Local Self-Government as a Space for the Formation of Civic Culture: Dialogue, Deliberation, and Mediation

The article examines the conditions under which civic culture develops through practices of local self-government. The author discusses the dual public-authority and civic nature of local self-government and the tension between the diversity of local life and the centralization of public administration. Horizontal interaction is understood as residents’ participation in collective decisions and joint action for the common good. The theoretical framework draws on social-philosophical approaches to the relationship between the individual and society developed by A.P. Davydov, A.A. Auzan, V.A. Lektorsky, S.V. Patrushev, and other scholars. A conceptual analysis of dialogue, deliberation, and mediation is used to examine how differing interests can be coordinated while participants retain their autonomy. Particular attention is paid to collective reflection as a way for local communities to interpret everyday experience and reconsider the grounds for joint action. The article analyzes formal and informal interactions and the possibilities and limits of online communication. It emphasizes the link between discussing a local problem, implementing a decision, and assessing its consequences. Civic culture develops when the experience gained through participation informs later interactions. This requires connecting discussion with the implementation of decisions, evaluating outcomes, and revising agreements. Mediation becomes relevant when such revision concerns the very grounds on which interests are coordinated. Institutionalizing dialogue means establishing procedures that give residents influence over decisions while preserving opportunities to raise objections and revise the rules of joint action. The civic potential of local self-government depends on whether individual initiatives build residents’ lasting capacity to determine and change the conditions of their shared life.

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