Social crisis in the context of public administration: conceptual and terminological analysis[Социальный Кризис В Контексте Государственного Управления: Концептуально-Терминологический Анализ]

The relevance of the study: the national and foreign literature presents a considerable number of works, which analyze different types of crises, assess their consequences and find out the causes. The phrase "social crisis" is most often interpreted as one of the meanings of the term “crisis” and is associated with problems taking place in the social sphere of society. Such an approach, implemented within the framework of the paradigm of local crisis (economic, financial, social, etc.), loses its importance, because in the current situation crisis in a particular sphere of society affects the other areas of public life. The relevance of this research lies in the fact that it treats social crisis as a systemic one that affects society as a whole and therefore it involves public administration. The aim of the study is to define the concept of “social crisis” and to describe the features of public administration that cause the social crisis and contribute to its overcoming. Methods/methodology: the study uses methods of conceptual-terminology and system analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization. Results: The destructive role of imitation practices in the mechanism of public administration has been revealed; they reduce its effectiveness. There is evidence that public administration shifts away from the main target of social well-being (achieving the common good). With regard to the abovementioned, the author's definition of “social crisis” has been given. The paper identifies the priority conceptual goal of the state anti-crisis management which determines its quality. The study is theoretically important in clarifying the conceptual and terminological apparatus and developing the theory of crisis; its practical relevance is in improving the efficiency of the authorities and ensuring a decent standard and quality of life for the population.