Basic Democratic Values and Their Impact on Development of the Civil Society in Europe

In recent decades, social and political practice allows for stating successful dissemination of the principles of democratic development, since Western democratic standards are supported by the East European states nowadays. Political and legal theoretical studies of democracy are noted to have multiple dimensions which are based on certain social ideas and values.
The examples of adherence to the democratic standards among leading European institutions are given. The civil society is proved to exceptionally exist under the democratic conditions ensuring democratic development of the governmental institutions and the state. In the Western democracies, one can observe efficient operation of the legal system and only non-systemic violations of human rights.
Factors of formation and development of democracy are considered. The main one is stressed to be the strict adherence to laws, procedures, democratic principles and values by all the state authoritative bodies, political parties, and representatives of the civil society. Therefore, formation of the powerful civil society in Ukraine is underlined to be a part of its democratic development and a proof of its belonging to the European cultural and civilization area.
Keywords: democracy, values, civil society, Council of Europe, European Union.

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Andriy KUDRIACHENKO