Page 168 - 6421

subject of international relations and expresses the interests of the
whole people or a part of them (social group).
The functions of the state are the main directions of the state
activities in the management of the main spheres of public life and in

the achievement of tasks, facing the state authorities.
The functions are divided into external and internal according to
the direction of state activity. They, in turn, are divided into economic,

social, political and ideological according to the spheres of social life.
The modern state can perform the following functions within the
country: in the sphere of economics – direct management of state-
owned objects, regulation of activities of non-state property entities,

concentration and distribution of financial resources, establishment of
customs regime; in the social and political sphere – management of
health care system, social security and public welfare, provision of

environmental safety, regulation of relations between social and
national groups, social and religious associations, protection of public
order; in the ideological sphere – management of development of

science, education, culture, regulation of mass media, formation of a
nation-wide ideology, protection of monuments of history and culture;
other internal functions.

The modern state organizes in the field of foreign policy political
and economic interaction with other countries, cultural cooperation
with them, guides the country's defense, intelligence and
counterintelligence services, participates in the international unions.

While performing its functions, the state solves such basic tasks
as coordinating the activities of various subjects of public life,
realizing their interests in the international arena, ensuring internal and

external security, maintaining order and stability in the society. The
state performs these tasks in different ways.
The functions of the state is one of the important issues not only
in the theory but also in the practice of state-building process. The

functions of state express the social nature of the state and specify its
essence.
The term "function" in the Latin translation means "to execute",

"to perform". The functions of state are closely connected with tasks,
purposes and essence of state but they are not enough. The analysis of
the state’s functions should answer the question: what should the state

168