LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT AS AN INSTITUTIONAL BRIDGE BETWEEN THE STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY

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.

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