Civil Society in Ukraine: Strategies and Strategemes of Functioning and Development

Abstract

The article studies the functioning and development of civil society in Ukraine. In times of statelessness, it was the self-organization and resistance of the Ukrainian people that guaranteed the preservation of their identity and implementation of liberation strategies. Civil society has played a decisive role in gaining the independence of modern Ukraine and serves as a kind of precautionary mechanism for stabilizing crisis situations in its development. Attention is drawn to the importance of political strategies for reforming society and threats to substitute them with strategemes – situational concepts of influencing public opinion. Emphasis is put on the need to improve the relationship between civil society and various branches of power, moreover at different levels of government. This causes civic identity formation as conscious self-determination by citizens of their exclusive affiliation to the Ukrainian state and territorial space. Of particular importance is the improvement of political and legal support for such cooperation in the context of attempts to use public organizations for illegal activities, including the support of the aggressor country’s policy.