THE CONCEPT OF STATE CAPACITY IN CONTEMPORARY HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that contemporary challenges impose specific requirements on state authorities as institutions capable of governing society. It is revealed that the political attributes and qualities of state power, which reflect its functional capabilities and actual abilities to manage conflicts, have become of primary importance. These attributes depend on international relations, the political system of the national state, the nature of the ruling regime, the system of public administration, and decision-making processes. Evaluating these parameters allows one to understand the capacity (both current and future potential) of a state in the long and medium term. Under these conditions, the assessment of state capacity is crucial for understanding the degree of actual satisfaction derived from goal-setting, organization, and regulation of public demands, and subsequently, based on the obtained data, for developing measures and proposals to improve the level of governance efficiency. Various approaches to understanding and studying state capacity, which have developed in political science, have been considered, focusing on the main aspects of state capacity in countries worldwide, connected with the external and internal contexts of the existence and functioning of these states. The essence of the phenomenon of state capacity/ incapacity has been characterized, and the political parameters of state capacity and the political risks of the functioning of state power in conditions of problematic statehood have been defined. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the political effectiveness of state power under modern conditions is a decisive factor in ensuring state capacity. Not all states are equally capable of guaranteeing their citizens external security, internal order, legitimacy, governance, and development. The new challenges impacting the state’s governing resources amid the formation of a new world order have been outlined. The potential opportunities for their implementation in Ukraine, which have emerged during the global conflict, have been articulated.