Ukraine’s Way to a Consolidated Democracy: Issues, Prospects and International Experience

Abstract

The article is devoted to current issues of democratic progress of Ukraine within the framework of the constitu-tional and legal provision of direct government by the people. Some aspects of the civil society formation are also considered. The reasons which do not allow Ukraine to be identified as a consolidated democracy in the light of international experience have been analyzed.The article analyzes the difficulties faced by Ukraine in the process of democratic transformation. Democratic state is a state based on the theory of popular sovereignty and the recognition of the people as the only source of power, the consistent guarantee of human and civil rights and freedoms, ensuring their equality, real participation in the management of the affairs of society and the state.Despite the existence of formal institutions of democracy and government by the people, the Ukrainian democ-racy shouldn’t be overestimated, paying particular attention to the essential aspects. Ukraine cannot be considered as consolidated democracy for all indicators. Democratic progress is considered slow, as corruption and a limited field of public initiative stand in the way.Currently, the problem of ensuring a genuine effect for the decisions of the all-Ukrainian referendum is an overdue issue. It is urgent to solve another problem in the sphere of direct democracy, namely the legislative settlement of the issue of local referendums, which have been actually impossible for the last eight and a half years. The adoption of this law is of paramount importance to our society – it can reduce social tensions and change the protest area – from ineffective demonstrations to productive and constructive voting.In terms of sustainable, consolidated democracies, Ukraine still remains an electoral, that is, unstable country. And for its final establishment, transformation into a consolidated one a great amount of time is still needed.