Normative and practical aspects of political participation and citizen self-governance: case study (based on research on local self-government bodies in the Surgut district)

Citizen participation in local self-governance is a crucial factor in shaping democracy at the municipal level. This process exhibits a dual nature: the population serves as an intermediary between state and local authorities while simultaneously facilitating the implementation of direct and feedback mechanisms within the governance system. By examining the settlements in the Surgut District, we traced the mechanisms through which citizens are engaged in local self-governance by utilizing various forms of participation provided for in fundamental regulatory acts, such as settlement charters. The analysis of the collected data revealed two significant trends in the development of civic participation practices. The first trend is the depoliticization of civic activity; the second is the widening gap between the normative regulation of citizen participation in self-governance and the actual development of its mechanisms. According to the authors, these trends are driven by the increasing importance of administrative control in the context of building a unified power vertical.