THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY IN THE CONTEXT OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT TRADITIONS IN UKRAINE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51547/ppp.dp.ua/2025.3.19Keywords:
people's power, local self-government, direct democracy, territorial communities, decentralization, subsidiarity, public authorityAbstract
The article provides a comprehensive theoretical and legal study of local self-government as a key institutional form of realizing popular sovereignty in establishing and functioning a democratic state governed by the rule of law, particularly in the Ukrainian context. The author analyzes the content of the concept of «people's power» a multifaceted legal phenomenon that integrates the political will and legal responsibility of the people as the bearer of sovereignty. It is argued that local self- government cannot be reduced solely to the administrative-territorial organization of power, but should be considered as an instrument for the practical implementation of citizens' right to participate in the management of public affairs.A historical and legal analysis of the forms of self-government institutions in Ukraine – from the veche of Kievan Rus, Magdeburg law, and Cossack rule to modern models of decentralization – allows us to trace the evolution of democratic practices and the continuity of traditions of public self-government. The study analyzes the constitutional and legal foundations of local self-government, in particular the provisions of Article 140 of the Constitution of Ukraine and the relevant provisions of special legislation.Particular attention is paid to the role of instruments of direct democracy (public hearings, local initiatives, electronic petitions), as well as the principles of subsidiarity and decentralization, which determine modern governance's normative and organizational architecture. The study applies institutional, communicative, sociocultural, and legal approaches to understanding effective democracy.The conclusions state that the consistent development of local self-government is a strategic direction of state policy capable of ensuring the proper implementation of the principle of popular sovereignty and promoting the establishment of the foundations of a democratic, social, and legal state.
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