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The article analyzes the backbone markers of democracy identified by A. Tocqueville against the background of a comparison of aristocratic systems and effective democracy. The essential signs of democratic transformations are presented: a gradual but noticeable increase in the material well-being of an average citizen; effective central government with effective local self-government and significant influence on their decisions of universal human values; public opinion as one of the full-fledged branches of power; a quantitatively limited apparatus of officials/civil servants, as accessible as possible for communication with the population; lack of connection between an ascending political career and personal enrichment; subordination of citizens not to an official, but to the current legislation; education of patriotism by involving as many citizens as possible in the government of the country; mass will expressing with the help of political rights and freedoms. It is noted that such signs, according to A. Tocqueville, include the absence of political censorship, the presence of freedom of speech; the unimportance of the political struggle against the background of solving, first of all, the problems of the country's material life support; public activity; enlightenment of the people; respect for production work; intensive communication within the country with the help of a developed social infrastructure; constant formation of new goals of social development, as well as a permanent desire for their implementation; psychological youth of the average person; optimistic outlook on the future; dynamism of professional opinion regarding the solution of social problems; the rule of law, the equality of all citizens before the law; opportunities for citizens, thanks to the results of their own work, to compete for social success on an equal footing. It is emphasized that the "enemies" of democracy, according to A. Tocqueville, are unlimited, uncontrolled power; desire for its usurpation; use of excessive force; despotism, which is especially harmful to the production of material wealth; political absenteeism; social apathy; inaction; destructive traditionalism; the authority of the individual, associated only with hereditary status and wealth. The attention is focused on one of the paradoxes of A. Tocqueville, in which he saw the advantage of the democratic process. According to the philosopher, among the ruled there are many outstanding people who, as a result of the processes of electoral democracy, for some reason did not find themselves in the circle of the elite. It is emphasized that A. Tocqueville explained this by a wide range of available opportunities for personal self-realization outside of a political career. At the same time, the coming to power of an average person, according to the thinker, contributes to the growth of mass education, social activity, social responsibility, and rational thinking on a societal scale. All this forms a huge public energy for positive socio-political and economic changes. Particular attention is paid to the mutual influence of political freedom and economic prosperity, recorded by A. Tocqueville.

The article examines the peculiarities of law and legal security in modern Ukrainian realities. It is determined that law is a mechanism which, through the application of legal norms of which it is a part, should ensure the effective functioning of democracy and democracy in the state and the functioning and further development of the social system. It is established that the Ukrainian legal system is undergoing a reconstruction phase, in which administrative and legal mechanisms are being transformed into mechanisms of self-regulation and self-organisation. The author establishes that essential factors of law stability are correct definition and certainty of each element, completeness and absence of contradictions. It is established that the basis of the concept of legal security is the conditions, sources, methods and mechanisms of negative impact (falsification of legal provisions, conflicts of provisions, legal gaps, inadequate implementation procedures, neglect of the effect of provisions, substitution of concepts, corruption, etc. The author determines that legal security is a component of national security. Its content consists of the implementation of national interests in all areas of national security, protection of national interests in the security sector, as well as legal regulation of legal relations and legal protection of the creation of state and non-state institutions with the necessary and sufficient conditions for the effective functioning of law and legal order as a crucial regulator of social relations. It is noted that legal security is one of the constant needs caused by the natural conditions of life of a person, society and mankind. It should also be considered a universal human value designed to ensure a person's existence as a public good. The author identifies the factors that significantly impact the institutionalisation process of an individual's legal security.

The article considers the problems of relations between the Church and the state in the classical sociological theory of M. Drahomanov and modern sociology. In the Western sociology of religion, considerable attention is paid to distinguishing the contexts of state and Сhurch practices, which can be compatible or incompatible with democracy. Compatible with democracy is a form of interaction between Church and state that ensures the protection of religious freedom and religious self-expression of all religious organizations and excludes discrimination based on religion. The negative consequences of the violation of the «principle of separation of Church from the State» described in the works of M. Drahomanov are analyzed. The socio-cultural effects of state intervention in the affairs of the Church at the level of society are investigated: violation of the principle of freedom of conscience, religious repression, forced unification of religions, and migration of believers as a result of repression by the state. It is emphasized that the violation of the principle of freedom of conscience contributes to the formation of an imposed and inauthentic identity of the individual, the growth of religious conformity, and the strengthening of «categorical inequality» in society. The social consequences of religious discrimination are analyzed: the growth of mass tension and frustration in society, the conflict between different Church communities, and the weakening of the effect of cohesion. The negative consequences of the violation of the «principle of separation of Church from the state» for the state Church are demonstrated: weakening of influence in society, rejection of the intellectuals, and latent atheism of the population. It is emphasized that to neutralize these negative effects, it is necessary to observe the constitutional principle of separation of the Church from the state. It was concluded that the separation of Church from state should contribute to the establishment of interreligious tolerance and understanding in society.

In the article the formation of the personality cult of the president of modern RF V. Putin is observed, whom a great number of analysts in Ukraine and in the world is called a new personal dictatorship in the former Soviet Union. The inseparability of the establishment of a dictatorial regime from the Kremlin's neo-imperial policy, which has already become known as "Putinism" and "racism", is analyzed. The gender analysis methodology is used to identify the grounds for mass perceptions of dictatorial regimes by the population of the State. Pointing to the dangers of the Kremlin's dictatorial regime for Ukraine's democracy and independence. To substantiate the main provisions of the study, an analysis of a particular material from the current reality of the RF is used. Historical parallels between the dictatorships of the past and present, including the dictatorial regime of A. Hitler, I. Stalin, F. Castro, are conducted. It is concluded that in the situation with dictators for their countries there is a serious danger. But today, due to Russia's technical capabilities, mortal danger can become a reality not only for the loyal dictator of the people. But for Ukraine and the world.

The purpose of the article is to analyse the role of the Constitution of Ukraine in the state-building and law-making processes and to study the problem of necessity and directions of its improvement. The methodological basis of the work is a set of general and special scientific methods. It is based on the philosophical method of dialectics. Methods of recognition such as logic-semantic, system-structural, formal-legal, comparative-legal and other methods of recognition of processes and phenomena are used for the purpose of work. The article emphasizes that the adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine in 1996 marked an important stage of the national state building, which legally defined the transformational transition of Ukraine from totalitarianism to democracy. It is noted that the Constitution of Ukraine, as a legal act of supreme legal force, has been the legal basis for the formation of Ukraine as a democratic, legal and social state and has become a political and legal document of a programme character, which directed Ukrainian society and public authorities to appropriate democratic reforms in the field of the state-building and law-making processes. It is noted that a number of political, social, economic and legal factors put on the agenda the issue of constitutional reform in our country, which should aim at achieving the European level of socio-economic development, modernization of the existing governance system, improvement of public authority and the legal status of citizens.

The research of the features of Ukrainian Christianity in the works of M.F. Sumtsov was analyzed. On this theoretical and philosophical-theoretical basis, the characteristics of the features of the «Ukrainian Orthodoxy», which have an influence on the formation of Ukrainian identity, are singled out and given. Modern scholars V. Gorsky, A. Kolodnyy, Y. Chornomorets emphasize the philosophical and cultural consequences of the Ukrainian Orthodox paradigm to determine the meaning of life-style guidelines of Ukrainians, the mental and identification characteristics of the Ukrainian nation. An ideologue of Ukrainian Orthodoxy contributing to the consolidation of modern Ukrainian society, the unification of common religious spiritual values, was presented in the works of Mykola Sumtsov, one of the first in his scholarly works. One of the ways to overcome the crisis of our society and a significant step towards consolidation of the national Ukrainian identity is to obtain autocephaly by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In the writings of Mykola Sumtsov it is emphasized that the Christian church is an important means of Ukrainian national unity. Mykola Sumtsov speaks about pan-European, democratic tendencies in the Ukrainian Orthodoxy, the approach of Ukrainian Orthodoxy to the soul and everyday life of Ukrainians, involvement through the church to public life. In the study of the features of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, the author identified his following defining characteristics: cordocentrism, democracy, harmony of public and ecclesiastical life. morality, focus on active moral and practical activity. On the basis of our research, we have identified a significant theoretical potential of M. Sumtsov's works, their high analytic and encyclopedic character.

The purpose of this article is to examine potential trends in the development of the political system of Ukraine after the end of the Russia-Ukraine war. Social changes always take place taking into account both subjective and objective circumstances. Currently the Ukrainian state relies on three pillars for further transformation of political institutions: 1) the Ukrainian value-mental tradition, 2) our own experience of democratic development in recent decades, 3) the political will to embrace European values. The latter means that Ukraine voluntarily undertook the obligation to meet the Copenhagen criteria, including to demonstrate the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, rule of law, human rights and protection of minorities. In the political circles of Ukraine, there is a "plan to restart the state", which boils down to structural changes in the system of public administration. Ukraine needs qualitative changes in the system of political relations, it is necessary to eliminate the contradiction between the form and content of political institutions. Archaic practices, nepotism, eastern methods of holding power by suppressing the opposition, corruption in the state apparatus and purely criminal practices are hidden behind the modern facade. War not only destroys, but also gives impulses for development through the mobilization of the nation's forces. We have a chance to restart political institutions and consolidate new structures born of war. We must pay attention to the institution of national resistance, which, through the movement of territorial defense and the volunteer movement, led to a situation of social filtering. As a result, strata of people crystallized, for whom the public good is higher than selfish interests. It is important not to lose the energy of the masses after the war and to use the patriotic movement to build political institutions.

The article analyzes citizenship as a value system of a person (interests, principles, beliefs, ideas), which are the motives of his or her activism. Traditionally, this phenomenon has been studied through the connection of the individual with the social community, where activity is a systemic social quality, and public interests dominate over the individual. Another approach considers activity as an opportunity for a person to realize his or her interests and needs, combining individualism with various forms of solidarity and mutual assistance. This constructive view is consistent with the principles of subsidiary democracy and expands the field of civic participation.
Activity is defined as a system of human value orientations that motivate it to conscious actions aimed to the implementation of cultural, social, political and civic values, with a reasonable ratio of personal and social. In the information society, new forms of activity took shape, namely: discussions and propaganda of one's own position in social networks, mobilization of participation. Public associations form a sense of trust, solidarity, social responsibility, civic patriotism, and contribute to the accumulation of social capital. In connection with the processes of decentralization, the issue of participation in urban communities is of particular relevance, as cities create the country's economic and cultural power.
The results of a sociological study in the city of Melitopol indicate that the national-patriotic, environmental, charitable and volunteer organizations are the most significant for its residents. At the same time, the majority of respondents take part in their activities situationally, but consciously and voluntarily, which is consistent with national trends. The city has a certain resource of civic participation, which can help to increase its social capital.

The revolutionary transition of power to democratic forces after the "dignity revolution" in 2014 in Ukraine did not indicate the absence of contradictions within the new ruling class, because patriotic and devotion to democratic transformation are not the only condition for the consolidation of the ruling class. The democratic theory of the elite, which corresponds to the essence of the designated form of government, recognizes the existence of a select minority (elite) in each of the social spheres, which owns intellectual and voluntary law, not leadership. The relations between the elites are not stable, but on the contrary may become exacerbated in the fractured periods of history In the countries of "young democracy", the relationship between the political and military elite is controversial lace of relations, because the military elite represents a closed "group of interests" in politics, so it can move from supporting the ruling class to a strong opponent of relations. Even the neutral position of the military elite includes a variant of interference in political processes of power scale. Revolutionary changes on Ukraine's path to European integration may have been deeply embedded in the formation of a new military elite that has tempered itself in the armed struggle with the Russian-separatist forces, was engaged in joint exercises, and most importantly, in business cooperation with representatives of the military elites of the West, which have a long tradition Serious interaction with the ruling class. Taking into account that social and political processes in Ukraine can be compared with developing countries, the whole set of contradictory relations between the political and military elite in our country should be directed to the general line of constitutional-legal civil-military relations.

The paper addresses the social, economic, environmental and legal bases of the modern Environmental state formation and prospects of this state's construction in Ukraine on the grounds of realization of the state policy. Peculiarities of realization of separate principles of the state policy, capable of promoting the formation of the environmental state, are considered. Based on the analysis of the formation of such states in some countries, the paper studies the ways to improve the legal framework for the formation of an environmentally friendly society, environmental partnership, as the main way to build an environmental state, and to ensure parity of environmental, economic and social needs in the context of sustaina-ble development. Particular attention is paid to the formation of the ecological paradigm as the basis for environmental legal consciousness of the whole society. This will allow the revision of values in relation to nature and recognize nature at the level of the Constitution of Ukraine as the basic social value. Attention is also paid to the structure, forms, methods, and content of environmental partnership, which can influence various factors in the formation of environmental state. It is proved that the main form of environmental partnership in modern conditions is a public-private partnership and that the latter is able to ensure the implementation of the effective environmental projects in the areas of natural resources restoration, waste management, eco-tourism etc. According to the structure, the environmental partnership is proposed to be considered as a set of institutional, regulatory, functional and communicative subsystems, possible content of which is also revealed. On the basis of the conducted research, the independent scientific conclusions and judgments on the analysed subjects are suggested and the ways of perfection of the current legislation of Ukraine on the outlined questions are offered. Keywords: ecological democracy, environmental paradigm, environmental legal awareness, environmental policy, the principle of environmental partnership, environmental legislation.

It has become an axiom in the scientific literature that any civic engagement contributes to democratic transit and the development of civil society. However, different types of this behavior may have different determinants. These may be actions motivated by civic norms and values, but may also be actions driven by financial encouragement or administrative pressure, especially in transitional democracies. The purpose of the study was to identify the impact of modernization values and orientations on different types of civic activism. The author created an indicator where among the options for the answers was offered a list of socio-political measures that were most relevant at the time of the survey. The substantive side of these activities combined the way and the object of communicating their public aspirations and interests. The most common are discussion forms of civil practices that are individualized. These practices do not require much organizational or collective effort and do not require direct interaction with political or governmental institutions. Practices that combine economic activities also have individualized traits, but they require financial costs or sample consumption, so they are less common. Socio-political practices, civic-local practices and protest-demonstration practices are even less common because they require organizational or collective efforts. Five types of civic practices of the Ukrainian population have been empirically identified and their relationship with democracy and liberal values tested. By means of multiple linear regression method, there was found that only civic practices that combine an ethical consumerism, financial donations and political discussions claim that their subjects could be considered as a social basis of Ukraine's democratic transit. The likelihood of such actions increases with the increase of education levels, decrease of age and living in large settlements. The paradox is that people who profess values of modernization are ready to fund activists, among whom these values are not traced.

The transformation of spiritual and educational practices in contemporary culture is analyzed. Spirituality is considered as the basis of modern Ukrainian identity. It is proved that Ukrainian post-colonial discourse is not possible without the interaction of the modern and postmodern identity type. This is a critique of the modern and postmodern way of seeing the problem. Cultural and social consequences of the first stage of the information society, the first stage of globalization are: internal fragmentation of the workforce of information producers and the rest; social exclusion of many individuals and entire segments of society. A new stage in the development of identities should consolidate society. It turns out that the dialogic nature of communication forms identity as knowledge of the nature of its own Self, ready to respond to the challenges of the Other, thus not only my identity is formed, but my place in the world, my spirituality, the limits of my values. The modern type of identity is associated with a nation-state, which tries to maximize its influence, the modern type of identity produces a colonial world, where there is a clear division into metropolis and colony, a special type of colonies are internal colonies. In the case of Ukraine, we can see the complex combination of external and internal colonialism, and the particular danger of internal colonialism lies in the fact that it remains unclear to the end who conqueror, but who is subdued. The postmodern identity type in the Slobozhanschyna culture is connected with the rethinking of modernity, it is not so critical, but unifying. Human beings in a globalized world must rely on the renewal of humanistic ideals, a sense of home and security. A new ethics is proposed based on the principles of freedom, democracy and respect for every individuality that extends a new understanding of spirituality in connection with national culture and national outlook.

This paper examines the problem of large capital influence on public policy. The main sources of corruption in modern societies are considered: clientelism and rent-seeking. It was identified and analyzed the problem of clientelism in developed democracy and in States with unstable institutional environment, including Ukraine. Clientelism involves such relationships, which are based on a mutually beneficial services exchange between persons of different status and power, the client is usually provided with protection in exchange for his loyalty and political support. The stability of client-patrimonial connections is profitable for both socially unequal sides: for patron, for them these links are the mechanisms of their influence, and for the clientage - a form of protection. In turn, the economic rent is received by advocacy groups through a monopoly on scarce resources or through access to an administrative resource (the ability of the government, local authorities to create artificial shortages, licensing mechanisms, import tariffs regulation, tax rate regulation, open bidding with "special" conditions, etc.). The problem of the rentier formation and functioning, both in developed democracies and in States with unstable institutional environment, in particular in Ukraine, is analyzed. The first approach, under the "rentier", is understood by persons who live on the basis of rent, that is, income derived from capital, usually in the form of bank deposits, securities, revenues from real estate, land, business, copyright, etc. According to this definition, there is no clear distribution between the rentier and the entrepreneur. The second approach, understands not the sources of income of individuals, but the way of their lives. At that, this way of life absolutely contrasts with the way of life of an entrepreneur. The main threats to society in connection with the functioning of clients and rent-seeking groups in societies like the Ukrainian one are identified.

The article analyzes corruption as an extra-legal phenomenon that destroys the morality and values of society, threatens democracy and human rights, deforms the functions of state power, discrediting it both within the country and in the international arena. It is noted that the formation of dysfunctions in the sphere of public administration is not the main socio-political danger of corruption.The threat of "corrosion" and gradual destruction of social ties in the system of state regulation, public control and the functioning of social institutions is creating. The sociological and legal interpretation of corruption made it possible to study it as a trigger that weakens statehood, to reveal the social mechanism of the influence of corruption ties on state institutions, to assess the political, economic, legal, socio-structural and psychological factors of its spread. The authors characterize foreign and domestic "models" of corruption and ways of counteracting it from the standpoint of the ontological approach; she also has identified social markers that reflect its specificity in Ukraine; a real assessment of the degree of effectiveness of anti-corruption actions in Ukraine are presented; the expediency of analyzing corruption in the international aspect, especially the mechanisms, forms and methods of Ukrainian corruption spreading in the world corruption services and the penetration of transnational corruption into the Ukrainian political and economic space; it is also revealed the effect of the social mechanism of corruption in the structure of the state, as a result of which the process of state regulation loses its morality and social value. It is shown that the stable, actively "mutating", adaptive to the majority of social changes, the nature of corruption in Ukraine does not only forms and reproduces the tolerant attitude of government and a significant part of the public, but it also actively inhibits democratic transformations and deforms the public consciousness of Ukrainians. It is emphasized that "salus populi" is the most pragmatic option among the systemic models of fighting corruption (totalitarian, authoritarian, liberal).

The article deals with methodological bases for the of research on the mechanism for of law-making of a unitary state. The article is devoted to the study of the nature and role of methodology in the formation of the Ukraine's legal system during the law-making mechanism. Much attention is given to problematic approaches to determining methodological bases in law-making mechanism. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current state of lawmaking in Ukraine and to make proposals based on the methodology of law. The article explores the concept of methodology on the basis of which the methodological bases of lawmaking are determined. The author states that the methodology of research on lawmaking should cover the analysis of scientific approaches and application of own methods, which allow to identify the most essential characteristics of this legal phenomenon, to distinguish structural elements, to indicate the ways of the most effective preparation and adoption of legal acts. Law-making process is a form of the state activity intended for on the creation (or revision) of legal norms. The law-making process and the role of the legisla- tive bodies in it are based on the constitutional principles of democracy, separation of powers, social state. Scientific search for a theoretical and methodological tool for considering and solving the problems of lawmaking is carried out within the framework of legal positivism – consideration of law as a set of norms established and sanctioned by the state, the violation of which is followed by measures of state coercion. This implies the rejection of the metaphysical side, related to the disclosure of the essence of legal phenomena. The problem of specification as a legal phenome- non is considered. At the heart of the author's research there are the methods used to investigate the elaboration of law-making. The author comes to a conclusion that the choice of a certain method in the course of a specification will promote the improvement of this process as an important legal phenomenon as well as the improvement of modern legislativeprocess.