Government relations and public administration in Ukraine: the latest forms of interaction between government and business

The article is devoted to the analysis of theoretical and practical aspects of the implementation of government relations (GR) mechanisms in the system of interaction between government and business. GR is considered in comparison with lobbying, public relations and public affairs. The article notes that GR creates new opportunities for ensuring coordination of the interests of power, business and civil society in Ukraine. In this sense, GR is a socially important mechanism for the democratic development of the society, since it enables businesses and civil society institutions to influence government decisions.At this time, some authors associate GR with lobbyism, believing that these concepts are identical. However, the difference in these areas is significant. Unlike traditional forms of lobbyism, which are closely linked to interpersonal interaction with politicians and civil servants, GR has a number of strategic advantages.First, in public consciousness in Ukraine, lobbyism, in contrast to GR, practically became synonymous with corruption, since the contacts of interested persons with the representatives of the political establishment take place behind the scenes. The secrecy of this process leads to the effect of negative perception in the social consciousness.Secondly, lobbying leads to the dependence of subjects of lobbying on personalities in power structures, on their subjective preferences and wishes. This negatively affects long-term planning, and also places market participants in an uneven position, for example, when state broadcasting is distributed in favor of one of the participants.Thirdly, the feature of GR is the constant use of new innovative communication technologies that come from foresight, marketing, PR and electoral campaigns.The article concludes that GR in Ukraine is an important tool for dialogue between the state and business, on which depends: the quality of public administration, the market conditions, the conditions of competition, the development of business in general. Such a dialogue requires legislative protection and mechanisms for the adoption of binding decisions for all parties on the basis of it, because a perspective-oriented business first of all expects from the authorities the stable rules of the game and their observance by all players. It is the practice of GR in Ukraine that meets the stated requirements and goals.