CREATION OF CAPABLE TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES IN UKRAINE: ADVANTAGES, RISKS, DANGERS

Abstract

Contemporary Ukraine constitutes a scenery for creation of capable territorial communities within the framework of decentralization reform and reform of local government. In fact, we are witnesses of the large-scale administrative-territorial reform. However, public administration system would be inefficient if administrative-territorial structure is created without consideration of historical, geographical, socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, infrastructural peculiarities, and sooner or later it will have to be reformed again. The large majority of regional perspective plans virtually are not perfect. Moreover, only two regional perspective plans may be considered to be totally correct: in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, where only military-civic administrations were responcible for plan development and adoption. As of 1 September 2016, Ukraine has created 184 consolidated local communities. However, analysis of perspective plans rises a question: how many recently created communities meet the requirements of perspective plans? How goes the process of territorial communities consolidation? Whether created communities meet official procedure? How quick and effective are changes that the system of administrative-territorial division currently survives? These questions the authors are trying to answer in this paper.