TO THE PROBLEM OF FORMATION OF THE PARTY ELITE IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The problems of the formation of party elite in Ukraine are a relevant object of research due to the current and specific challenges facing the country’s political structures. The growing role of political parties in the formation and implementation of public policy emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing the problems affecting their elite. The purpose of the article is to study the main approaches to the problem of party elite formation in Ukraine. In accordance with this goal, the following research objectives have been formulated: to analyze the theoretical foundations of the formation of the party elite; to identify the main approaches to periodization of the formation of the party elite in Ukraine; to characterize the main features of the modern party elite in Ukraine. In analyzing the features, the author used such general scientific methods as analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, as well as the method of comparativism, etc. The study found that the formation of the party elite in Ukraine took place in several stages, each of which had its own characteristic features. In particular, the first two stages were associated with the development of multiparty system, the formation of the first influential parties, and the next stages saw an increase in the division of parties based on their affiliation with the executive or legislative branches of government. This led to the emergence of not only the concepts of «parliamentary» and «non-parliamentary» parties, but also a new concept – «party of power». Subsequently, Ukraine had an opportunity to renew the party elite with new personnel, but so far the opposite process has been observed. The 2019 parliamentary elections introduced new trends in the formation of the party elite in Ukraine, such as a new political force, the presidential Servant of the People, became popular in society in a fairly short period of time and, as a result, gained a majority in the Verkhovna Rada of the 9th convocation.