includes economic, social, and other interests, needs, and values. They are embodied in targets, programs, and other aspects of public policy.

The main categories of public policy as a science are the concepts of «public administration and bureaucracy».

A state administration is a rational system or organized structure designed for the effective and qualified execution of public policies. It has a fairly strict hierarchy of power, through which responsibility for the implementation of state decisions is lowered from top to bottom.

A bureaucracy is any large-scale organization of professional employees whose primary responsibility is to implement the policies of decision makers.

Public policy has a number of characteristics:

- it reflects the planned trajectory of development of a particular public sphere, the area of relations controlled by certain departments, and in this sense, state policy is appropriately «zoned»;

- when solving complex problems that go beyond the competence of one department, its complex, cross-sectoral nature becomes evident, which is why state policy is implemented in an «integrated» form;

- state policy has secret (hidden) and public (open) ways of existence and implementation;

- it is clothed in a normative legal form (documented), thus assigning responsibility for its implementation to certain executive authorities and officials;

- taking into account the variety of forms of government in modern countries, it uses various development mechanisms: authoritarian, elite-group, democratic-collegial^[1].

Public policy has the following characteristics:

- umbilical character. This attribute in a legal state consists of the following:

- the basis of State policy is the law expressed in the Constitution of the state and in its legislation. When implementing State policy, State authorities and officials are obliged to comply with the country's Constitution and laws. They exercise their powers by adopting legal acts that should not contradict the Basic Law of the State and the legislation;

- state policy should be implemented by legal methods. For the implementation of state policy, not only legal means are used, but also economic, informational, organizational, social and other means. But their application should not contradict the state Constitution and laws. The most important means of implementing State policy are legal means. They are legal phenomena that are expressed in instruments and actions that meet the interests of subjects and ensure the achievement of set goals. Combining in a certain way, legal means act as the main working parts (elements) of the operation of law, the functional side of the mechanism of legal regulation, legal regimes. They are designed to link the goal (mental model) with the actual result^[2]

- funding by specially authorized entities. State policy is formed and implemented by specially authorized entities. These usually include

- The President of the country, who determines the main directions of domestic and foreign policy of the state, manages foreign policy);

- The Parliament, which carries out state policy by passing laws that provide for various types of policies: establishing the basis of state policy and state programs in the field of state, economic, environmental, social, cultural and national development of the state; fundamentals of pricing policy; foreign policy and international relations;

- The government, which ensures the implementation of a single financial, credit and monetary policy in the country; a single state policy in the field of culture, science, education, health, social security, ecology; implements measures to implement the state's foreign policy.

In accordance with laws and other normative legal acts, other State executive bodies and state authorities of the subjects of the State are vested with the authority to implement State policy.

- focus on achieving socially useful goals in accordance with the requirements of justice. Public policies are aimed at achieving socially useful goals and must comply with the requirement of fairness. The concept of justice is inextricably linked with moral values in society, relations between people, and the formation of a social state. The main goal of state policy is to satisfy public interests – ensuring individual rights based on the principle of justice, improving the quality of life of the population, economic development of the state, defense and security of the country.

- socialization in various spheres of life. State policy is implemented in various spheres of life: economic (financial, credit, monetary, price policy), social, cultural, foreign policy, and others. Depending on the sphere of public relations, the corresponding types of state policy are also distinguished.

Thus, state policy is a complex phenomenon of a legal nature, including a set of static and dynamic means (legal, informational, economic, social, organizational, and other) implemented by state authorities to achieve socially useful goals. It must comply not only with the law, but also with the principle of justice for the formation of a social state governed by the rule of law.

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^[1] Rodachin V. M. The Phenomenon of Public Policy: Essence and Types. Humanities. Bulletin of the Financial University. – 2021;11(6):46-53.

^[2] Matuzov N. I. Theory of State and Law: Textbook. – Moscow, 2004. – p. 315.