Value-ideological foundations of the development strategy of the modern state

• Main Author: M. V. Okun
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Publishing House of Lomonosov Moscow State University 2020-12-01
• Series: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta: Seriâ 18, Sociologiâ i Politologiâ
• Subjects: values; ideology; state strategy; state decision making; public policy; network associations
• Online Access: https://vestnik.socio.msu.ru/jour/article/view/769

The narrative presented in this article is in the plane of a very relevant sphere of interests within the framework of modern political science, this is the search for “keys” to effective public administration, which is increasingly experiencing crises today, not only in institutional, but also in non-institutional factors, in particular axiological. The question we try to answer is whether values and ideology play a role in the development strategy of a modern state, understood as the result of the key process of state policy and governance which is decision making, and in its implementation. Wherein we take as a starting point the fact that values and ideology are overlapping concepts: values is one of the components of ideology, and ideologies are aimed at forming, perhaps, even first of all, values in people. To find the answer to the posed question, we first of all conduct the detailed analysis of influence of values and ideology on state decision making (forming a state strategy), i.e. at each level of this process — “leadership subsystem”, “network associations of the elite”, representative authorities and executive authorities. Then we look at how values and ideology influence implementation of state decisions, which requires support of society. Having shown that mass consciousness most of all responds exactly to value parameters of a state strategy, we consider three ways of bringing align value bases of a state strategy and values of society. Then, having shown that when broadcasting from state to society, values are usually clothed in the form of one or another ideology, we consider why in modern public politics the role of ideology, in its classical sense, is noticeably decreasing, but in its modern, transformed understanding, on the contrary, it is increasing, which means that state today still has a powerful resource for obtaining public support for implementing its strategies. And finally, we demonstrate that qualities and weight ratio of the named above levels of forming state strategy determine not only meaning of values and ideology in this process, but also consideration of public values in it, as well as the real role of the ideology presented to society by a state.