THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF DECENTRALIZATION OF PUBLIC POWER IN UKRAINE
Authors: SMOLYAROV Andrii 
Published: July 2024

Introduction. The article deals with the aspects of decentralization of public power in Ukraine from the standpoint of theory and practice. Goal of the article is to prove from the standpoint of theory and practice the place and role of decentralization of public power in our country, the advantages and barriers of this process, as well as a set of interrelated measures to improve the effectiveness of the decentralization process. Research methods: to substantiate the importance of implementing the process of decentralization of power in our country, systemic and analytical approaches, statistical methods, as well as the method of analysis and synthesis were used. Results: the author analyzes the content and essential characteristics of public power in Ukraine and provides its features. It is stated that the main subject of public authority is the State. The author emphasizes the important role of local self-government bodies and the public as subjects of public authority. The necessity of development of local self-government and decentralization of power in our country is substantiated. The author reveals the meaning of the concepts of "decentralization process" and "forms of decentralization" with the aim of a fuller and deeper disclosure of the content of the definition of "decentralization". The author emphasizes the important role of trust in public authorities and demonstrates the existing level of trust in government institutions in modern conditions. The author presents a systemic set of problems that emerged during the decentralization reform in Ukraine in 2015-2020. These include: ineffective communication between the authorities and citizens, which resulted in an information vacuum; the need to address the issue of ensuring the capacity of the formed communities; inconsistency of powers between executive authorities and local self-government bodies, as well as functions and powers between local councils and district state administrations and district councils; low quality of personnel of local authorities; and low quality of local government bodies. It is stated that they point to the low capacity of territorial communities, which exists today and is reflected in the inability of individual territorial communities to provide quality and accessible public services (in the areas of health care, environment, housing and communal services, education, etc.); to protect the rights and interests of residents; to support their own development with resources (infrastructure, personnel, financial, etc.). Additional reasons for the low capacity of territorial communities have been identified. These reasons are: insufficient activity of residents of territorial communities and public organizations; imperfection of the property institution; certain information closure of the activities of state and local governments; inadequate digitalization of public authorities; lack of complete and reliable data on the potential of communities; full-scale military aggression of Russia against Ukraine; ignoring the challenges associated with sustainable and inclusive development, etc. The conditions that should be created to strengthen the capacity of territorial communities are outlined.