Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article examines local self-government as a specific institutional mechanism that ensures interaction between the state, the territorial community, and civil society institutions. It is argued that local self-government cannot be understood merely as a lower level of public administration or an auxiliary component of state governance. Its legal and social nature combines public authority, democratic representation, municipal autonomy, and civic participation. The study focuses on the constitutional foundations of local self-government, the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and the Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine”, which together form the normative basis for municipal autonomy, subsidiarity, and public participation in local affairs. The article demonstrates that local self-government performs the function of an institutional bridge between the state and civil society by bringing public authority closer to the individual, legitimizing public decisions, involving residents in local policy-making, and coordinating the activities of non-governmental organizations, professional associations, initiative groups, bodies of self-organization of the population, and other local actors. Special attention is paid to the decentralization reform in Ukraine, which strengthened the capacity of territorial communities, expanded their financial and organizational basis, and made the issue of accountability of local authorities to the community especially relevant. It is proved that under wartime conditions local self-government acquires additional significance as an instrument of social resilience, civic self-organization, humanitarian cooperation, and public trust. The article concludes that effective local self-government is not a peripheral but a fundamental element of a democratic rule-of-law state, since it is at the local level that citizens most often encounter public authority and assess its fairness, openness, and ability to respond to social needs.
Source: Art of Justice
Author: Алла Стечишин
Institution: King Danylo University
Language: Ukrainian
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7204209037