Velikaya N.M., Grebnyak O.V., Stanevich A.Yu. The legitimacy of local government: the importance of digital communication. Vlast’ (The Authority). Vol. 33. No.1. Pp. 205-216.

Abstract

The article shows the peculiarities of the organization of communication between local self-government bodies and the population in the conditions of accelerated digitalization, the main framework of which was laid down in the Federal Law “On Ensuring Access to Information on the Activities of State Bodies and Local Self-Government Bodies”. The authors consider effective communication as one of the factors of legitimization of local self-government, the indicator of which is trust. The content analysis of websites and pages of local administrations in social networks allowed us to conclude that the forced creation of Internet resources has not yet led to a widespread qualitative exchange of information between the authorities and society. The study revealed insignificant regional differences in terms of the functioning of official websites and pages in social networks of municipal authorities. Based on empirical data from the All-Russian monitoring of the dynamics of the level of trust in local government, the authors conclude that trust in local government correlates with assessments of the level of LSG development in the country. At the same time, communication between the government and the population as a mechanism for legitimizing LSG is assessed as ineffective.