Sociological analysis of the factors influencing citizens' attitudes to local governments in Ukraine

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Sociological analysis of the factors influencing citizens' attitudes to local governments in Ukraine

OLGA BUROVA, Candidate of Sciences in Sociology,

Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Sociopolitical Processes,

Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,

Kyiv (12, Shovkovychna Street, Kyiv, 01021)

Анотація

У статті проаналізовано чинники, що формують ставлення громадськості до діяльності та реформування місцевого самоврядування в Україні. Актуальність теми зумовлена необхідністю з'ясування, наскільки певні чинники впливають на вибір громадян на місцевих виборах до влади в контексті ставлення людей до місцевої влади. У статті детально розглянуто систему управління містом на прикладі Києва та викладено аналіз емпіричних даних останньої хвилі загальнодержавного опитування, яке щорічно проводить Інститут соціології НАНУ «Українське суспільство: моніторинг соціальних змін». Особлива увага приділяється аналізу набору показників, що стосуються результатів діяльності місцевих органів влади (таких, як робота місцевої поліції, якість медичного обслуговування, освітні послуги в місцевих школах, громадський транспорт, житлово-комунальні послуги, наявність спортивних споруд тощо). Якість послуг, які місцеві органи влади надають мешканцям, визначають їхнє задоволення / незадоволення цими послугами, а отже, ставлення до цієї влади. У статті зроблено висновок щодо кореляції між задоволеністю комунальними послугами та ставленням до місцевої влади. Наведено приклади чинників, які могли б достатньою мірою слугувати показниками ставлення громадян до влади та самоврядування. Зроблено спробу з'ясувати можливості та способи застосування наведених даних як платформи для подальших дій щодо поліпшення благоустрою міського середовища. Автор доходить висновку, що свідоме ставлення до управлінських рішень та участь громадян у реформуванні організації суспільства мають сприяти покращенню умов життя в Україні.

Ключові слова: суспільство, міська влада, реформи, якість життя, мер, міська адміністрація, територіальні громади, обласна адміністрація, децентралізація

Аннотация

ОЛЬГА БУРОВА.

В статье проанализированы факторы, формирующие отношение общественности к деятельности и реформированию местного самоуправления в Украине. Актуальность темы обусловлена необходимостью выяснения, насколько определенные факторы влияют на выбор граждан на местных выборах в контексте отношения людей к власти. В статье подробно рассматривается система управления городом на примере Киева и изложен анализ эмпирических данных последней волны общегосударственного опроса, ежегодно проводимого Институтом социологии НАНУ «Украинское общество: мониторинг социальных изменений». Особое внимание уделяется анализу набора показателей, касающихся результатов деятельности местных органов власти (таких, как работа местной полиции, качество медицинского обслуживания, образовательные услуги в местных школах, общественный транспорт, жилищно-коммунальные услуги, наличие спортивных сооружений и т.п.). Качество услуг, которые местные органы власти предоставляют жителям, определяют их удовлетворенность / неудовлетворенность этими услугами, а следовательно, отношение к этой власти. В статье сделан вывод о корреляции между удовлетворенностью коммунальными услугами и отношением к власти. Приведены примеры факторов, которые могли бы в достаточной мере служить показателями отношения граждан к власти и самоуправлению. Сделана попытка выяснить возможности и способы применения приведенных данных как платформы для дальнейших действий по улучшению благоустройства городской среды. Автор приходит к выводу, что осознанное отношение к управленческим решениям и участие граждан в реформировании организации общества должны способствовать улучшению условий жизни в Украине.

Ключевые слова: общество, власть, реформы, качество жизни, мэр, городская администрация, территориальные общины, областная администрация, децентрализация.

Abstract

OLGA BUROVA.

Sociological analysis of the factors influencing citizens' attitudes to local governments in Ukraine.

The paper focuses on the main factors forming public attitudes towards local authorities in Ukraine. The way that a person thinks and feels about a particular politician, an elected official or a local administration largely determines his/her voting behaviour' hence the relevance of the research topic.

Local governments are responsible for delivering a wide range of services to citizens; therefore, it makes sense to analyse the citizens' satisfaction with the quality of (and access to) certain services and compare these figures with the overall attitude to local authorities (which can correspond to a respondent's evaluation of the authorities' work in general). The findings of a recent (September-October 2020) nationwide survey titled «Ukrainian society: Monitoring social changes» will constitute an empirical basis for the analysis. The survey, which is annually conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, involves measuring respondents' satisfaction with a number of items related to the performance of local governments (with regard to the respondent's place of residence). These items include utility service quality, road conditions, the availability of playgrounds and sports facilities, the work of a local police department, the availability and quality of services provided by preschools and schools, the quality of healthcare services, etc., as well the ability of local authorities to respond to the demands of ordinary citizens. The survey participants are also asked to evaluate the work of a local administration or a city/town mayor. The data of «Ukrainian society» for the year 2020 show that the majority of this country's population felt totally or partially dissatisfied with local public services (except for those offered by preschools and schools), and they did not consider local governments responsive to people's demands either. Besides, many respondents gave a negative evaluation to the overall work of local administrations. Drawing upon these data, the author concludes that there is a link between a person's satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the quality of local public services and his/her positive or negative attitude towards the local authorities. It is suggested that the obtained results be taken into account when analysing other aspects concerning local governments (e. g. a respondent's trust in governmental institutions), especially if the respondent is not inclined to express his/her opinion openly. Special attention is also given to resident surveys as a tool for improving the well-being and quality of life for citizens and communities.

Keywords: society, power, reforms, quality of life, mayor, municipal authorities, united territorial communities, local governments, decentralisation

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 a particular reform considerably depends on the ordinary citizens' awareness of the reform and their willingness to participate personally in the implementation of this reform, thereby changing the country for the better. Such a change can start even in a small locality. 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 live¹. However, 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, s. a.]. All this must be taken into consideration when a person decides how to cast his/her vote. local government authority citizen

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» 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., 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 In Ukraine, proportional representation was introduced into the local elections as late as October 2020.. The Mayor of Kyiv, who is also elected by popular vote, serves as the head of KCC The Mayor of Kyiv, like those of other Ukrainian cities, is elected as an individual, rather than a representative of a national political party.. 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 specific subjects -- such as urban planning, architecture and land use, socio-economic development, energy and utilities sector, environmental policy, education, health care, etc. So far as Kyiv City State Administration is concerned, there are currently over 20 departments. Each one focuses on a specific area (housing, transport infrastructure, social policy, etc.) 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 ofthe Department for the Economy and Investment of KCSA (https://dei.kyivcity.gov.ua/content/richnyy-zvit-mkyie- va.html).. 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, which are 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, s. a.]. 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 candidate's ability to convince the public that increases their chance of winning the election. Someone who runs for mayor, local 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 and Dnipro (as well as smaller ones like Bucha 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», s. a.; Bucha City Council, 2016].) 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 skillful managers, who know how to run a city and make the residents feel satisfied with their work.

Nevertheless, we should not underestimate some other factors -- not only of a socio-economic but also of a sociocultural and psychological nature -- which may have an impact on electoral choice too. Politicians use various means to persuade people to vote for them -- from distributing free food parcels to seniors, renovating playgrounds and patching potholes during an election campaign to eye-catching billboard advertisements and even celebrity endorsement. So, one should not confuse «one-off» actions (such as repairing a road just before the election) with those aimed at the true improvement of living conditions in a particular city or neighbourhood. On the other hand, there are people who vote for the incumbent despite not being really satisfied with his/her work. Rather, they do so «for the sake of stability» because choosing a «familiar face», in their view, will not entail any unpredictable change.

Therefore, it is necessary to specify the factors conducive to citizens' satisfaction with local governments and then try to conclude how these factors can determine one's choice in favour of a particular candidate at local elections. For this purpose, we will use the findings of a recent (September-October 2020) nationwide survey. This survey was carried out by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine within the framework of the project «Ukrainian society: Monitoring social changes». In total, 1,800 persons aged 18 and over, as well as from different socio-demographic groups, were interviewed The principles of sample design for a survey within this project are thoroughly described in the brochure «Ukrainian society in 1992-2018: Monitoring social changes» [Golovakha, Panina, & Parakhonska, 2019: p. 6].. The study covered all Ukraine's regions, except for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and non-government controlled areas in the East; therefore, the data obtained can be generalised to the entire population of Ukraine.

We will start our analysis from considering Ukrainians' overall attitude towards local (municipal and other) authorities. As can be seen from Table 1, oblast Oblast (which roughly corresponds to province) is a sub-national entity in Ukraine. Oblast capitals are usually big cities such as Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv, Dnipro, etc. Ukraine consists of 24 oblasts, which are subdivided into raions (the latter can be likened to counties). state administrations were evaluated positively only by 17.9% of respondents, whereas 42.4% of them held opposite views on that issue. Raion state administrations, mayors and ULC heads «scored» a little higher: 27.5% of those interviewed were «somewhat positive» about their work. Nonetheless, negative opinions prevailed Unfortunately, due to the wording of the question, it does not seem possible to differentiate between a respondent's evaluation of the mayor's performance and that of raion state administration..

Table 1. The answers given by respondents to the question: «How do you evaluate the work of ... ?» (%)