Scientific Works of Interregional Academy of Personnel Management. Political Sciences and Public Management

INTERGENERATIONAL SHIFT BETWEEN TRADITIONAL ROMANIPEN AND DIGITAL HYPERMODERNITY

2026-10-29T16:08:26+02:00

Global social changes – accelerated digitalization, socioeconomic insecurity, and individualization – are also affecting more closed communities. In the environment of marginalized Roma communities (MRK) in Slovakia, the traditional unwritten code of values (romanipen) is confronted with the norms and patterns of Western hypermodernity. The main objective of the study is to examine the transformation of the value orientations of the Roma minority in Slovakia under the influence of modernization and digital processes. The study focuses on intergenerational shifts, the transformation of family structures, the authority of elders, and the influence of social networks on the identity of Roma youth. The research was designed as a qualitative ethnographic study using in-depth interviews (n = 18) and focus groups (n = 4; N = 24) with three groups of actors: traditional authorities and seniors in settlements, Roma youth (Generation Z) and field social workers in selected locations in eastern and central Slovakia (Ntotal = 42). The findings show that while the older generation of Roma strictly adheres to the traditional values of family solidarity, respect for elders and the informal code of Romanipen, the youngest generation is subject to massive digital acculturation. Among Roma youth, there is a shift from collective norms to individual success, a consumer lifestyle and self-representation on social networks. However, this shift creates value uncertainty (anomie), as youth encounter a double barrier: rejection of traditional rules in the settlement and at the same time persistent ethnic discrimination in the majority society. The transformation of values in Roma communities requires sensitive bridging of the intergenerational gap. Social policies and inclusive education must reflect the specifics of Roma identity in the digital age and support projects that combine respect for the positive elements of Romanipen with the development of critical thinking and digital literacy.

TRANSFORMATION OF POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN HYBRID DEMOCRACIES THROUGH THE RECONFIGURATION OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY DIMENSIONS: THE UKRAINIAN CASE

2026-10-29T16:18:22+02:00

The article examines the political responsibility transformation in hybrid democracies through the changing configuration of governmental accountability. It argues that political responsibility and accountability are closely related but not identical categories: accountability refers primarily to the control structures, explanation, justification, and evaluation of political activity, whereas political responsibility concerns the grounds and consequences of responsibility for politically significant actions, decisions, roles, and outcomes. The study analyzes vertical, horizontal, societal, and diagonal accountability dimensions and demonstrates that in hybrid democracies their operation is characterized by asymmetry, uneven effectiveness, selective control, and a gap between the formal existence of democratic institutions and their actual capacity to generate politically meaningful consequences. It is shown that the weakening of one channel of control does not necessarily eliminate the possibility of political responsibility, since other dimensions of accountability may partially perform a compensatory function. Particular attention is paid to the civil society role, the media, and non-state actors in societal and diagonal accountability and to their interaction with formal institutions of control. Using Ukraine as a case study, the article identifies the interaction of two processes of different origin: regime-related transformation and wartime transformation. It is argued that the hybrid nature of the political system produces an asymmetric configuration of accountability, while the war and martial law have temporarily restricted the electoral component of vertical accountability and increased the relative importance of horizontal, societal, and diagonal forms of control. The article concludes that the transformation of political responsibility in hybrid democracies is determined primarily by changes in the actual capacity, interaction, and effectiveness of different dimensions of accountability rather than by the mere formal existence of democratic institutions.

THE ROLE OF ELECTORAL POLITICAL SCIENCE IN THE PREPARATION AND FORECASTING OF POST-WAR ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE

2026-10-29T16:28:23+02:00

The article examines the role of electoral political science as a specialised branch of political science in the preparation, scholarly support and forecasting of the first post-war national elections in Ukraine. It is argued that post-war elections will constitute an unprecedented challenge for Ukrainian democracy, as they will take place amid large-scale demographic dislocation (over six million citizens abroad and almost four million internally displaced persons), damaged electoral infrastructure, an outdated State Voter Register, persistent security threats and intense external information interference. The study systematises the principal functions of electoral political science in this context: analytical-diagnostic (monitoring of electoral attitudes and public trust), normative-institutional (scholarly substantiation of electoral law reform in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ ODIHR), methodological (adaptation of survey instruments to wartime and migration conditions) and prognostic (construction of scenario models of electoral competition). Drawing on comparative analysis of data from leading polling agencies for 2024–2026, the article characterises the configuration of the potential electoral field, analyses the ratings of probable candidates and develops three scenarios of the post-war electoral process. It is concluded that a two-round presidential contest will most likely produce competition between the incumbent president and a representative of the military-driven demand for renewal, with the outcome determined by election timing, the character of the war’s end, veteran mobilisation and out-of-country voting

SELF-IDENTIFICATION OF PRYKARPATTIA MEDIA IN WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES: LANGUAGE OF INVOLVEMENT, TOPICS AND SOURCES

2026-10-30T08:45:33+02:00

The article analyzes the specifics of self-identification of Prykarpattia media in their work with territorial communities through the prism of hyper-local discourse. The relevance of the study is driven by the growing role of local media under decentralization, the development of participatory journalism, and the strengthening of interaction between editorial offices and the local population. The purpose of the article is to identify the features of self-identification of Prykarpattia media in working with territorial communities by analyzing hyper-local discourse, including linguistic markers of participatoriness, thematic priorities, and the specifics of using information sources. The methodological basis for the study was an online expert survey of 20 representatives of print and online media, as well as television and radio companies in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, alongside an analysis of media texts. The results demonstrated that local media in Prykarpattia pay appropriate attention to the life of territorial communities: they regularly publish materials on their problems, engage residents in proposing topics, and use communication with them as a key source of information. At the same time, an uneven coverage of the territory was revealed, particularly the underrepresentation of remote, mountainous, and rural communities. It was established that most editorial offices only partially identify their activities as hyper-local: despite focusing on the everyday needs of the region, they do not always systematically apply audience engagement tools and linguistic markers of participatoriness. The language of involvement functions primarily as a means of emotional and value solidarity rather than an established editorial strategy. The findings confirm the prerequisites for developing hyper-local discourse in the Prykarpattia media landscape and highlight the necessity of strengthening participatory practices in local newsrooms

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE MEDIA SPACE: BETWEEN TECHNOLOGICAL EFFICIENCY AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY

2026-10-29T16:38:01+02:00

This study analyzes the ethical challenges associated with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in modern journalism. The primary objective is to identify key ethical concerns (accuracy, transparency, accountability, privacy), evaluate their impact on media practices, and propose recommendations for integrating AI without compromising journalistic standards. The research employs a combination of theoretical and empirical approaches. A review of academic literature by Ukrainian and international scholars was conducted using analysis, synthesis, and comparative research methods. The empirical component is based on a case study approach, examining highprofile AI-related incidents in journalism from 2023, including automated news generation, fake «AI authors», and fabricated interviews. The selected cases (CNET, Sports Illustrated, Die Aktuelle, Microsoft Travel) provide insights into the real consequences of ethical violations. The findings indicate that AI-driven journalism poses significant ethical risks, such as inaccuracy and algorithmic bias, lack of transparency in AI-generated content, dilution of accountability between editorial teams and AI systems, and privacy concerns related to data processing. Case analysis reveals that insufficient oversight of AI in media leads to scandals, loss of public trust, and legal consequences. Despite AI’s potential to enhance journalistic efficiency, it cannot replace journalists, as serious ethical risks arise in the absence of human oversight. To ensure the ethical use of AI in journalism, media organizations must implement clear transparency policies, enforce human fact-checking of AI-generated content, conduct ethical audits to monitor algorithmic bias, and protect personal data to prevent privacy violations. The scientific novelty of this study lies in its comprehensive examination of AI’s impact on journalistic ethics and the development of practical recommendations for the media industry on the responsible adoption of emerging technologies.

GONZO JOURNALISM AS A MODEL OF POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY AND THE REPRESENTATION OF A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

2026-10-29T16:48:44+02:00

This article examines the phenomenon of gonzo journalism as an alternative model of political documentary journalism, using the example of representation of the election campaign in Hunter S. Thompson’s book “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72”. It analyzes the process of deconstructing traditional media standards and the concept of “objectivity,” it also highlights the dangers of conformism for journalists. For the first time, this study highlights the typological similarity between Hunter S. Thompson’s “Rhythm Logic,” and the feuilleton principle of organizing material based on free association. It has been established that the composition is based not on a sequential chronological presentation of the material, but on an associative approach that combines real-life episodes with political analysis, descriptions of everyday life, the author’s existential experiences, and satirical and ironic fantasies. It has been demonstrated that it is precisely this associative composition that ensures the book’s internal unity, shapes its uniqueness, and determines the manner in which political reality is represented. This article examines the transformation of traditional political reporting under the influence of gonzo journalism and identifies its characteristics as an authorial model for representing political reality. It is demonstrated that the immersive gonzo method is a fully-fledged tool of political documentary journalism that is highly effective in conveying the emotional and psychological truth of the electoral process The study examines the mechanisms for combining factual accuracy with literary and journalistic techniques that enable a multi-layered understanding of political reality. It has been established that subjectivity in gonzo journalism does not negate the documentary basis but serves as a means of interpreting political events, thereby expanding the possibilities of journalistic analysis and political reporting

INFLUENCE MARKETING PHENOMENON: ADVANTAGES AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

2026-10-30T09:03:07+02:00

The article examines influence marketing as a tool for promoting brand products and services with the participation of opinion leaders. It has been established that influence marketing allows to increase brand recognition among a wide audience and strengthen consumer loyalty to the brand, integrate the brand into social networks or strengthen the brand’s communication interaction with the audience on a certain platform, advertise the brand’s products and reveal its advantages or benefits from purchasing, etc. A current classification of influencers has been developed based on such features as the status and level of expertise of the influencer, his niche expertise and platform for influence creation, the number of followers in social networks, the regularity of cooperation with the brand, the implementation of certain functions during interaction with the brand, the payment format and the creativity of the concept during cooperation with the brand. The advantages of influence marketing are summarized and it is emphasized that influence marketing is universal in terms of popularizing goods and services from different niches, and also has variable formats for cooperation between a brand and opinion leaders, including product or product reviews, bloggers unboxing gifts or press packs from brands, sponsored content or paid advertising, brand ambassadorship, holding contests, raffles, flash mobs or challenges, providing promotional codes for discounts, participating in collaborations. The transformation of influence marketing under the impact of changes in audience behavior and technological development is outlined. The following trends in the development of influence marketing are highlighted: the formation of strategies using artificial intelligence, changes in approaches to brand cooperation with influencers, as well as the emergence of a new type of content from influencers driven by the phenomenon of de-influence. It was found that in order to effectively use influence marketing brands adhere to a certain algorithm of the influence architecture. In particular, they implement influence marketing campaigns through preparatory, creative and analytical stages, and also establish cooperation with the influencer taking into account legal aspects – fixation of ethical requirements, reputational risks and terms of cooperation

MODELING SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTENT IN REGIONAL TELEVISION BROADCASTING

2026-10-30T09:11:51+02:00

The article examines the issue of high-quality coverage of socio-economic topics in regional TV news amidst the transformation of the media landscape–a process driven by the global development of the information society and wartime challenges. It substantiates the use of the modeling method as an effective tool for the comprehensive study of media processes. A conceptual model for generating socio-economic content on regional TV channels has been developed, encompassing normative-value, organizational, thematic-content, source-related, genre-format, narrative-framing, linguistic-stylistic, and functional-outcome components. The study substantiates the role of the regional dimension as a cross-cutting factor in adapting national socio-economic processes to the needs of local audiences. The proposed model is operationalized through the definition of indicators measuring the quality of coverage regarding socio-economic issues. It is demonstrated that the developed model can serve as an analytical tool for evaluating regional television news content and improving editorial practices.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF PARLIAMENTARY TELEVISION BROADCASTING IN UKRAINE: EUROPEAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONAL MODELS OF A MULTIMEDIA SERVICE

2026-10-30T09:20:44+02:00

The article examines the reform of parliamentary television broadcasting in Ukraine in the context of European standards of freedom of expression, media independence and public service media. Particular attention is paid to the institutional and legal status of the Ukrainian parliamentary television channel “Rada”, its funding and governance arrangements, and competing approaches to defining its functions. The study analyses the Council of Europe’s 2023 legal expertise concerning proposed legislative amendments on parliamentary broadcasting in Ukraine, focusing on two different approaches: limiting parliamentary broadcasting to the transmission of the work of the Verkhovna Rada and its committees, or expanding the channel’s remit to include the production of a broad range of editorial media content. European models of parliamentary audiovisual services are examined, including arrangements operated by public service broadcasters, parliamentary institutions, or combinations of the two. The article argues for a clear distinction between parliamentary information services and editorial media. It proposes considering the reform of parliamentary broadcasting in Ukraine as part of a broader transition from a conventional television channel towards a multimedia parliamentary media service. The study identifies the main institutional prerequisites for such reform: editorial independence, transparent governance and funding, a clearly defined public function, open access to parliamentary content and adaptation to the digital media environment. The relevance of the topic regarding the transformation of Ukraine’s parliamentary broadcaster from a state-owned entity into a public service medium stems from the challenges associated with the transition of public media from state control to public service, as well as the shift from traditional analog broadcasting to digital content distribution.