Framework and Selection of Parameters for the Research of Local Political Regimes in Ukraine

Abstract

The relevance of the study of local political regimes in Ukraine has been growing since the 2010s. This is due to the need to predict the behavior of local political actors after the transfer of a large number of authorities to them due to the reform of decentralization of power in Ukraine. In addition, practical studies of local political regimes make it possible to highlight the main features of formal and informal relationships between local political actors and central government, covering the essence and effects of the process of decentralization of power in Ukraine. In this sense, the purpose of the article is to: determine the key parameters of local political regimes; analyze the methods used by Ukrainian scientists when studying local political regimes in Ukraine; define the parameters for comparing local political regimes in the Ukrainian context based on a maximalist approach. Given the results of the study, a periodization of the existing studies of local political regimes in Ukraine is proposed, particularly taking into account the existing studies in the format of case studies and regional comparisons. Based on them, the key parameters for the formation of a methodology for comparing local political regimes were identified, which should include indices and indicators for analyzing democracy and the level of decentralization of power within a particular local regime, as well as identifying the influence of local authorities, business and civil society on the processes of forming the agenda and determining strategic directions of socio-economic growth.