LEGITIMACY OF POWER IN UKRAINE: FROM ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY TO POLITICAL INCLUSIVITY

Abstract

The article reveals the problem of the legitimacy of power from the point of view of modern political theory. It is justified that the understanding of the legitimacy of power in the post-Soviet space is often limited by electoral democracy. That is, in the case of the delegitimization of power, the unofficial pact of Ukrainian elites implies the mandatory holding of early elections to recover from the political crisis. On the one hand, it is an electoral democracy that allows maintaining cautious optimism about the democratic future of Ukraine. On the other hand, the article emphasizes that this condition is necessary but not sufficient for the establishment of inclusive legitimacy. Keywords: legitimacy, legitimation of power, post-Soviet politics, electoral democracy, inclusiveness, inclusive legitimacy, elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, elections of the President of Ukraine.