«Non -governmental organization» vs. «social organizations»: to the issue of the ratio

Abstract

The article raises the question of the correlation between the concepts of «non-governmental organization» and «social organization». The development of civil society, which has taken place in Ukraine since 2014, as well as its mobilization, which has become a response to the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, demonstrates that it is effective and gives big support to the state in difficult times. Social organizations in Ukraine and foreign non-governmental organizations make a significant contribution, both to combat aggression and to combat its consequences. It is clear that after the victory, taking into account the process of integration into the European Union, many participants in the social and political life of the world will be involved in the process of rebuilding Ukraine, including non-governmental organizations.

That is why the issue of them and their activities have a significant relevance nowadays because we need to work today on the development of effective mechanisms for mobilizing as many participants in the world’s social and political life as possible to restore the country.

Therefore, the purpose of the article is to resolve the issue of the correlation between non-governmental organizations and social organizations, as well as to put forward ideas for further improvement of Ukrainian legislation in the field. It seems that their resource and opportunities can be used in the post-war restoration of Ukraine, and therefore it is necessary to review national legislation on the issue.

It is seen that the starting point in this process is to revise the points of view about non-governmental organizations and how they correlate with similar Ukrainian entities of social organizations. Through the study of the provisions of the Council of Europe and the Law of Ukraine «On Social Associations», through the prism of the features of non-governmental organizations and social organizations, which are specified in these normative acts, the author concludes that they are equal. Despite the existence of some differences, the most important features such as voluntariness, self-government, and non-commerciality are peculiar to each of them. Therefore, it is possible to conditionally put a sign of equality between non-governmental organizations and social organizations.

The author also emphasizes that under modern conditions there is a need to review the current Ukrainian legislation, which regulates the specified area in order to develop new mechanisms of cooperation of social organizations with the state, which should be the subject of further scientific developments.