The Role and Tasks of Civil Society Institutions in Ensuring National Security and Countering Modern Threats and Challenges

Purpose: Nowadays, not only the Russian Federation, but also the whole world is facing threats and challenges different from political and economic ones. The COVID-19 pandemic is raging in the world. The purpose of the article is to identify the role and tasks of civil society institutions in ensuring national security and countering threats and challenges of our time. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors rely upon the fact that despite all the efforts made by the government of the Russian Federation, federal state bodies, and local self-government bodies, it is necessary to consolidate the entire society and all the public institutions in the face of real threats and challenges of our time. Relevant is the need to reveal the features, the essence, internal relations and the correlation of the state policy and civil society institutions in conditions of real threats to national security and countering the challenges of modernity, to identify the role and tasks of civil society institutions in ensuring national security and countering threats and challenges of modernity. Findings: The authors point out that not only measures taken by the government of the Russian Federation can counteract security threats, but also clear interaction of all the state structures together with civil society institutions. The participation of citizens in the projects of the Russian Federation and local self-government bodies is a form of close connection of the people with the state, the manifestation of the democracy. The article presents the author's concept of civil society, lists security threats in the field of health care, and suggests possible variants of this interaction. Practical Implications: The authors propose to adopt a new Federal law of the Russian Federation "On the promotion of civil society institutions in ensuring national security". According to the authors, civil society is the reserve that the state can use in ensuring national security and countering threats and challenges of our time. Originality/Value: The authors rethink the role of civil society in countering modern threats and challenges. Еhe development of the non-state security system is the reserve of the state that’s not fully used by society today for countering threats and challenges of our time.