Kosilova O. Political functions of a civil society.

The dissertation is devoted to the political functions of civil society, as a social and political phenomenon. The dissertation contains a holistic analysis of the term 'civil society' in all of its historical forms, as well as from the view point of modern political science. It reveals the nature of civil society, its main features, structure, and the peculiarities of its functioning in a democratic country ruled by law. Political functions of civil society were scrutinized in the light of the dichotomy 'civil society - state', which allowed studying of the social-political nature of the interaction between the state and the civil society and defining the main models of such an interaction. The author suggested her own definition of the term 'political function of civil society' and criteria for dividing the functions into political / not political and internal / external. The internal and external functions were subjected to particular scrutiny.