PARTICIPATORY AND REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT: THE ISSUE OF CORRELATION

Abstract

The article highlights the relationship between representative and participatory democracy in local self-government. It is noted that the study of different types of democracy at the local level is relevant today in connection with the reform of decentralization of power, which is primarily aimed at the development of local self-government in Ukraine. The opinions of various scholars on the concepts of “representative democracy”, “direct democracy” and “participatory democracy” are analyzed. Representative form of democracy is defined as a form of exercising power in a democratic society, when through individuals and elected bodies, citizens exercise their guaranteed right to participate in the political life of society. Direct democracy is characterized as a special form of exercising power by the people through certain institutions, and participatory democracy – as a higher form of direct democracy, which has a broader meaning, as it provides not only a direct solution to certain issues, but also the impact on the adoption of significant for community solutions. The main differences of participatory democracy from representative democracy are generalized, among which, first of all, that participatory democracy presupposes personal participation in social and political processes directly, ie a community member participates in community management not through someone, but personally through such forms of participation as local referendums, local elections, general meetings, local initiatives, etc. In addition, the differences include the fact that participatory democracy involves initiative on the part of community members. It was stated that improving the functioning of territorial communities in Ukraine is a topical issue today, and large-scale introduction of forms of participatory democracy in local government will promote greater and more effective participation of members of territorial communities in local issues and, consequently, serve local government. A combination of the tools of representative and participatory democracy at the local level is considered acceptable and useful, but without their full interchangeability.