Journal number 2 ∘ Zakhariі Varnalii ∘ Oksana Cheberyako ∘ Nataliia Miedviedkova ∘ Oksana Mykytiuk ∘
SOCIAL SECURITY OF UKRAINE UNDER THE WAR

DOI:  10.36172/EKONOMISTI.2022.XVIII.02.Z.Varnalii.O.Cheberyako.N.Miedviedkova.O.Mykytiuk

Abstract. The essence and content of the state’s social security and human social security are revealed, the role of economic security under the war is determined, the features of human social security under the war are investigated, threats to the critical state of social and economic security of Ukraine at the present stage are identified, priority goals and directions for ensuring human social security in war-time and the post-war period are revealed.

Keywords: national security, economic security, state’s social security, human social security, threats to social security, ensuring social security, national interests. 

JELclassification: H56 

INTRODUCTION

The system of ensuring national security, including economic security and the priority social component, plays a leading role under the war. Currently, the essence of the category "security" has acquired a new systemic and deep meaning of protecting vital interests from risks, threats and dangers in Ukraine. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, it is declared that “a person, his/her life and health, honor and dignity, inviolability and security are recognized in Ukraine as the highest social value” (Article 3) [1].

Security has many political, social, economic, military, ideological, informational and other dimensions. Social security is of particular importance among them, because it is associated with the basic processes of reviving the life and activities of people.

Analysis of recent research and publications. The basic conceptual principles for determining the essence, role, social component of economic security are given in scientific papersof such scientists asA. Smit, D. Rikardo, T. Maltus, D.-S. Mill, F. List, Dzh.M. Keins, A. Berns, Dzh. Liuchiani, V. Kable, M. Kakhlera, E. de Soto, V. Paretto and others. A significant contribution to the study of the essence of social security and ways to ensure them was made by such domestic scientists as Z. Halushka, O. Iliash, G. Kozachenko, V. Kutsenko, O. Novikova, V. Onyshchenko, S. Pyrozhkov, M. Fleichuk, Yu. Kharazishvili and many others.

Despite a significant number of scientific developments, the problem of social security of Ukraine in modern conditions requires further research in the direction of forming an effective system for ensuring the social security of the state, especially under the war, modern challenges of globalization and European integration, which determines the goal of the study.

Formulation of the problem. The purpose of the paper is to determine the essence, systemic problems and ways to ensure the social security of Ukraine under the war.

Research methods. The work uses a set of scientific methods, including systemic, structural, comparative, factorial and others, which made it possible to realize the conceptual unity of the study.

Presentation of the main material of the study. Security is a general historical and social category, covering the entire history and the entire future of mankind, and it is of decisive importance for the existence of both an individual and society at any level. From the point of view of a new interdisciplinary direction of scientific research in the field of security, V. A. Lipkan proposed to single out a new doctrine — security science. Having summarized the categorical-conceptual toolkit, which provides an understanding and explanation of security (of any subject — a state, region, enterprise, person) in its past, present and future, the facts are reliably summarized, by chance it is possible to determine the necessary, regular, by a single one — the general, and on this basis, it is provided. According to V. A. Lipkan, security science is a kind of matrix of sciences and scientific directions about security, a social interdisciplinary science that studies the general and specific objective patterns of organization and functioning of security systems of various classes and it is developed on the basis of their knowledge, aimed at improving the efficiency of their functioning.

According to V. A. Lipkan, security is a branch of knowledge that integrates applied aspects of political, social, military, economic, technical, humanitarian and other sciences and it is focused on the study of the essence, content, methods, forms, organs, forces and means of ensuring preservation of the object, subject to the influence of factors of an internal and external nature [2].

G. V. Kozachenko notes that modern security science is a multi-vector scientific direction, in which the vector of economic security (again, of any subject — state, region, enterprise, person) has appeared recently and strengthened in the science of Ukraine, which is associated with a significant complication of their activities. With the accumulation of knowledge, security science, like every scientific, but also the true direction, turns into a science — security, in which a set of views, ideas is currently being formed, aimed at interpreting and explaining security phenomena, creative rethinking of the conceptual and theoretical foundations of management, law, sociology, anthropology, etc., general and specific objective patterns of organization and functioning of security systems of different classes are identified and studied, which gives a holistic view of the patterns and existing connections in ensuring security [3].

Economic security is a new branch of science that goes through the appropriate stages of development. Therefore, it is difficult to agree with the statement of Vakhlakovoi V.V, who, analyzing the ontological contradictions of the formation of economic security, claims that “economic security has already occurred as a science, the roots of which are laid in security” [4, p.291].

Like any science, security requires clear theoretical and methodological (scientific) approaches, namely, the specification of the object and subject of research, the structure and a clearer definition of the conceptual and categorical apparatus, the priority of security, etc.

By construction, security is a doctrine, a complex of interrelated ideas, an internally differentiated, but integral system of knowledge, in which some elements depend on others, and the initial basis is a set of statements, concepts and categories defined according to certain methodological principles and rules. Security science acts as a form of synthetic knowledge, within which individual concepts, hypotheses and safety laws lose their former autonomy and become elements of an integral system [5].

Consequently, security science is a science that studies the patterns of effective security in social, biological, technical and other systems implemented through appropriate relations in the field of security. Depending on the sphere of security, security science also has its own types (varieties). We are talking about security in the political, military, environmental, informational, economic and other spheres. That is, it is necessary to single out separately the following: political security, military security, environmental security, economic security, etc.

Economic security is a science that studies the patterns of effective security of economic systems, timely detection, prevention and neutralization of real and potential, internal and external threats to the economic interests of the relevant entities [6].

In conditions of war, the priority component of economic security is social security. In the scientific literature, social security is considered from different perspectives: as a state of guaranteed legal and institutional protection of the vital social interests of the individual and society from external and internal threats; as a social ideal of a stable society, its vital social interests and values, as well as social norms as a set of conditions for stable development, which include: ensuring a high level of employment, incl. self-employed in entrepreneurial activity; formation of a resource base for development for future generations; ensuring an adequate standard of living and income of the population; providing social guarantees to workers [7], etc.

There is also the concept of the country's social security, which is described by certain indicators, which include, for example: a) social independence in the structure of international cooperation (provision with medicines); b) stability and sustainability of the social protection system during periods of economic reforms; c) the ability of the social protection system to systematic self-regulation, development and improvement; d) ensuring social stability in society [8]. Consequently, most scientific approaches concentrate on solving certain problems of social protection and, as a rule, are associated with the problem of limited budgetary resources.

Under the influence of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the solution of social problems has become even more important and no less relevant. The experience of developed countries has shown that ensuring social security requires a systematic approach to its formation and functioning mechanisms. The task of developing a model of social security and studying the mechanisms that ensure its constant reproduction is becoming increasingly important.

Analyzing the impact on ensuring the development of multifactorial global, national [9], regional problems [10], economists began to define social security as protection from these threats. As a rule, the threat is not only the phenomenon itself, but above all systemic factors that cause and lead to inefficiency in the implementation of state social policy, inconsistencies between certain social priorities and the course of reforming the country's economy.

Social security is the result of purposeful interaction of all social subjects, each of which bears social responsibility at its own level, acts as a result of socialization processes, characterizes the state of social production, the social sphere, the protection of internal constitutional order, external security, culture, etc. The main structural elements of social security are shown in fig.1.

Consequently, the list of structural parts presented in fig. 1 shows that the concept of social security is very broad and means the balance of human existence in all areas of public life (political, socio-psychological, cultural, demographic, environmental, etc.). Social security must be constantly reproduced, and also at a higher level. In the course of reproduction, social interests should be coordinated and implemented, aimed at realizing the system of needs for the prosperous existence, reproduction and development of people, society and the state. They are based on fundamental values, aspirations and needs of people. Guaranteeing social security at all levels can be described as an opportunity to implement a system of social interests.

 

Fig. 1. Structural elements of the state’s social security

Source: author's development 

Social security as an economic category expresses the system of economic relations typical for a socialized economy, associated with the social responsibility of the state, corporations, economic entities and civil society for maintaining the social security of the population and social stability in society. It can be represented as a system with all the elements inherent in any system: interdependence and subordination of structural parts and subsystems; the existence of external and internal threats; inputs and outputs with their indicators.

Social security should be considered in the context of its multilevel system. Considering that social security is one of the main components of economic security, it must be considered from the point of view of the economic level, namely: nano-, micro-, meso-, macro- and mega-levels. Therefore, we propose such a multi-level system of social security: human social security (nanolevel); social security of a business entity (micro level); social security of the region (meso level); social security of the state (macro level); global social security (mega level).

The levels of social security, as well as other components, must be started from the nano-level - from the person. The National Security Strategy of Ukraine, adopted on September 14, 2020 and called "HUMAN SECURITY — COUNTRY SECURITY", determines that "A person, his/her life and health, honor and dignity, inviolability and security are the highest social value in Ukraine" [11].

Social security of a person (nanolevel) is the degree (level) of protection of the vital socio-economic interests of a person, his/her rights, freedoms and values ​​from internal and external, real and potential threats. The functional components of the human social security system are as follows: human life safety; security of realization of general social values; security of a decent standard of living; safety of the social environment; psychological safety; self-defense; self-preservation; self-development, etc.

An important challenge for the social security of Ukraine, as well as for other countries, was the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which swept the whole world in less than six months and led to a slowdown in both the global economy and the economies of many countries, in particular, through the introduced quarantine measures. In particular, the pandemic led to the suspension of many enterprises, which was reflected in an increase in unemployment and a decrease in revenues to state budgets.

The military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, an open war that began on February 24, 2022, became a new super-big challenge to the national, in particular, social security of Ukraine. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is part of the Russian-Ukrainian open war started by Russia in 2014.

In the conditions of war, the issue of ensuring social security, as a component of the economic security of the state, is the main priority of state social policy, gaining new relevance for both science and practice. Most of the time in the scientific literature, social security is defined as a state of guaranteed legal and institutional protection of the vital social interests of the individual and society from external and internal threats. Yu.M. Kharazishvili and O.A. Hrishnova understand social security as the state of the social sphere, which ensures a high quality of life of the population (material level and social components), the protection of the main vital recovery processes (regardless of the influence of internal and external threats), the possibility of obtaining a quality education and the absence of threats to human health and life ” [12, p. 158].

A particular threat in Ukraine is the war, which significantly reflects the state of the national security of Ukraine, in particular, human social security. Its negative consequences are both direct and indirect, which is a real social threat.

War is always a large-scale shock to the national (including social) security of the country. In Ukraine, these are: significant loss of human capital (losses among the military and civilian population) and more than 2,000 civilians were killed, including more than 200 children, more than 300 children were injured according to preliminary data; shelling of the civilian population, residential buildings, kindergartens, schools, colleges, universities, in particular, more than 550 educational institutions were damaged, 72 institutions were completely destroyed; mass migration processes are taking place, with a “prospect” of not 100% return (more than 4 million refugees left Ukraine, about 7 million are temporarily internally displaced persons); potential risks of new military aggression remain, etc. All this strengthens the role and importance of national security.

War is also a shock to the economy. Thus, according to preliminary estimates, direct losses (excluding losses of economic growth) for the infrastructure of Ukraine reach more than USD 500 billion; there is a loss by the state budget of a significant part of traditional revenues through taxes, excises and customs payments, significant material losses; about 40% of businesses were closed; during the period of martial law, the economy of Ukraine loses 50-60% of the "unproduced" gross domestic product; more than 30% of crops were not sown; more than 23 thousand km of public roads were destroyed (13% of the total length), etc. All this largely affects the level of economic security of Ukraine.

Features of social security under the war are that, firstly, the main prerequisite for observing the national security of the state is to ensure the military security of the country, strengthening the might of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; secondly, the economy of Ukraine is being transformed and adapted to the conditions of the war; thirdly, with the increase in the scale and duration of hostilities, an increasing number of threats associated with ensuring the economic, financial, and social security of a person arise. 

The impact of war on human social security requires the justification of new, more effective mechanisms and tools for its strengthening. In the process of ensuring social security, social interests should be coordinated and implemented, which are based (should be based) on fundamental values, aspirations and needs of people. Guaranteeing social security at all levels can be described as an opportunity to implement a system of social interests. The essence of social security is reflected in the real results of socialization processes aimed at creating a new system of social protection, an effective organizational culture, the formation of business owners, their market relations, updating the social structure of society, assistance in achieving personal success by attracting people to those processes where they can self-actualize, reach the global (European) level of realization of needs and interests.

In conditions of war, the problems of ensuring the national security of Ukraine are more acute than ever. In this aspect, the implementation of scientific research to determine real and potential threats and the search for ways to ensure all components of national security are of signifacant importance. Each of the components of national security is important, but all components of security have a social orientation, and the priority of human social security lies in this context, which requires more systematic scientific research within the framework of economic security. Among the multilevel system of social security, human social security comes first.

The priority goals and objectives of the social component of security in peacetime should be the following: harmonization of labor relations; overcoming poverty; elimination of "equalization" and discrimination in pension provision; providing a guaranteed list of free medical services; maintaining the formation of a spiritually and physically healthy, financially secure, and socially prosperous family; creating conditions for overcoming the demographic crisis and achieving permanent demographic development; prevention of labor movement; overcoming homelessness of citizens, homelessness of children; solution of urgent social problems of the village; ensuring gender equality; counteracting or overcoming institutional deformations, etc. 

CONCLUSION

The social security of Ukraine is a state of development in which the state is able to provide a decent and high-quality standard of living for the population, regardless of the influence of internal and external threats. However, the social challenges to Ukraine's security have intensified, especially in the areas of reproduction and labor potential, the functioning of the social sphere and the labor market, incomes and employment. They lead to a deterioration in working conditions and a decrease in material well-being, depopulation and aging of the nation, the spread of poverty and the stratification of the material situation of citizens, the deterioration of the material and technical, financial, investment and intellectual and personnel support for health care, education, culture, art, sports and, as a result – a decrease in the social security of the population, increased dissatisfaction with life and the social policy of the authorities, including the desire for emigration and external labor migration.

A person with his/her urgent needs, interests, values ​​is the main driving force, goal and criterion of all economic development, an important factor in victory in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Therefore, human social security is not only a matter of human development, the political stability of society and the assertion of national interests, but also the basis of this economic growth and peaceful development of Ukraine. 

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