Акторы местного самоуправления: формирование идентичности в контексте внедрения одноуровневой системы управления

Крестьяноведение. 2024. Т. 9. № 3. С. 229–248.

Vitaly A., Кащеева А. Р.

The article's goal is to examine how regional identities are constructed in light of modifications to Russia's local self-government system. The authors rely on empirical data collected in one of the districts of the Karelian Republic during its transformation into a one-tier municipality. The regional identities can be constructed at different levels during the regionalisation. The increase in subnational autonomy often compels governments to reform their regional policy. In Karelia, the transformation of one of the municipal districts has led to political antagonism between its central and rural administrations. The antagonism goes beyond political and administrative relations and finds expression in narratives about social and cultural factors that construct the perception of regional boundaries. Thus, the political conflict affects the regional identity construction processes. In the municipal merger processes the lack of a unified infrastructure cluster can lead to an increase in protest intentions in the rural administrations, where the transfer of powers to the district center is expected to reduce the level of autonomy in addressing local issues. The authors conclude that municipal transformations may be a cause for the formation of regional identity in local communities of rural administration officials, potentially creating conditions for more acute social conflict and political destabilization in the region.

Keywords: местное самоуправление, regionalization, регионализация, local self-government, regional identity, региональная идентичность, political centralization, политическая централизация

Publication based on the results of: Multidisciplinary complex studies of language functioning: social norms and practices of the modern Russia (2024)