Correlation of formal and informal interaction practices between municipal deputies (based on the example of representative authorities of the Udmurt Republic small towns)

Introduction: informal relations taking shape in local political spaces are of a particular research interest in understanding the nature of the informal in politics and the nature of its relationship with the formal. In the activities of representative authorities at the local level, the informal can manifest itself in the structural aspect - when informal groups appear in the deputy corps not reflecting the formal party and political division of deputies into fractions, committees and commissions, as well as the procedural aspect - when deputies resort to using informal practices that go beyond the formal procedures set forth in the regulations of the representative bodies. Objectives: to determine informal deputy practices that have developed in representative bodies of power and are embedded in the system of relations between deputies, as well as their interaction with the head of the city, local and regional officials. What are the principles of informal structuring in the deputy corps? What role do informal practices play and how do they relate to formal procedures? Methods: in-depth interviews, the concept of informal institutions by Helmke and Levitsky. Results: formal and informal structures in city councils were identified and informal practices that were used by city council deputies and local officials were identified. Conclusions: the structural formal party-political and organizational fragmentation of city councils is complicated by the presence of informal groups. Formal and informal practices can be combined in different ways in different formal structures within one representative body. Informal practices can complement the work of the formal ones, maintain existing formal procedures, but do not improve their quality. There are informal practices that become an alternative to formal ones.