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This article deals with the institute of mayor in the Netherlands and his relations with the local council. As the most important feature of this institution, it is indicated that the mayor is not elected by the population or by the local council, but is formally appointed from above, which corresponds to certain centralist traditions in the activities of the state apparatus of the Netherlands. The Dutch mayor enjoys a fairly wide range of powers, the most significant of which are powers in the field of public safety. The mayor's responsibilities also include fire safety and management of various local emergencies, including those in the sphere of public health, which are of particular importance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author notes the dual role of the mayor in the public authority mechanism of the Netherlands. On the one hand the mayor is built into the state power vertical, and on the other hand, he remains an integral part of the municipal government system. In such a situation, in search of the most optimal solutions, the head of the local administration has to balance between various interests, and this sometimes determines his certain vulnerability.

The subject of this research was the modern urban agglomerations and its aim was to find out the main tendencies of their development by way of the analyses of problems faced by urban agglomerations and their management mechanisms. The main method of the conducted research was the comparative legal method, as the study is based on comparing the experience of different countries in the sphere of urban governance. The author used sociological, systemic and structural-functional approaches as well. The author believes that the problems faced by urban agglomerations are caused by the activities of different administrative bodies at their territory, the lack of proper coordination in the face of pretty acute rivalry between them. The mentioned problems are also exacerbated by modern migration processes. The number of "native" inhabitants is being decreased in many cities, the middle class is largely moving to suburbs while poor people are moving to urban centers, the urban population is getting older. The article also contains the analyses of different attitudes towards organization of administrative structures at the territory of the modern agglomeration. Proponents of only one strong jurisdiction, functioning within the agglomeration and taking decisions obligatory for the whole area, were called "consolidationists. "Polycentrists" believe that the more various jurisdictions function within the agglomeration the better, because centralized and hierarchical administrative model is outdated and ineffective.

The article deals with the role of the principle of universalism as the "cornerstone" of the social policy of the Scandinavian states. It is emphasized that Scandinavian universalism is traditionally based on a higher level of social equality than the level that is present within other social welfare systems aimed at a selective approach and social stratification. The Scandinavian social welfare model has recently been facing a number of problems related to globalization, increased competition on the labor market, demographic changes and an expanding influx of migrants. In the current situation, this model is becoming more economical and market-oriented, and existing social programs are being adjusted by reducing their excessive generosity. There is a growing understanding of the need to expand the principle of universalism and introduce much greater differentiation into social policy, taking into account the real needs of individual segments of the population.

The article deals with the problem of interaction of public authorities of different levels in federal states within the framework of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The experience of such countries as Australia, Brazil, India, USA, Switzerland and Germany is analyzed. As the development of events in the countries under consideration showed, a proper response to the threat of a pandemic in federal states can be somewhat difficult taking into account their characteristic system of multilevel governance and complex mechanisms of delineation of powers between the federation and its subjects. At the same time, the federal form of the state structure has also certain advantages including the possibility of applying a more flexible and differentiated approach towards individual territories and the availability of the established mechanisms of interaction between public authorities of different levels.