OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF LIQUID DEMOCRACY AS A TOOL OF REGIONAL GOVERNANCE

This article explores the potential of liquid democracy as a mechanism for enhancing regional governance in the context of Ukraine’s digital transformation. Combining a conceptual analysis of the model with an agent-based simulation, the study aims to examine the conditions under which flexible delegation and direct civic participation can improve responsiveness and legitimacy in public decision-making. The theoretical part outlines the institutional logic of liquid democracy, including its four core components: direct participation, flexible delegation, meta-delegation, and revocability. Special attention is paid to its relevance for local governance, where proximity, social trust, and lower informational asymmetries create favorable conditions for implementation. The agent-based simulation was developed using Python (Mesa framework) and involved 10,000 agents distributed across urban socio-geographic clusters. The model tested four scenarios: baseline, crisis, recovery, and an optimistic «epidemic-like» diffusion with digital superinfluencers. The results demonstrate that the adoption of liquid democracy tools is highly sensitive to local social influence, digital literacy, and the emergence of trust bridges between clusters. Crisis scenarios revealed strong systemic vulnerability when central «hubs» (agents with many delegated votes) are removed, while recovery depends on the timely emergence of new local leaders. The model suggests that liquid democracy is not a technologically neutral tool: its diffusion depends on behavioral logic, socio-political context, and network structures. These findings have practical implications for the design of municipal e-participation strategies and highlight the importance of fostering socially embedded digital engagement infrastructures in large urban environments. Moreover, the study underlines the need for hybrid approaches that integrate digital innovation with social capital development, ensuring more inclusive and resilient democratic practices adapted to volatile socio-political environments.