Planning as a Theoretical, Legal and Political Category: Towards the Problem Statement

This article is devoted to understanding the phenomenon of planning through the political and legal instruments and conceptual framework of political science and state and legal theory. Using definitional analysis, system-structural method, formal-legal approach, literal, complex and contextual interpretation of legal norms, historical retrospective, the author defines possible planning vectors based on historical material and existing theoretical-legal and political science approaches, makes a categorical distinction between planning and control and monitoring, characterizes the stages of planning from the process side, designates the relationship between planning as part of social reality and strategic planning as a legal institution, establishes the main current regulations in the field of strategic planning. It is noted that planning in the general theoretical dimension, as part of social reality and a prerequisite for the development of normative legal foundations for state planning, appears as a mental picture of a controlled and managed future. In its turn, strategic planning, as follows from the relevant legislation, is considered as an activity on goal-setting, forecasting and programming of such areas of application of state efforts as the socio-economic development of the country as a whole, its subjects and municipalities, state administration, and national security. It is stated that the object of strategic planning is the entire range of state functions, from domestic to foreign policy. In conclusion, it is noted that the conducted comprehensive study of planning made it possible to identify a categorical divergence between planning, on the one hand, and strategic planning, on the other hand. The author concludes that the established discrepancy is determined by the difference in interpretations of planning (strategic planning) in the socio-philosophical and legal discourses. If in the logical and philosophical sense strategic planning is one of the varieties of planning in general, then in the domestic normative legal space planning appears as a part of strategic planning, given that the latter forms an inter-sectoral legal institution.