TRUST IN POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR INFLUENCE ON POLITICAL PROCESSES IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article analyzes sociological surveys on trust in political parties in Ukraine in 2019-2021 in the context of their ability to influence political processes in Ukraine. It was found that the balance of trust / distrust during the study period was negative (below -50%). There were also regional features of trust in parliamentary parties based on their ideological declarations and foreign policy guidelines. The analyzed expectations of the society from political parties give grounds to assert that the majority of voters are alienated from political parties, and their expectations from parties are closely related to expectations from the government as a whole. The current level of trust and expectations do not contribute to the development of sustainable and mass political parties, which can be one of the social lifts within the political system and effectively mobilize supporters for public action. Instead, such quantitative and qualitative indicators of trust contribute to the parties' use of nontransparent methods of influence and their dependence on big business, including the «oligarchs».