Student youth evaluation of implementation of social contract practices in the sphere of regional and municipal administration

The article examines the problem of the social contract implementation through the evaluations of future specialists in the field of state and municipal governance (SMU). The relevance of the study is determined by the need to analyze the conditions and tools that ensure the high-quality reproduction of the social contract in regional governance practices. The focus is on the evaluative positions of student youth as future governance actors, whose assessments reveal not only expectations from the state but also their potential to participate in transforming governance practices. The study uses data from a mass survey of SMU students from 14 regions of the Russian Federation, covering assessments of the implementation of the basic elements of the social contract, established practices, and systemic deficiencies in regional and municipal governance. The analysis is based on the conceptual foundations of the social contract outlined in the works of Zh. T. Toshchenko and the anthroposocietal approach by N. I. Lapin, in which the disparity in relations between authorities and citizens serves as an integral indicator of tension requiring constant readjustment of the governance system. The results of the analysis of assessments by students – future SMU specialists – show that, overall, respondents positively evaluate the implementation of the basic elements of the social contract, particularly in the areas of education, healthcare, spiritual and physical development. Positive evaluations were also given to practices of interaction between authorities and the population – consideration of public opinion, communication, and activity in solving problems. However, serious dysfunctions were also identified: 11 out of 14 analyzed deficiencies cause concern, including an excess of coordination procedures, formalism, authoritarian management style, and imitation of activity. A multistage analysis (χ², Pearson correlations) revealed latent associations between socio-demographic characteristics and the perception of governance practices, as well as negative correlations between dysfunctions and elements of the social contract. This confirms A. V. Tikhonov’s thesis on the necessity of fundamental scientific, including sociological and managerial, support for the processes of formation and implementation of the social contract.