INTERNAL POLICY OF A TERRITORIAL COMMUNITY UNDER WARTIME CONDITIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL IDEA

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the internal policy of territorial communities in the context of contemporary transformations in public administration and the challenges posed by the state of war in Ukraine. The study substantiates an original approach to interpreting the internal policy of a territorial community as an integrated system of public actions carried out by local self-government bodies in cooperation with citizens, aimed at ensuring social cohesion, security, resilience, and sustainable development at the local level. It is demonstrated that under wartime conditions, the internal policy of communities undergoes profound transformation, with a shift in emphasis from traditional socio-economic functions to humanitarian, security-related, communicative, and identity-oriented dimensions. Particular attention is devoted to the role of the territorial community as an active actor in implementing the Ukrainian national idea at the local level, manifested through the practical realization of the values of unity, freedom, dignity, and agency in managerial decision-making and civic participation practices. The article proposes an authorial definition of the internal policy of a territorial community and systematizes its key components, including managerial, socio-humanitarian, security, communicative, and identity-based elements. It is argued that the effectiveness of a community’s internal policy largely depends on the extent to which national values are integrated into local policies and on the capacity of local selfgovernment bodies to mobilize the community’s social capital. The study concludes that the internal policy of territorial communities represents a critical factor in strengthening national resilience and requires further theoretical and empirical investigation within the field of public administration