Under the veneer of decentralisation Ukraine’s modernisation efforts stall due to lack of local government reform
Under the veneer of decentralisation Ukraine’s modernisation efforts stall due to lack of local government reform

Author(s): Tadeusz Iwański, Piotr Żochowski
Subject(s): Governance, Economic policy, Developing nations
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: Ukraine; moderniastion; local government reform
Summary/Abstract: President Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions have been repeating the pledge to decentralise power in Ukraine and to give local government a greater decision-making role ever since the party appeared on the Ukrainian political scene. The implementation of this reform is crucial both for the economic recovery of Ukraine’s regions and the overall modernisation efforts of the Ukrainian state.At present relations between central government and the regions are regulated by Soviet-era legislation that fails to address the modern-day challenges facing Ukraine. The political elite in the country, including the opposition, appear to have reached consensus on the importance of the decentralisation reform. The first attempts to implement changes in this area were made in the late 1990s, followed by a comprehensive reform programme developed between 2007 and 2009 by Yulia Tymoshenko’s government.

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