Public Participation Mechanisms Research Articles

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MECHANISM IN LOW-CARBON TRANSPORTATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CARBON NEUTRALITY

Under the goal of carbon neutrality, public participation in green travel is the fundamental premise of low-carbon transportation development. Based on the multiple mediation effect model, this paper explores the mechanism of social interaction on public participation in low-carbon transportation, and the hierarchical regression method is used to test the moderating effect of social network intensity and information network intensity. The results show that: (1) Both network media and social relations have a prominent positive effect on public participation, but the effect of network media is better than that of social relations. (2) Network media and social relations affect residents’ low-carbon travel behavior through three mediating variables, namely, traffic information, environmental protection knowledge and social norms. (3) The moderating effect of social network intensity on the relationship between network media and low-carbon travel behavior is prominently negative, while the moderating effect of information network intensity is significantly positive. Therefore, it is necessary to stimulate more public participation in low-carbon transport through real-time pushing of traffic information and strengthening the closeness of social relations.

Residents’ pro-environmental behaviors in marine environmental protection

Guiding the public to implement pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) is an important tool in protecting the marine environment. Based on a survey of 418 citizens in Qingdao, the public’s behavioral attitudes and media concerns are introduced to expand the traditional norm activation model (NAM) to understand the public’s PEBs to give references in constructing an effective public participation mechanism in marine environmental protection. The results reveal that most residents express a strong willingness to implement all types of PEBs, with a notable preference for recycling behaviors, followed by accommodating, public, and consuming behaviors. The extended NAM is found to be particularly effective in explaining accommodating and public behaviors. Personal norms can affect PEBs directly, whereas perceived responsibility and media concerns exert indirect effects on PEBs. Meanwhile, there are some differences in the formation mechanism among different behaviors. This research is conducive to understanding the public’s PEBs and thereby improving public participation in marine environmental protection.

The Effectiveness of Digital Government Services, Public Participation Mechanisms, and Policy Innovation in Public Administration

This study investigates the effectiveness of digital government services, public participation mechanisms, and policy innovation in enhancing public administration. The primary objective is to qualitatively analyze the literature to understand how these elements contribute to improving the efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness of public administration. The research employs a qualitative literature review methodology, synthesizing findings from academic articles, government reports, case studies, and empirical studies to provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge in this field. The literature review methodology involves systematically collecting and analyzing scholarly sources that discuss various aspects of digital government services, public participation mechanisms, and policy innovation. The study categorizes the literature into key themes, such as the benefits of digital government services in streamlining administrative processes, the impact of public participation mechanisms on policy legitimacy and public trust, and the role of policy innovation in addressing complex societal challenges. Thematic analysis is used to identify patterns and trends in how these factors influence the effectiveness of public administration. The findings indicate that digital government services significantly enhance administrative efficiency by reducing bureaucratic delays, lowering costs, and improving service delivery. Public participation mechanisms, including e-participation platforms and citizen engagement initiatives, are shown to increase policy transparency and accountability, fostering greater public trust in government. Policy innovation, through the adoption of new technologies and innovative practices, addresses emerging issues and improves public sector adaptability.

River chief governance in China: trends and outlooks

The issue of water resources is a perennial topic for achieving human sustainable development goals. Over the last decade, a renewed watershed governance regime, River Chief System emerged to solve the issue of river pollutions in China, and attracted attentions across the world. In this review article, we profiled River Chief System, including its origin, principle and characteristics, and found that the primary feature of River Chief System is its hierarchical structure and the implementation of responsibility. By triangulating bibliometric measurement of the Citespace tool, database of the Web of Science and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the development, research trends and hotspots of River Chief System research have been reviewed systematically. The number of publications of River Chief System is showing a significant growing trend, and their foci are diverse: water environmental effects, mechanisms of River Chief System, public participation and supervision and localization of River Chief System, and the implement of “One River, One Policy” plan. Finally, theoretical and practical suggestions for the future study of River Chief System are proposed. This review systematically introduces China’s experience on river management to the world, which is of great significance for the world to fully understand the River Chief System of China and further improve and promote it.

Assessing the Spatial Equity of Urban Park Green Space Layout from the Perspective of Resident Heterogeneity

Urban park green spaces (UPGS) are essential resources for improving the urban ecological environment and meeting residents’ recreational needs. However, during rapid urbanization, the layout of UPGS often exhibits spatial inequity, with significant differences in the resources enjoyed by resident groups with different socioeconomic attributes. Accurately assessing the spatial equity of the UPGS layout (the equal accessibility of UPGS) is crucial for optimizing resource allocation and promoting social equity. This study takes the main urban area of Nanjing as an example and utilizes location-based service (LBS) data and multi-source geographic data to conduct an in-depth characterization of residents’ socioeconomic attributes, recreational behaviors, and park green space layout at the street scale. By constructing indicators of resident heterogeneity and UPGS supply–demand matching degree, it reveals the differences in park green space accessibility among different social groups and locations and explores the correlation between resident heterogeneity and UPGS spatial equity. The study finds that the layout of UPGS in the main urban area of Nanjing exhibits significant spatial inequity, with generally poor accessibility to park green spaces in the central urban area and low-income communities. The higher degree of diversification of residents’ socioeconomic attributes leads to a lower level of UPGS spatial equity in their streets. The results of the big data analysis verify the significant impact of resident heterogeneity on the equity of park green space layout. This study reveals the spatial equity issues of UPGS layout from the perspective of resident heterogeneity, providing new ideas and evidence for optimizing the allocation of park green space resources. Future UPGS planning should pay more attention to the diversity of residents’ recreational needs, focus on improving the accessibility of park green spaces in central urban areas and low-income communities, and balance the interests and demands of different stakeholders through public participation mechanisms.

DEVELOPMENT OF PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF UKRAINE: ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL RELATIONS

The article reveals trends in the development of participation in local self-government of Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to study trends in the development of participation in local government. The methodology in this article is based on a number of normative legal acts of Ukraine, which today regulate the components of participation in local self-government, in particular the Constitution of Ukraine, normative legal acts on local self-government and public participation in local self-government, as well as international reports and norms. The main result of the research is the study of the development of local self-government from the foundations of democracy to its implementation in the national legislation of Ukraine at the current stage. After all, understanding the essence of partisanship is impossible without the concept of the essence of "participatory democracy", which is an innovative concept and is a mixed form of direct and representative democracy. The concept of participatory democracy as a basis for the development of participation in local self-government of Ukraine is revealed, the legal basis of the concept of "territorial community" as a subject of participation in local self-government is analyzed, and the basis the principles of community coexistence and local self-government are synthesized. The main problems of participation are identified and the main forms of public participation in local self-government are presented as a promising innovative method of management at the local and local levels. This article successfully delineates the transformation of participatory democracy in Ukraine, marked by a profound commitment to enhancing the mechanisms of public participation within local government structures.

The regulatory regime for public participation in the upstream petroleum sub-sector in Uganda

This article delves into the regulatory framework governing public participation in Uganda's upstream petroleum sub-sector. The exploration and extraction of petroleum resources have significant economic and environmental implications, making public participation a crucial element for ensuring transparency, accountability and legitimacy. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the legal and institutional framework in Uganda, identifying strengths and weaknesses. It also examines the practical challenges of implementing effective public participation mechanisms and offers recommendations for enhancing the regulatory regime to maximize citizen involvement. . Using doctrinal legal research, the study scrutinizes legal documents, government reports, and academic literature. Findings reveal significant challenges, including limited access to information, disputes in land acquisition, and barriers to public participation, environmental and social concerns, regulatory gaps, and corruption risks. Failure to address these challenges may lead to economic disparities, social tensions, environmental degradation, and mistrust in the government and industry. The study recommends comprehensive legal and regulatory reforms, improved environmental safeguards, and enhanced public involvement to ensure equitable benefits and sustainable development in Uganda's oil and gas industry.

Study on the Spatial Coordinated Development of Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Region from the Perspective of New Regionalism

Guanzhong -Tianshui Economic Region, being one of the national economic development zones along the “Belt and Road”, holds a crucial geographical position and possesses substantial economic strategic value. Drawing upon the connotation and viewpoint of “new regionalism”, this paper analyzes the current situation and contradictions in the spatial development of the Guan-Tian economic region, and explores its mechanism for spatial coordinated development. In the future spatial development of the Guan-Tian economic region, it is essential to eliminate administrative barriers and establish regional coordination mechanisms. Furthermore, attention should be given to constructing a public participation mechanism in the planning process, promoting the building and sharing of infrastructure to enhance multi-field connectivity, balancing regional development goals, and diversifying regional coordination mechanisms.

Forms of public participation in local self-government: Argentina’s experience in the context of reforming the Russian legislation

In the context of the ongoing municipal reform in Russia, improving the mechanisms of public participation in municipal governance should become one of the priority areas. This circumstance raises the issue of a comprehensive study of relevant foreign experience. This article examines the regional legislation of Argentina in terms of regulating the forms of participation of the population in the implementation of local self-government. The author provides a comprehensive systematic study of the legal framework for ensuring public participation in the implementation of local self-government in Argentina. The article puts emphasis on such forms of participation forms, as elections, referendums, recall of elected officials, participation of the population in the discussion of various issues through the use of various mechanisms, and the creation of decentralized territorial entities. Based on a combination of comparative legal and comprehensive research methods, the author concludes that certain mechanisms for involving the population in decision-making at the local level can be considered within the framework of the Russian legal order. Attention is drawn to improving the procedure for recalling elected officials, increasing the degree of population participation in reforming the territorial foundations of the organization of municipal government, ensuring the participation of residents of individual localities in the implementation of local self-government during the consolidation of municipalities, and the institutionalization of local communities. An analysis of the Argentine experience in this part can serve as an aid for improving Russian legislation.

Achieving energy justice: The role of supervisory and compliance mechanisms in global frameworks and the international community

Energy justice as a concept refers to the fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of energy production and consumption among different communities and individuals. The international community is currently attempting to achieve it through various means such as international law, the Sustainable Development Goals and the potential establishment of a human right to energy. However, the authors argue that these tools have either failed or will fail in practice to achieve this objective. This is why they suggest the use of supervisory and compliance mechanisms established within global frameworks related to energy, international human rights law and Agenda 2030, to achieve energy justice. This is of absolute importance given the inability to do so in practice despite the growing literature on the topic. These supervisory and compliance mechanisms are used to monitor and enforce compliance with energy justice principles, and include independent regulatory bodies, mechanisms for public participation and oversight, and incentives for compliance. They provide flexibility for governments to consider their own financial, technical, and human capacities when tackling a highly complicated issue such as energy justice.

Research on the impact of public environmental participation on foreign direct investment: evidence from China

Since the reform and opening up, the scale of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into China has been continuously expanding, but the imperfect environmental governance mechanism has led to increasingly severe environmental problems in China. This paper studies the impact and mechanism of public environmental participation (PEP) on FDI. The results show that PEP has a significant negative impact on the FDI inflow of enterprises. Hindrance effect of PEP on enterprise FDI is more obvious in economically developed eastern regions, coastal cities and first-tier cities. PEP has a greater impact on FDI in high-tech industries. The economic growth target has a restraining effect on China’s environmental protection, weakening public supervision of FDI. The constraint of economic growth targets increases the pressure to develop the economy, and weakens the inhibitory effect of PEP on corporate FDI. This study provides important empirical evidence for improving China’s environmental governance system and high-quality utilization of foreign investment.

Catalysing Change: Unveiling Tailored Strategies for Localising Sustainable Development Goals in Southeast Asia

This article is a systematic literature review (SLR) analysing the literature concerning SDG localisation strategies in Southeast Asia adhering to the ROSES framework as its primary guiding principle. This study screened five hundred quantitative method articles from the SCOPUS and WoS databases from 2016 to 2022. Through rigorous inclusion criteria, ten quantitative journal articles were eligible for assessment. Thematic analysis of the selected articles revealed four predominant themes within the SDGs’ localisation initiatives. These encompass policy measures, green initiatives, stakeholder partnerships, and mechanisms for public participation, showcasing how countries in the region are working to embed the SDGs into their specific local contexts. Given the scarcity of literature concerning SDG localisation in Southeast Asian countries, these findings offer substantial practical and knowledge-based contributions. Qualitative and mixed-method studies and systematic reviews on these two methods are recommended to contribute significantly to idealising and refining the SDGs’ localisation process.

The United States National Park System: Overview, Challenges and Policy Recommendations for China

This article conducts a comparative analysis of national park legislation, focusing on insights from the US National Park System to inform the development of China's emerging national park framework. Against the backdrop of a global conservation movement, the US system serves as a valuable model for China, which initiated its own national park system in 2017. On October 12, 2021, China has formally established its inaugural set of national parks, comprising the Three-River-Source National Park, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, the Hainan Tropical Forests National Park, and the Wuyishan National Park. Encompassing approximately 230,000 square kilometres, these five national parks safeguard nearly 30% of China's crucial terrestrial wildlife species. As China endeavours to enact comprehensive legislation for its national parks, this research aims to contribute to the ongoing efforts by addressing key questions such as the efficacy of the US's "One National Park, One Law" model, the governance dynamics between federal, state, and local entities, and strategies for balancing conservation with diverse land uses. The analysis spans five sections, exploring the historical evolution of the US National Park System, its legal framework, challenges faced by US national parks, and policy recommendations for China. The US experience highlights the importance of establishing clear legal authorities, fostering robust public participation mechanisms, and harmonizing relationships with Indigenous communities. The findings presented in this study aspire to facilitate a nuanced understanding of national park legislation, promoting international collaboration between the US and China for the sustainable management of natural lands and the protection of global biodiversity.

Mechanisms of Citizen Participation іn Public Administration: Experience of Foreign Countries

Considering Ukraine's aspiration to become a full member of the European Union and participate on equal terms with other European states in defining global policies and goals for the future, the effective functioning of public participation mechanisms in governance is not only a goal for Ukraine, but also a requirement of the EU. In this sense, it is appropriate to investigate the peculiarities of the functioning of the mechanisms of citizen participation in public administration in different states, evaluating their experience and taking into account the principles and ideas that can be useful in reforming the Ukrainian legal system in this direction. The purpose of the article. Analysis of foreign experience of regulatory and practical support for the functioning of mechanisms of citizen participation in public administration, determination of advantages and disadvantages of various models of setting up government-public communications, as well as an outline of prospects for the development of mechanisms of public participation in state administration in Ukraine. Methods of analysis. The research uses general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge. The purpose and tasks of the research include analysis and synthesis of information, comparison of foreign approaches to understanding public participation and its mechanisms, as well as formulation of the author's conclusions on specific issues, recommendations for theoretical and practical use. The results. The theoretical and practical aspects of ensuring the effectiveness of citizens' participation in public administration are analyzed. The standards in this area, the best foreign approaches and practices, and promising directions for the development of participatory democracy in Ukraine are outlined. Prospects for further research. The findings contained in this study can be applied during the improvement of national legislation and the implementation of regulatory provisions on effective public influence on public administration. In the future, it would be appropriate to pay attention to the peculiarities of ensuring the functioning of the mechanisms of citizen participation in the management of state affairs in other countries, in particular in Asian countries, Canada, the USA, etc.

Designing a platform-based model of civic participation within the smart-city concept for post-war Ukrainian cities

The object of research is the concept of a smart city. The study considered the problem of interaction between local authorities and citizens in a smart city based on a platform approach. It was determined that the human-centric concept of a smart city involves representing the functions of the city government in the form of specific public services, the purpose of which is to satisfy the needs of citizens. Public participation and active citizenship are recognized as a key component of smart city development. The mechanisms of public participation in the smart city include information, consultations, discussions, public control of finances and joint funds. Multiple digital communication channels, including social networks, instant messengers, websites, e-mail, and various platforms for citizen appeals, could be used simultaneously to communicate through these mechanisms. This leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of interaction. As a result, information related to active public participation on official city websites is fragmented and often out of date. The scalable digital platform serves as a single environment for the exchange of information and resources between citizens and authorities and helps reduce the time and resources spent on organizing such communications. An example of the development of a digital service on the blockchain is given, implemented in the Bitbon decentralized information platform of Ukrainian origin. The practical application consists in ensuring broad citizen participation in filling funds and monitoring their financial transparency. The results of the implementation of platforms for the development of smart cities are organizing open data, encouraging stakeholders to participate in city management, developing innovative creativity and open dialog

Engaging stakeholders in collaborative control of air pollution: A tripartite evolutionary game of enterprises, public and government

In the current context of air pollution control, inconsistent interest demands from various stakeholders hinder efficient cooperative governance. This study developed a tripartite evolutionary game model to examine the decision-making mechanism of enterprises, the public, and the governments involved in China’s air pollution control process. Using theoretical and simulation analysis, the study identifies critical factors of stakeholders' strategies and propose possible evolution paths for achieving collaborative air pollution control. The results showed that collaborative governance among the three stakeholders is the optimal path for air pollution control in China, which evolves through four stages: government regulation, enterprises' pollution control, public participation, and government withdrawal. Currently, China is currently in a transitional period from public participation to government withdrawal and should focus on introducing subsidy policies to encourage green technology innovation among enterprises, strengthen environmental information disclosure, and establish and improve public participation mechanisms. In the future, China should prioritize the construction of public participation channels, incentivize green technology innovation, and focus on synergistic effect of carbon emission reduction among enterprises. This will help achieve the possible government withdrawal stage where joint governance of the public and enterprises can effectively control air pollution, allowing the government to shift focus to other important environmental issues such as carbon emission reduction.

Тhe role of civil society in preventing and combating corruption

ANNOTATION. Introduction. Corruption is one of the main problems that hinders the development of a democratic, legal and social state. A high level of corruption in the country makes citizens lose faith in the fairness of the law, experience restrictions on the exercise of their rights and feel helpless in confronting such a legal phenomenon as corruption. Statement of the problem. Over the past 9 years, a lot of decisive actions have been taken to prevent and combat corruption, anti-corruption legislation has been adopted, a number of anti-corruption measures have been improved and implemented, and specialized anti-corruption bodies have been established, but, unfortunately, Ukraine lacks the desire of the state to fully involve the public in anti-corruption activities. Relevance. Today, there are a large number of anti-corruption NGOs in Ukraine, but the effectiveness of their activities and the ability to influence public authorities are limited. Objective. To assess the role of civil society in preventing and combating corruption, to find out the reasons that hinder public participation in anti-corruption activities and the conditions under which such participation is possible. Methods. To achieve the stated research objective, the article uses general scientific (deduction, induction, synthesis, analysis) and special scientific research methods (formal legal and comparative legal). The main results of the study. In order to achieve positive results from public participation in preventing and combating corruption, the state should provide regulatory mechanisms for public participation in anti-corruption activities, as well as introduce measures that encourage citizens to participate and protect their rights as entities implementing corruption prevention measures. Conclusions. Public participation in the formulation and implementation of anti-corruption policy and corruption prevention measures should be recognized as a priority.

An investigation into the effectiveness of public participation mechanisms on service delivery within the Newcastle local municipality

A little over two years ago, from the 9th to the 18th of July 2021, South Africa experienced one of the worst incidents of civil unrest since the beginning of its democratic dispensation. Although the main catalyst for this unrest was not directly issues of service delivery or public participation, many observers, experts or not could not help but see the connection to issues of poverty, unemployment and overall lack of service delivery. Public participation has long been established as a vital tool in the hands of the government for efficient service delivery & development. The Newcastle Local Municipality (NLM) as an institution in South Africa, is governed by numerous public participation legislation which essentially states it must always consult & involve all its citizens on all issues that affect the community at large. Despite its adherence to these stipulations, this brief study, through a qualitative inquiry making use of an interview schedule, finds that NLM practices a type of participation strategy known as “Degrees of tokenism” where the result is the appeasement and placation of the masses as opposed to true participation that gives the masses real power. The results indicated that the officials entrusted with ensuring the implementation of the public participation mandate faced numerous challenges that rendered their stellar efforts inefficient. Issues such as a lack of understanding of the fundamental importance of good governance and public participation led to a shortage of resources and increased apathy toward municipal affairs. In investigating the nature of the public participation framework in NLM the researcher aimed at providing more insight into the complex issues at play responsible for the largely concerning state of local government in South Africa, thus possibly providing solutions in the process.

Good Governance within Public Participation and National Audit for Reducing Corruption

The globalization process and acceptance of a new paradigm for world development aimed at attaining sustainable development require extending the concept of good governance, which allows the improvement of institutional quality. At the same time, governance performance depends on corruption and public participation in national audits. The paper aimed to analyze the impact of public participation in national audits on corruption governance. The object of investigation was 30 Chinese provinces for 2008–2017. The study applied a regression model with the preventive, exposed, and defensive functions of audits. The findings showed that the “governance view” of the audit is the root cause of the audit. In addition, the “immune system” function of national audits has an inhibitory effect on corruption, among which the deterrent effect of the defense function is the most-influential. The influence of public participation in national audits on corruption governance is mainly reflected in the deterrence and resistance function of national audits. The paper contributes to audit theory by incorporating the public participation mechanism, improving the governance path of “national audit—public participation—corruption governance”. It allows improving the national audit “immune system” function by considering the democratic connotation of decision-making and developing a good governance environment.

Economic resilience assessment and policy interaction of coal resource oriented cities for the low carbon economy based on AI

This study aims to evaluate the economic growth of coal-resource-oriented cities under Low-Carbon (LC) economic growth. The public participation mechanisms are promoted, and the vitality of the economic market of resource-oriented cities is enhanced by increasing the intervention of government policies. Firstly, the context of the coal-resource-oriented cities and LC economy are analysed. Secondly, an economic resilience assessment system for coal-resource-oriented cities is established, characterized by traditional and high-tech industries through the analysis of the condition of resource-oriented cities. Finally, in the process of optimizing and managing the economic structure, the assessment of the LC evolution path of resource-oriented cities is strengthened through the extensive participation of the general public. The results show that the economic resilience level of coal-resource-oriented and traditional cities fluctuates and increases from 2011 to 2021. In 2011, the economic resilience index of traditional cities and coal-resource-oriented cities was 0.11and 0.22. By 2021, traditional cities’ and coal-resource-oriented cities’ economic resilience assessment stability was 0.527 and 0.562. This study has pivotal reference value for promoting urban resource management and economic efficiency.