ISSN 1648-2603 (print) ISSN 2029-2872 (online) VIEŠOJI POLITIKA IR ADMINISTRAVIMAS PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION 2023, T. 22, Nr. 4 / 2023, Vol. 22, No 4, p. 463–476. EUROPEANIZATION AND THE LOCAL POLITICAL CULTURE AS CHALLENGES FOR PUBLIC POLICY IN THE SLOVAK-UKRAINIAN BORDERLAND Myroslava Lendel Department of the Political Science and Public Administration, Uzhhorod National University, 3 Narodna Square, Uzhhorod, Ukraine Liudmyla Rishko Department of the Political Science and Public Administration, Uzhhorod National University, 3 Narodna Square, Uzhhorod, Ukraine DOI: 10.13165/VPA-23-22-4-06 Abstract. Tis article focuses on the interaction between local factors and the process of Europeanization as a factor of both residents’ political orientations and public policy in the Kosice and Presov border regions of Slovakia and the Zakarpattia region of Ukraine. Te study used data collected via the Delphi method along with statistical empirics, contempo- rary notions of Europeanization, and border and local studies to fnd answers to the main research questions. Local factors resulting from the historical path of development have a signifcant infuence on residents’ political culture and public policy, as demonstrated by nepotism, a general hostility toward elites, and a diference in activism between urban and rural areas. However, there is already evidence that the political culture in the Slovak- Ukrainian borderland and the relevant policy process have been signifcantly impacted by Europeanization. Both public participation in local and regional development and the infuence of non-governmental organizations serve as examples of this trend. Changes in the political culture of borderland residents under the infuence of other factors are not, however, the focus of this article, and will be an issue for future research. Keywords: public policy, local political culture; Europeanization; borderland; local/ regional development. Reikšminiai žodžiai: viešoji politika; lokalinė politinė kultūra; europeizavimas; pasienio regionas; regionų vystymas.