Decentralization reform and its impact on the state of the party system in modern Ukraine

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the transformation of the role of regional elites in the implementation of decentralization policy in modern Ukraine.
The decentralization reform that began in 2014 has provided significant administrative and financial preferences to the regions of Ukraine. The existing administrative-territorial units were consolidated, new basic units of local self-government appeared, and a fundamentally new system of relations between national and regional elites began to be built. At the same time, one can observe the processes of institutionalization of regional groups of influence, the emergence of numerous party projects at the regional level and the weakness of regional organizations of national political parties. On the example of election campaigns in recent years, we can see that public demands at the national and local levels differ significantly. If at the national level the public demand for the need for radical renewal of the ruling elites has been realized. At the local level, we can see the strengthening of regional elites and regional groups of influence. This is due to the fact that significant financial powers, which are transferred to the local level, allow the implementation of numerous local projects, thereby gaining electoral benefits within a particular area. Another important feature is that regional elites and regional influence groups no longer aim to reach the national level, as previously observed. Their influence is concentrated within specific regions or groups of regions that are interconnected by economic, business and cultural ties.
At this stage, the reform cannot be considered complete, given that there is currently no institution of prefects, whose role and place in the system of regional elitogenesis can not yet be determined. Therefore, with the advent of the institution of prefects, the system of relations between the center and the regions may change.
Therefore, the study of increasing the role of regional elites at this stage of the reform is relevant and needs its own theoretical understanding. It is also important to build scenarios of interaction between local and national elites as a result of the implementation of decentralization reform.