Civil society in Ukraine: peculiarities of formation and role in the formation of the state

Abstract

The article analyzes the complex processes of formation of civil society in Ukraine since independence. It is noted that public opinion is the highest instance of criticism and control over organized state power, which, in turn, adopts legislation that requires public authorities, for example, the openness of court procedures, and therefore also implements the key function of public transparency. Thus, the public-private sphere is impossible without civil society, which has a certain autonomy from the state, but does not coincide with civil society, although it contains its key characteristic, but rather is a kind of intermediary between civil society and the state, the territory of which, however, is intertwined with both. The role of public organizations, the mass people’s movement, the general public during the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity, whose protest actions led to the change of power and the return of the Ukrainian state to a democratic course, are analyzed in detail. This is the most striking example of the influence of civil society on public policy. A clear distinction between the role of civil society in the Orange Revolution, including the events after the Orange Revolution, and during the Revolution of Dignity is demonstrated. The key problems and risks for the sustainable development of civil society in Ukraine are identified: external threats to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the unprovoked barbaric war of authoritarian-Khegebi Russia against democratic Ukraine. It is argued that since February 2022, it is fair to call all civil society volunteer.