Latvia’s regional reform and its significance for the transformation of local government in Ukraine and Moldova in a changing environment

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the preconditions, nature and consequences of the Latvian reform, as well as to assess the feasibility of applying its individual mechanisms in Ukraine and Moldova within an unstable external environment. The methodological framework of the study was based on the integration of institutional, structuralfunctional, regulatory-legal, comparative budgetary, spatial and comparative analysis, the method of retrospective comparison of time series, case analysis, institutional modelling, analysis of institutional compatibility and the modelling method. The study found that administrative consolidation without prior strengthening of administrative procedures does not ensure the levelling out of regional disparities. The analysis revealed that the adaptability of governance is determined by the level of coordination, human resource capacity and the integration of digital tools. The results showed that replicating the administrative consolidation model does not produce the same effects in different countries due to differences in the structure of local government and the resource base. In Ukraine, the constraint was not the number of territorial units, but the imbalance in administrative capacity between communities, which was exacerbated by uneven economic development. In the case of Moldova, the analysis revealed the persistence of a fragmented administrative structure, which limits the effectiveness of devolution and hinders the implementation of cohesion policy. A synthesis of the results showed that the implementation of administrative consolidation approaches in Ukraine and Moldova requires a combination of institutional strengthening, financial diversification and the development of digital governance. The practical significance is determined by the formation of an analytical framework for public authorities, think tanks and policymakers involved in reforming the system of territorial administration in Ukraine and Moldova.