Europeanization and the Local Political Culture as Challenges for Public Policy in the Slovak-Ukrainian Borderland

Abstract

This article focuses on the interaction between local factors and the process of Europeanization as a factor of both residents’ political orientations and public policy in the Kosice and Presov border regions of Slovakia and the Zakarpattia region of Ukraine. The study used data collected via the Delphi method along with statistical empirics, contemporary notions of Europeanization, and border and local studies to find answers to the main research questions. Local factors resulting from the historical path of development have a significant influence on residents’ political culture and public policy, as demonstrated by nepotism, a general hostility toward elites, and a difference in activism between urban and rural areas. However, there is already evidence that the political culture in the SlovakUkrainian borderland and the relevant policy process have been significantly impacted by Europeanization. Both public participation in local and regional development and the influence of non-governmental organizations serve as examples of this trend. Changes in the political culture of borderland residents under the influence of other factors are not, however, the focus of this article, and will be an issue for future research.