Working with an academic paper: Part 1

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Sociological analysis of the factors shaping citizen attitudes to local governments in Ukraine

Part 1

There are at least three points that determine the relevance of the chosen research topic. First, reform-oriented efforts undertaken by Ukrainian power structures need to be evaluated from a sociological standpoint. Second, a number of challenges on this pathway ought to be highlighted. Third, some ways to overcome these challenges should be outlined.

The success of any reform considerably depends on the ordinary citizensʼ awareness of the reform and their willingness to participate personally in the implementation of this reform, thereby changing their country for the better. Such a change can start even in a small locality. It may seem surprising, but quite a few people in Ukraine still regard the life outside their apartment as something “separate”, complaining about “numerous problems” but thinking that they are not in a position to fix any of these problems. There are also people who strongly rely on the President or the Government to enhance the quality of life in their community or even neighbourhood, thus overlooking the role of local authorities in the place where they live. Meanwhile, local governments perform a wide range of tasks — from keeping the streets clean and putting in bike lanes in cities to providing social care and affordable housing, as well as encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting start-ups [Bronshtein & Reichental, 2020; Local Government Association, n. d.]. All this must be taken into consideration when a person decides how to cast his/her vote.

Various criteria can be used to evaluate the performance of local authorities; yet, the quality of public services (such as water and electricity supply, apartment heating, healthcare provision) and that of infrastructure (public transit, road construction and maintenance, telecom networks, etc.) are the most common. Reliable and accessible public services, along with safe and convenient infrastructure, help to meet the needs of local residents and make them feel comfortable. Of course, developing good infrastructure involves significant costs, but it is the duty of a local government to manage costs, as well as to make the information pertaining to revenues and budget expenditures open to the public.

In the context of our research paper, it makes sense to provide a brief description of key powers and responsibilities of local governments in Ukraine. The municipal authority of the capital city (Kyiv) may serve as an illustration.

The Law “On the capital of Ukraine, the Hero City of Kyiv”, stipulates the separation of powers in Kyiv between the legislature (council) and the executive (administration) [The Law of Ukraine № 401-XIV, 1999]. Kyiv City Council (KCC) is a local representative body whose members are popularly elected for a five-year term under a proportional representation system. The Mayor of Kyiv, who is also elected by popular vote, serves as the head of KCC. Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) is accountable to Kyiv City Council. The head of KCSA is appointed by the President of Ukraine [Kaidan, 2015].

Kyiv City Council enacts ordinances and resolutions; in addition, they adopt an annual municipal budget and some budget amendments throughout the year. Much of the work of KCC takes place in standing committees that make decisions and deal with a particular subject — such as urban planning, architecture and land use, socio-economic development, energy and utilities sector, environmental policy, education, health care, etc. As for Kyiv City State Administration, there are currently over 20 departments. Each one focuses on a specific area (housing, transport infrastructure, social policy, etc.). District state administrations (geographically, Kyiv consists of ten districts) are subordinate to KCSA. Besides, there are nearly 200 communal enterprises operating in various areas of economic activity (education, social care, communications, the arts culture, sports, etc.), which are subordinate to Kyiv City Council or Kyiv City State administration.

The overall structure of local authorities in the rest of Ukraine is similar to that in Kyiv. For example, there is a city council and an executive committee in other big cities or a village council and an executive committee in villages. Their duties and functions, however, may vary from one locality to another.

For the past few years, a series of reforms have been implemented in Ukraine — as an essential part of Europeanisation process, or EU-driven reshaping of domestic institutions and policies. These reforms are also expected to improve the standard of living and quality of life for ordinary citizens. For instance, the decentralisation reform, which was launched in 2014, aimed to create an effective and efficient system of local governance by transferring a range of powers, responsibilities and resources from the central government to basic administrative-territorial units called “amalgamated hromadas” [Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, n. d.]. They are also referred to as “united territorial communities” (UTC) or “united local communities” (ULC). The first local elections took place in newly-formed ULCs as early as October 2015, and by June 2020 over 1,000 united local communities had been established.

Obviously, it is a candidateʼs ability to convince the public that increases their chance of winning the election. Someone who runs for mayor, district councillor or head of ULC for the first time should clearly explain to the voters how he/she can make a difference to their city, town, district or community [Rusiya & Gandaloeva, 2020: p. 95]. As for incumbents, they are likely to get re-elected if the results of their work are positive and visible to most local residents. In other words, “rational, utility-maximising” voter models predominate [Hansen, 1994: p. 1]. Political views or party affiliation does not seem to be of primary importance — for example, the residents of big Ukrainian cities such as Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv and Dnipro (as well as smaller ones like Bucha) voted for the same candidate in at least two consecutive mayoral elections. These people belonged to different political parties or were non-partisan; evidently, they won the elections because of having proved themselves to be skilful managers, who know how to run a city and make the residents feel satisfied with their work.

Explanatory notes

• According to the data of a nationwide survey conducted in 2019, the overwhelming majority of respondents considered the central authorities (and the President in particular) responsible for a state of affairs in Ukraine [Reznik, 2019: pp. 346‒347].

• The title “hero” was bestowed upon Kyiv (along with other 11 cities and Brest Fortress) in Soviet times for outstanding bravery during World War II.

• In Ukraine, proportional representation was introduced into the local elections as late as October 2020.

• The Mayor of Kyiv, like those of other Ukrainian cities, is elected as an individual, rather than a representative of a national political party.

• More information can be found on the website of Kyiv City Council and Kyiv City State Administration (http://kyivcity.gov.ua). Annual budget reports are available on the website of the Department for the Economy and Investment of KCSA (https://dei.kyivcity.gov.ua/content/richnyy-zvit-mkyieva.html).

• Bucha had been a village and then a small town in Kyiv oblast for decades. In 2007, it gained city status. Bucha is known for good urban planning, environmental policies and comfortable living conditions [“Bucha”, n. d.; Bucha City Council, 2016].

References

Bronshtein, A., & Reichental, J. (2020, September 16). Four ways local governments can promote start-up innovation. StateScoop. Retrieved from https://statescoop.com/four-ways-local-governments-can-promote-startup-innovation

Bucha. (n. d.). [In Ukrainian]. In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 14, 2021, from https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Буча [= Буча б. р.]

Bucha City Council, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning. (2016). Planning and zoning map of the city of Bucha [Drawing]. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from https://bucha-rada.gov.ua/sites/default/files/images/13_bucha_zoning_01.jpg [= Офіційний сайт Бучанської міської ради 2016]

Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (n. d.). Decentralisation reform. Retrieved from https://www.kmu.gov.ua/en/reformi/efektivne-vryaduvannya/reforma-decentralizaciyi

Executive body of Kyiv City Council (Kyiv City State Administration), Department for the Economy and Investment. (2019). The city of Kyiv annual report 2018. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from https://dei.kyivcity.gov.ua/files/2019/8/20/Kyiv_ua_ebook_1_ok.pdf [= Департамент економіки та інвестицій виконавчого органу Київської міської ради 2019]

Fisher, J., & Sällberg, Yo. (2020). Electoral integrity — The winner takes it all? Evidence from three British general elections. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations (BJPIR), 22(3), 404–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148120912668

Golovakha, Ye., Panina, N., & Parakhonska, O. (2019). Ukrainian society in 1992–2018: Monitoring social changes. Kyiv, Ukraine: Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Hansen, T. (1994). Local elections and local government performance. Scandinavian Political Studies, 17(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.1994.tb00047.x

Kaidan, T. (2015, September 28). Whom we elect in Kyiv and whom the central authorities appoint: An infographic. [In Ukrainian]. Khmarochos (Skyscraper). Retrieved from https://hmarochos.kiev.ua/2015/09/28/kogo-mi-obirayemo-v-kiyevi-ta-kogo-priznachaye-vlada-infografika [= Кайдан 2015]

Kantar Ukraine. (2020). Public perceptions of the police and evaluations of their work [Press release]. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from https://tns-ua.com/news/spriynyattya-politsiyi-ta-otsinka-yiyi-roboti [= Kantar Україна 2020]

Liubyva, T. (2020). Civic engagement in Ukraine: Current trends. [In Ukrainian]. In V. Vorona, & M. Shulha (Eds.), Ukrainian society: Monitoring social changes (pp. 215–220). Kyiv, Ukraine: Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [= Любива 2020]

Local Government Association. (n. d.). What is local government? Retrieved from https://www.local.gov.uk/about/what-local-government

Ministry of Health of Ukraine. (2019). How is the healthcare system being transformed? [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from https://moz.gov.ua/article/reform-plan/jak-transformuetsja-sistema-ohoroni-zdorovja [= Міністерство охорони здоровʼя України 2019]

Reznik, V. (2019). Respondents’ views on the responsibility of institutions and citizens for a state of affairs in Ukraine. [In Ukrainian]. In V. Vorona, & M. Shulha (Eds.), Ukrainian society: Monitoring social changes (pp. 345–353). Kyiv, Ukraine: Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [= Резнік 2019]

Rusiya, N., & Gandaloeva, M. (2020). Municipal elections: Using the resource of local identity. Proceedings of 5th International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities — Philosophy of Being Human as the Core of Interdisciplinary Research (ICCESSH 2020). In Y. Zhang, & O. Chistyakova (Eds.), Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research (pp. 93–96). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200901.019

The Law of Ukraine № 401-XIV “On the capital of Ukraine, the Hero City of Kyiv”. (1999). [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/401-14 [= Закон України 1999]

Vorona, V., & Shulha, M. (Eds.). (2020). Ukrainian society: Monitoring social changes. [In Ukrainian]. Kyiv, Ukraine: Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [= Ворона 2020]

Answer the following questions.

1. What is the article aimed at?

2. What determines the relevance of the chosen research topic?

3. Why do some reforms succeed while others fail?

4. What criteria can be used to evaluate the performance of local authorities?