Information on the thesis

The degree of scientific development of the problem of political competition of
parliamentary parties in particular, methodological and conceptual foundations of the
study are revealed in the thesis. The analysis of scientific literature and sources on the
directions of research of the problem of functioning of political parties as subjects of
political process is carried out. A comprehensive study of the state of scientific
development of the problem of political competition of parliamentary parties in
foreign and domestic political science is made.
The specificity of political competition in modern political processes is revealed.
The attention is focused on the peculiarities of transformation of the legal framework
of the functioning of political parties and the dynamics of their structuring. The
analysis of objective and subjective factors that influence methods and means of
activity of parliamentary political parties during political struggle is carried out.
It was found that the indicator that determines the qualitative characteristics of
political competition of parliamentary parties is the level of inclusion of citizens in
political processes. Citizens’ interest in politics involves participation in electoral
processes, work in political parties and election headquarters, and appeals to the
leaders of political parties. Social and political activity of citizens is a set of
individual actions aimed at achieving a political goal through the interaction of
individuals in society.
It is established that the political competition of parliamentary parties can be
studied through political discourse, which is able to act as an effective resource (pro-
government or opposition parties) by constructing and drawing certain outlines of
political reality and which is able to legitimize certain political actors. In political
discourse, a certain conditional reality is realized and constructed, claiming to
become a political practice. In other words, new rules of the game can be created
through discussion among political parties about the dichotomy of “democracy-
authoritarianism” in the electoral process. Political competition between political parties can have both positive and
negative aspects for the development of society. The positive components include
democratization and regulation of the political process on a competitive basis, the
formation of an activist political culture among citizens, political socialization of the
person, countering social apathy, absenteeism and political radicalism. The negative
components include the threat to the development of democracy and its values, as
during the electoral processes, political parties use manipulative technologies and can
become a means to achieve shady, criminal and inhumane goals.
Attention is focused on the fact that parliamentary political parties can receive
funding from various sources, which can be divided into three groups, namely:
membership fees, private contributions, public (state) funding. Public funding should
not eliminate the need for membership fees or private funding. It is important that
state aid is not the only source of income and does not create conditions for excessive
dependence on state support, but stimulates political parties to develop and reduces
dependence on financial and industrial groups.
New forms of communication of parliamentary parties with voters in social
networks in different regions of Ukraine are investigated. Interaction of parties with
voters in social networks in Zakarpattia, Cherkassy, Odessa and Volyn regions is
characterized. The methodology of the study, which analysed the regional Facebook
pages of parliamentary political parties was carried out according to eight criteria.
These criteria are the presence of a page in Facebook, the period of activity of the
page, the number of subscribers of the page, the number of articles, content, number
of distributions, mentions of national and local politicians, the subject of publications.
Stages of formation and functioning of political parties during parliamentary
elections as one of active subjects of political process are considered. The specificity
of political competition of parliamentary political parties in Ukraine is revealed and
its regional features are considered. The indices of social and political activity of
voters in European countries, the indices of the effective number of parliamentary
parties (on the example of elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine) are shown.
The specifics of the institutional development of political parties in Ukraine are
considered. It is stated that it is necessary to take into account the specifics of state
formation and influence of Western and Eastern cultures. Transforming Ukrainian
society must form its own model of the party system, in accordance with its own
values and mentality.
Key words: voters, political party, parliamentary political party, political
competition, political process, index of effective number of parties, social and
political activity, party system.