Political system of society: concept, structure, functions. Concept, structure and functions of the political system. The main function of the political system of society
In order to study the concept and structure of a political system, it is first necessary to find out what the concept of “system” means. Any system is characterized by two properties:
It consists of a collection of interconnected parts;
She separates herself from the environment with which she interacts.
Political systems are a special type of social systems, but they are the first to participate in government.
Politic system society is a set of political institutions, socio-political communities and interactions between them, in which political power is exercised.
The political system consists of several subsystems:
1) Institutional subsystem – a set of institutions related to the functioning of political power;
2) Ideological subsystem - a set of political ideas, views, perceptions, feelings of participants in political life;
3) Normative subsystem – a set of political norms and traditions regulating political life;
4) Communication subsystem – a set of relationships and forms of interactions regarding the organization of political life;
5) Cultural subsystem - a complex of typical patterns, political ideas and behavior."
The political system does not coincide with the administrative one. In addition to the administrative system with its prescribed and strictly regulated roles, there is a “playing space” that is not included in administrative system people who have political capital, which one or another agent is able to invest in a joint-stock company called a “political system”.
Such political capital can be knowledge, support from influential groups, the ability to control the factors that shape public opinion and so on.
“The concept of “political system” is used to characterize the relationship between the state and society, between various social actors at the non-state level. In American political science, the political system is interpreted as the totality of all social structures in their political aspects. According to the definition of the American political scientist G. Almond, the political system, in addition to political institutions, includes social and economic structures, historical traditions and values of society, and the cultural context of its development.”
The political system consists of subsystems that are interconnected and interact with each other; and also ensure the functioning of public authority.
“The institutional subsystem includes the state, political parties, socio-economic and public organizations and the relations between them.
The normative subsystem includes legal, political, moral norms and values, traditions, and customs.
The functional subsystem is methods of political activity, ways of exercising power.
Communication subsystem – forms of political interaction inside and outside the system.”
Among the functions of the political system, it is important to note the following:
Function of political socialization;
Adaptation function;
Regulation function;
Reaction function;
Distributive function;
Extraction function.
The most important institution of the political system is the state.
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Society consists of many subsystems: economic, political, social, spiritual-ideological, legal, etc. The political system, being one of the subsystems of the overall social system, occupies a special place in it. Politic system - this is a system institutions and relations that determine political life society and those exercising state power.
It can, in turn, be divided into three main subsystems: institutional, normative-legal and functional-communicative.
Institutional subsystem – includes the entire set of political institutions, both formalized and non-formalized. Towards formalized institutions include: the state, government institutions and bodies, political parties, socio-political associations and organizations, pressure groups, etc.
To unformalized institutions include rallies, pickets, processions, demonstrations, election campaigns, etc. During the period of mass political actions (elections, referendums), the political system expands its boundaries through informal institutions.
Regulatory legal subsystem create those laws and legal norms that determine the functional specifications of each political institution, each political role, establish the limits of their competence, methods of interaction and areas of responsibility. In modern society, the basis of the normative legal subsystem is the norms of constitutional law.
Functional-communicative subsystem represents a set of relations that arise in the process of functioning of the political system. These relations are determined by the level of development of society, legal norms, the balance of political forces, political culture, the political consciousness of citizens, methods of political behavior, the historical traditions of the country, the media, etc.
The political system is a multifunctional structure that includes components:
institutional, consisting of various socio-political institutions and institutions (state, political parties, social movements);
functional (forms and directions of political activity, ways and methods of exercising power, means of influencing public life);
regulatory (Constitution, laws, political principles);
communicative – a set of relations between the subjects of the political system regarding power;
ideological (political consciousness, political and legal culture).
Exists a number of functions, which are mandatory for the preservation and development of the political system as a whole.
coordination of interests of various social strata, classes, groups. Relieving social tension in society;
determination of common goals, objectives and ways of development of society;
development of specific activity programs and organization of their implementation;
distribution, redistribution of material and spiritual values between various social communities and spheres of society;
political socialization of citizens: preparation and inclusion of individuals in the system of existing political relations;
control over the preservation of existing institutions and legal norms and introduction of new ones.
The main function of the political system is the management of all social relations, all systems of a particular society. There are various reasons for determining the type of political system:
Depending on the type of society and the nature of the political regime, political systems can be divided into totalitarian, authoritarian and democratic
depending on the type of ideology ruling in society - communist, fascist, liberal, Islamic and etc.
The formational (class) approach involves dividing political systems into types of socio-economic formations: slaveholding, feudal, bourgeois, socialist.
The civilizational approach proposes a division of political systems into types of civilization: traditional(pre-industrial) industrial, post-industrial(informational).
in terms of the degree of openness to the external environment and the ability to perceive innovations from the outside - by open And closed.
by the nature of the relationship between the center and the places – on decentralized And centralized.
Types of political systems.
Political regime is one of the forms of the political system of a society with its characteristic goals, means and methods of implementation political power. The political regime gives an idea of the essence of state power established in the country during a certain period of its history. There are three main forms of political regimes: totalitarian, authoritarian, democratic.
Totalitarianism –(Latin Totalis - whole, whole, complete) political regime in which the state completely subjugates all spheres of life of society and the individual. It is precisely the comprehensiveness of its supervision that totalitarianism differs from all other forms of state violence - despotism, tyranny, military dictatorship, etc. The political system of totalitarianism, as a rule, is a strictly centralized party-state structure that exercises control over the entire society, preventing the emergence of any - or public and political organizations outside this control. For any totalitarian regime, the characteristic features are: military and paramilitary organization of society, a constant search for internal and external (enemies), periodic creation of extreme situations, a rigid vertical of power.
Authoritarianism– (from Lat. . Auctoritas power, influence, auctor - initiator, founder, author) – political regime characterized by concentration of all power in one person (monarch, dictator) or the ruling group. Authoritarianism is characterized by: high centralization of power, nationalization of many parties public life, command-administrative methods of leadership, unconditional submission to power, alienation of the people from power, prevention of real political opposition, restriction of freedom of the press. The political structure of an authoritarian regime does not provide for a real separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial. Although formally all these power structures may exist.
Democracy –(Greek Demos - people and kratos - power) power of the people or democracy. This is a form of state, its political regime, with in which the people or their majority are carriers state power. The most important features of democracy are:
Guarantees of human rights and freedoms;
Legal recognition of the supreme power of the people;
Periodic election of the main government bodies;
Universal suffrage, guaranteeing every citizen to take part in the formation of representative institutions of government;
Equality of rights of citizens to participate in government, i.e. every citizen has the right not only to vote, but also to be elected to any elective position;
Make decisions based on the majority of votes cast and the subordination of the minority to the majority;
Control of representative bodies over the activities of representative power;
Accountability of elected bodies to their voters;
Political pluralism.
The state and its essence.
The term (state) is usually used in a broad and narrow sense. In a broad sense, the state is identified with society, with a specific country. In a narrow sense, the state is understood as one of the institutions of the political system that has supreme power in society. State is the main socio-political institution of society, the core of the political system.
State has a complex organizational structure, which includes the following elements: legislative institutions, executive and administrative bodies, the judicial system, public order and state security bodies, and the armed forces. etc. all this allows the state to perform not only the functions of managing society, but also the functions of coercion (institutionalized violence) both in relation to individual citizens and in relation to large social communities (classes, estates).despite all the diversity of types and forms of state formations that arose previously and currently exist, we can distinguish general signs, which are typical for any state:
1. public power, separated from society. the presence of a special layer of people exercising political control of society;
2. a certain territory (political space), a delineated border to which the laws and powers of the state apply;
3.sovereignty - supreme power over all citizens living in a certain territory, their institutions and organizations;
4.monopoly on the legal use of force. Only the state has legal grounds to limit the rights and freedoms of citizens and even take their lives. For these purposes, it has special power structures: army, police, courts, prisons;
5. the right to collect taxes and fees from the population that are necessary for the maintenance of government bodies and material support of state policy: defense, economic, social;
6. obligatory membership in the state. A person acquires citizenship from the moment of birth. Unlike membership in a party or other organizations, citizenship is a necessary attribute of belonging for any person;
7.claim to represent the entire society as a whole and to protect common interests and goals.
All functions of the state can be divided into two main types: internal and external.
Internal functions - State activities aimed at managing society, at coordinating the interests of various social strata and classes, and at preserving its powers of power.
External functions– the activities of the state as a subject of international relations. Representing a specific people, territory and sovereign power.
There are two main forms of state: monarchy and republic, which, in turn, are divided into a number of varieties:
Monarchy– (from the Greek monarchia - unity) A form of government in which supreme power is fully or partially vested in the sole head of state - the monarch (King Tsar, Sultan).
Monarchies are divided into the following types:
Absolute monarchy– unlimited political power belongs entirely to the monarch (Saudi Arabia).
A constitutional monarchy - The powers of the monarch are limited by the constitution (Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Spain). In many developed democratic countries, the role of the monarch is reduced to purely formal, symbolic functions.
Theocratic monarchy - heads and the state is at the same time the religious head.
Republic– (from Latin Res-deed and publikus-public, nationwide) A form of state and government in which the source of power is considered to be the popular majority, and the main bodies of government are elected by citizens.
Republican forms of government are divided into the following types:
Parliamentary republic– the supreme authority is the parliament, which forms the government, issues laws, approves the state budget, etc. The head of the government (prime minister, chancellor) is considered the first person in the state, although officially he is not the head of state. The president in such republics, as a rule, performs purely formal functions (Italy, India, Germany, Switzerland).
Presidential republic– the president is elected extra-parliamentarily, through direct or indirect elections. He is the head of state and supreme commander in chief, forms the government and controls its activities, manages the foreign and domestic policies of the country (USA, Brazil, Mexico). Russia, according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is also a presidential republic, although it has certain characteristics of a parliamentary republic.
Semi-presidential (presidential-parliamentary) republic– strong presidential power is combined with effective parliamentary control over government activities (France). The two institutions of power are relatively independent of each other and mutually balance each other.
The forms of the national-territorial structure of the state are the structure of the organization of the state determined by the level of power vested in its administrative-territorial entities (lands, states, provinces, republics, territories).
Unitary a single state is a politically homogeneous organization that has a single constitution and citizenship, a single political and legal space, and single legislative, executive and judicial authorities. Administrative territorial units included in the state do not have the attributes of their own statehood.
There are centralized and decentralized unitary states. In centralized countries (Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden), local governments have fairly broad independence. However, middle management is focused on implementing the decisions of the center.
Decentralized (France, Italy, Spain). At the middle management level, they have their own administrative and territorial divisions (states, provinces, cantons), which have a certain independence.
Federal State stable union of state entities (lands, states, republics, territories) . Each of which has its own attributes of statehood (legislative, executive, judicial authorities and, as a rule, a constitution, dual citizenship).
Confederation – unstable form of organization of sovereign states. Such an association arises for the implementation of any joint goals, for example, protection from external attacks, the creation of an interethnic security zone, etc.
Rule of law and civil society.
Constitutional state- a type of democratic state that acts only within the framework of laws adopted and uniform for all, respecting and protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens.
The rule of law presupposes:
The presence of a developed civil society.
Legal equality of all citizens and guarantee of legal rights and freedoms.
The universality of law, its extension to all citizens, all organizations and institutions.
Mutual responsibility of the state and the individual, equality of the parties before the law.
The sovereignty of the people, the recognition that the people are the main source of power, and state power is representative in nature.
Real separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial.
The rule of law acts as a guarantor of the totality of interests of civil society in their relations with the state.
Civil society is a society consisting of free citizens, independent from the arbitrariness of the state, capable of defending their rights and interests. To coordinate joint activities and protect individual and public spheres of life, citizens enter into voluntarily formed non-state institutions of civil society. society.
Main features of civil society:
The differentiation of the competencies of the state and society, the independence of civil society institutions from the state within the framework of their competence;
Democracy and pluralism in the political sphere;
Market economy, the basis of which is non-state enterprises;
Economy based on industrial and post-industrial technologies;
The social basis of civil society is the middle class - these are economically, socially, politically independent people;
Citizens socially independent from the state, having the opportunity and ability to provide for themselves;
In the legal sphere there is close interaction with the rule of law. The priority of the rights and freedoms of the individual over the interests of the state;
Ideological and religious pluralism;
Freedom of speech and media;
Civil society and the rule of law arise only at a certain stage of development of human society. For their emergence, a certain level of economic, political and social development and the corresponding level of political culture.
Political party as a subject of political relations.
Political subjects are understood as active participants in political life who are able to formulate and implement their own goals. These are the state, class, nation, political party, mass movements, voters, political leaders, political elite. Why are they subjects of politics? They have their own, conscious, interests and needs that are different from others and participate in the political process to realize these interests.
The first subject of policy is personality, since all social groups and layers consist of individuals. A person becomes a subject of politics only when he is aware of his social needs and interests, understands the causality of social contradictions, is oriented in the rules and mechanism of the political life of society, and comprehends ways to realize the goals and objectives set for himself. St Personality is not the only subject of politics. In political science, it is customary to distinguish several types of political subjects:
1.direct participants in political life: the state, parties, leaders of public organizations and movements.
2. The second type of political subjects is usually comprised of large social groups and communities: classes, estates, inter-class and intra-class groups, which, although not direct participants in politics, have a strong influence on it.
3. The third type of political subjects usually includes such structures whose activities are not always visible.
There is a relationship between political subjects and the community on whose behalf he speaks. The sign of a political subject is his position as a representative of the community. If a political subject does not act on behalf of a community or group, then he is not perceived as a political subject. As a representative of a community, actively participating in political life, the subject also pursues his own goals. The most important subject of policy is state. The most important institution of the political system, the subject of politics are political parties. Acting as a mediator between civil society and the state, political parties act as organizations that combine public and state interests, contribute to the stability and dynamic development of society.
Word the consignment comes from the Latin pars (partis) - part, group. A political party can be thought of as part of a class, social stratum or social movement. A socio-political movement is created directly to solve a social problem or carry out a political action. After completing the intended tasks, the political movement either disintegrates or transforms into a party.
A political party is a stable political organization that unites people with common ideological, social class, political and other interests and ideals, representing certain classes and social strata. It is possible to effectively protect the interests of large social communities only when you have the resources of political power. Therefore, the main activities of parties are aimed at the struggle for power or participation in power.
Political parties arise as a result of the interaction of society and the state as political institutions of civil society, in opposition to the state and other political associations.
M. Weber identified three stages in the emergence and development of parties, two of which are considered the prehistory of political parties:
1) parties as aristocratic groups;
2) parties as political clubs;
3) modern mass parties.
In Russia, the first political parties arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For example, in 1898 the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) was created, and in 1902 - the Socialist Revolutionary Party.
Modern mass parties can have several sources of their origin:
1. On the initiative “from above”.
2. On the initiative “from below”.
3. New parties arise through the merger or split of other parties.
Classification (typology) of political parties carry out:
By social essence: bourgeois, petty-bourgeois, proletarian, peasant;
according to ideological and programmatic attitudes: conservative, liberal, reformist, revolutionary, nationalist, religious;
By internal structure: democratic, totalitarian, mass, personnel, open, closed;
by function: representative and mobilization;
by place in the political system: - avant-garde, parliamentary (ruling and opposition).
Of all the diversity functions, that political parties perform, we can identify common ones that are most characteristic of most of them:
Expression and protection of interests of certain segments of the population
Creation of a political ideology and program of action
Political socialization of citizens and activation of their political activity
Formation of public opinion
Recruiting new members into your ranks
Management of mass actions of citizens
Formation of the political elite and leaders
Participation in the struggle for power, for the use of state power in achieving one’s goals
Control over government institutions.
The interrelation of parties and other institutions of power creates various party systems.
Party system – this is a set of certain parties and interactions between them, characteristic of a given political system (political regime). Party systems differ in the number of parties and their qualitative characteristics:
- one-party are most characteristic of totalitarian and authoritarian political regimes. Such regimes exclude pluralism of opinions and open competition between various political forces. This is the monopoly of one party on power;
- two party systems are most characteristic of established democratic regimes of power (USA, England, Australia). In such political systems, each party is capable of forming a government and exercising power alone, without a coalition with other political forces. The advantages of a two-party system: stability, a high degree of state control, predictability of political activity. Disadvantages: conservatism, inability to adequately express the diversity of social interests of various social groups and classes, closedness to new forces entering politics, merging with the state apparatus.
- multi-party system consists of three or more political parties. None of them have sufficient support from voters and are not able to win elections and form a government without joining a coalition. Reflects the diverse interests of various social groups, but disagreements between coalition partners do not always contribute to the creation of an effective and legitimate government.
There are differences not only in party systems, but also in the parties themselves. Main types of modern parties:
class parties– express the interests of one or another social layer, class (workers, peasants, bourgeois)
ideological parties– basis ideology (communist, liberal, radical, etc.)
personnel parties– a small number of professional functionaries; free membership and unstable composition of activists. Such parties are intended to conduct periodic mass actions (elections, referendums, demonstrations)
mass parties– strive to satisfy the interests and requirements of the maximum possible number of voters from various social strata and classes.
charismatic parties– are created around a specific person with charisma
opposition parties– those who were defeated in the elections and are in opposition to the existing regime
legal parties– operating within the framework of existing legislation
illegal parties– the activity is incompatible with existing norms and is illegal.
Introduction
In the modern political dictionaries of the world, one can hardly find a more widespread and at the same time more controversial term than “political system”. From the pages of academic journals and other special publications, the topic of the political system moved to the pages of popular and unpopular and unpopular newspapers, various propaganda brochures and magazines, as well as other publications aimed at a wide mass reader. Western countries showed great interest in the activities of M.S. Gorbachev. It was his political reforms that laid the foundation for the formation of the modern political system of Russia.
In developed capitalist countries, political systems have already been formed, but, nevertheless, the topic of the political system is not closed, and is unlikely to be closed, since it is impossible to create an ideal political organization of society and disagreements on this issue are simply inevitable.
The political system exists inextricably with the state, since the state is perhaps the most important element of the political system. The emergence of a political system is practically connected with the emergence of the state in general, since with its emergence the emergence of various non-state entities begins. The political organizations of that time were far from perfect, but even modern systems are still far from ideal, that is, from those that would satisfy the interests of all segments of the population. Very intense and contradictory attention is being shown to the political system of society in general and to the Russian one in particular. This approach is hardly possible without a comprehensive understanding of what the political system is, its nature, content, and purpose.
1. The concept of a political system
The concept of “political system” was introduced into political science in the mid-20th century by political scientist D. Easten with the goal of reflecting politics as an independent sphere of society and the nature of the relationship between politics and the external environment, within a single state and other states.
Politic system - it is a set of political institutions, social structures, as well as their interactions, in which political power is realized and political influence is exercised.
The concept of a political system extends to the entire political life of society, depending on the degree of development of the economic environment and the depth of contradictions between the main opposing classes.
The political system of society reflects the diverse interests of social groups, which, through their organizations and movements, have a certain influence on political power. If properly recognized, these interests are realized through politically controlled structures, through the political process, i.e. by making and implementing political decisions.
The political system of any society is characterized by the presence of certain mechanisms that guarantee its stability and viability. With the help of these mechanisms, social contradictions and conflicts are resolved, the efforts of different social groups, organizations and movements are coordinated, social relations are harmonized, and consensus is reached regarding the basic values, goals and directions of social development.
2. Structure of the political system
As part of the political system of society, four large subsystems function in close interconnection: institutional, regulatory, communicative and political-ideological.
Institutional subsystem includes political institutions and, above all, forms of political government (republic, monarchy), political regimes (democratic, totalitarian, authoritarian, etc.), legislative, executive and judicial authorities, political parties and movements, numerous public organizations, electoral system etc. This subsystem plays a key role in the political system. It is here that the normative and legal framework is created, defining the conditions, possibilities and boundaries of the functioning of the entire political system.
Regulatory subsystem based on the political and legal norms accepted in society, reflected in the country's constitution and other legislative acts, it regulates the formation and activities of political institutions and the functioning of the political system of society as a whole. The initial basis on which this system is based is not only political and legal norms, but also national, historically established customs and traditions, political views, beliefs, and principles that influence the political system of society.
Communication subsystem represents a set of relations that arise in the process of functioning of the political system of society. These are, first of all, relations regarding the management of society. The subjects of these relations are political institutions and organizations, political leaders, representatives of the political elite, and citizens. These are also relationships associated with the struggle for political power: its conquest, retention, implementation.
Political-ideological the subsystem includes political concepts, theories, views. They underlie the creation and development of socio-political institutions, political and legal norms, improvement of political relations and the entire political system.
This structure can be traced in the political system of any society, however, in the specific conditions of different states, the listed subsystems are created and function in different forms.
3. Functions of the political system
The main function of the political system of society is the management of society, the function of political leadership of the state. It manifests itself in the determination of strategic goals and prospects for social development, in the development and implementation of a political course.
The integrative function pursues the goal of consolidating the socio-political system, achieving dynamic stability of society as a whole and its constituent systems.
The regulatory function is aimed at streamlining and regulating political behavior and political relations in the state. It is associated with the development and justification of standards of socially acceptable behavior of people.
The educational function is manifested in the fact that political culture contributes to the intellectual development of the individual, broadening his horizons due to already established and newly acquired political knowledge. Political culture has a particularly strong educational impact on the individual if the assimilation of knowledge is associated with the formation of a sustainable interest in political life, the development of certain attitudes towards socio-political activity and then finds expression in increasing the social activity of the individual, determining his place and active role in the life of society.
The political system reflects the state of society, including the economic conditions of its existence, social and national structure, demographic and environmental processes, the level of education of the population, the state of public consciousness, the entire spiritual and ideological life, and the international situation. Through the political system, the main groups of social interests are identified and accumulated, social priorities are built, which are then consolidated in politics.
4. Types of political systems determined by the prevailing relations of production and the class structure of society.
Where the relations between the elements of the political structure are interpenetrating, mutually conditioning, organic systems are formed. They create a whole whose properties are greater than the sum of the properties of its parts. Where a simple combination of qualities occurs, summative systems arise that generate a whole, the property of which is equal to the sum of the properties of its parts.
Integrity and summation are mutually exclusive concepts, i.e. A political system that is 100% holistic does not have the characteristics of being summative and vice versa. Therefore, we can imagine some scale where one hundred percent integrity coincides with zero percent summation. Systematicity as a property increases as the system develops from summation to integrity. In this case, the main system-forming rule looks like this: as long as the rights of the whole are greater than the rights of its parts, the whole retains its integrity; as soon as the rights of the parts become greater than the rights of the whole, it loses its integrity, becomes summative and, in the end, ceases to be a whole.
Conclusion
The significance of knowledge and study of the political system lies in the fact that it is in it that the nerve of the social, economic and spiritual life of society passes, that it is here, through the collision and coordination of the will of various social forces, that decisions are made that can influence different aspects of the life of society.
The acceleration of the historical process and profound transformations in the material and spiritual life of modern humanity have led to the formation of a new dynamic type of political organization of society, with more open relationship between parts and elements of the political system, between the state and society, with developed social control of political life and regularly operating legal, political and cultural mechanisms of social change. Dynamic stabilization of such systems provides them with greater viability and durability.
Political system of society- a complex, branched set of political institutions, socio-political communities, forms of interaction and relationships between them, implemented through political power.
The political system of a society can be considered narrow And wide sense.
In a narrow sense The political system of society is understood as a set of institutions (state bodies, political parties, movements, trade unions, economic structures, etc.), within the framework of which the political life of society takes place and political power is exercised.
In a broad sense The political system of a society should be understood as the system (sphere) of all political phenomena that exist in society.
Theories of the political system of society:
Theory of T. Parsons. It lies in the fact that society interacts as four subsystems: economic, political, social and spiritual. Each of these subsystems performs certain functions and responds to requirements that come from within or from the outside. Together they ensure the functioning of society as a whole.
The economic subsystem is responsible for realizing people's needs for consumer goods.
The function of the political subsystem is to determine collective interests and mobilize resources to achieve them. Maintaining an established way of life, transferring to new members of society norms, rules and values that become important factors the motivation for their behavior is provided by the social subsystem.
The spiritual subsystem carries out the integration of society, establishes and maintains bonds of solidarity between its elements.
D. Easton's theory. She views the political system as a mechanism for the formation and functioning of power in society regarding the distribution of resources and values. The systematic approach made it possible to more clearly define the place of politics in the life of society and identify the mechanism of social change in it. Politics is a relatively independent sphere, the main meaning of which is the distribution of resources and the incentive to accept this distribution of values between individuals and groups
G. Almond's theory. characterizes the political system, on the one hand, as the ability to carry out transformations in society while maintaining stability; on the other hand, as a set of interdependent elements, with each element of the whole (state, parties, elites) performing a vital important functions for the entire system. While studying comparative analysis political systems, G. Almond and D. Powell moved from studying formal institutions to considering specific manifestations of political behavior. From which they defined the political system as a set of roles and their interactions among themselves, carried out not only by government institutions, but also by all structures of society on political issues.
K. Deutsch's theory(cybernetic theory). He viewed the political system as cybernetic, in which politics was understood as a process of managing and coordinating the efforts of people to achieve their goals. The formulation of goals and their correction is carried out by the political system on the basis of information about the situation of society and its attitude to these goals: about the distance that remains to the goal; about the results of previous actions. The functioning of a political system depends on the quality of the constant flow of information coming from external environment, and information about her own movement.
Components of the political system of society:
1. Institutional (organizational)
a) states
b) social movements
c) political parties
2. Functional
a) forms and directions of political activity and political institutions
b) methods of political activity
3. Regulatory
a) political principles
b) political traditions
c) moral norms, legal norms
4. Cultural and ideological
a) political psychology
b) political ideology
c) political culture
5. Communicative – the totality of all connections between political institutions, subsystems and other spheres.
Functions of the political system of society:
1. Securing political power, definition social group or all members of society
2. Identification and representation of the interests of various subjects of political relations
3. Satisfying the interests of various subjects of political relations
4. Integration of society, creation of conditions necessary for the implementation of political activity
5. Political socialization
The state occupies a central leading position in the political system of society, since it:
1) Acts as the only official representative of the entire people, associations within its territory, borders based on the characteristics of the state.
2) Is the sole bearer of sovereignty
3) Has a special apparatus (public power) designed to manage society; has class structures
4) Has a monopoly on lawmaking
5) Owns a specific set of material assets; own budget, currency
6) Determines the main directions of development of society
Sources:
1. TGP textbook - L.P. Rasskazova 2. lectures by M.A. Makhotenko
Political parties: concept, functions, classification. Concept and types of party systems.
A political party is a continuously operating organization, existing at both the national and local levels, aimed at obtaining and administering power and seeking for this purpose broad mass support.
Definition, according to Russian legislation. A political party is a public association created for the purpose of citizen participation Russian Federation in the political life of society through the formation and expression of their political will, participation in public and political actions, in elections and referendums, as well as for the purpose of representing the interests of citizens in government bodies and local governments.
Signs.
They are public (non-state) organizations that pose the question of gaining, exercising and maintaining political power;
They are fairly stable political associations that have their own bodies, regional branches, and ordinary members;
Unites individuals based on commonality of views;
They have their own corporate acts: program and charter;
Have a fixed membership (although, for example, US parties traditionally do not have a fixed membership);
They rely on certain social strata of the population.
Functions.
1. Social. The party generally expresses and protects the interests of a particular social group and brings it to the level of state power.
2. Ideological. Development of party ideology (concepts, programs); dissemination, propaganda of ideology.
3. Political. Obtaining government power. Selection political leader, specialist training various problems public life, nominating candidates for elected and non-elected positions.
4. Management. Characteristic of parties in power: they organize and direct the actions of the state, exercise leadership various areas public life.
5. Electoral. Active participation in elections, organizing election campaigns, propaganda, and delivering election programs.
Party system– a set of political parties and the relationships between them.
KINDS
1. One-party (the monopoly of one party on power predominates. Characteristic of a totalitarian, authoritarian state. (Cuba)
2. Bipartisan (there is competition between two parties)
3. Multi-party (there is competition between many parties)
Introduction
Before we begin to analyze the political system, we note the following circumstance. Since the 50s, system analysis has become one of the most important methodological tools of analysis in Western political science. However, with light hand The founders of this approach - American political scientist D. Easton, K. Deutsch, G. Almond and others - the concepts of “political system” and “system analysis” in the West were actually used as synonyms.
I would like to say that the systems approach is one of the methodological directions in political science research. It should in no way be confused with the political system, which is a real entity. These are different things, and mixing them will significantly degrade the quality and reliability of the research results.
It is known that human society is in a process of constant changes that occur under the influence of various factors. Social relationships between people become more complex, new needs and, accordingly, types of activities that satisfy them appear. In addition, the natural environment, energy resources, international conditions existence of modern states. Therefore, the question of how society adapts to the requirements of a constantly changing internal and external environment has always seemed relevant not only in theoretical, but also in practical senses. After all, the answer to it allows us to identify adaptation mechanisms that form the basis for the viability and stability of any society.
The ability of society to respond to the growing needs of individuals and to adapt to the changing conditions of its functioning is ensured political system. The effect of the mechanisms of the political system on social relations is based on the ability to distribute values and resources within society by means of authority, and to prescribe certain standards and norms of behavior to the population.
Consequently, the concept of “political system” is used to characterize the relationship between the state and society, between various social actors at the non-state level.
1. The concept of a political system, its structure and functions
Most Western political scientists understand a political system as a set of political interactions of roles and functions that exist in each community. As D. Easton, for example, believed, we can characterize a political system as ... a complex of interactions through which the authoritative allocation of resources in society is achieved and carried out. Easton's model of the political system is built by analogy with a cybernetic system operating in a closed circuit.
The relationship between the political system and its environment is presented as entrance from the environment, which gives impulse to the system, and exit, which is the reaction of the system to the impulse of the environment. The output reaction causes a response from the environment, which in turn generates a new input, to which the system responds with a new output, ad infinitum according to the principle of a closed cybernetic chain.
Easton distinguished two types of inputs: first, for example, voters' demands for the system and their support for the system. The range of demands is extremely wide: increasing salaries, improving working conditions, providing funds to the university, etc.
The second type of input - support - is no less important for the system than the first. A distinction must be made between support for the community as a whole, support for the regime, and support for a specific government.
The decisions the system makes in response to demands and support are called outputs. The latter, in turn, become a source of new demands and support, the nature and content of which depend on the feedback mechanism.
Another American political scientist, K. Deutsch, went even further in the matter of “cybernetization” of the political system model. Emphasizing that cybernetics is the “science of communication and control,” Deutsch viewed the political system as a system of information production. Information is structured relationships between events. Communication is the transfer of such structural relationships. Channels are ways of transmitting information. Of course, communication processes are key to the functioning of organizations, but these processes are not limited to them.
To be fair, it should be noted that in principle, supporters of system analysis, for example G. Almond, recognize the need to identify structures that perform political functions when analyzing a political system. But at the same time, Almond believed that the unit of the political system is the role.
According to Duverger, there are as many variations of political systems as there are varieties of collectives or human communities. It is possible to construct and analyze the political systems of a single party, associations of parties in one country, parties of the same type in several countries.
It is obvious that such an approach largely devalues the very idea of isolating a political system as an independent phenomenon with its own characteristics inherent only to it.
When we talk about a political system, we mean a political structure, the political self-organization of society, which cannot be imagined without an institutional structure.
A political system in the proper sense of the word primarily presupposes the institutional infrastructure of political self-organization of society. Different political systems differ from each other, primarily in the presence or absence of certain institutions, the nature of their configuration, structural relationships, functions they perform, etc.
Elsewhere, M. Duverger emphasized that the political system is related to a complex of institutions - power, the state apparatus and the means of its functioning, as well as everything that is connected with it.
The political system is a complex of institutions and organizations that together make up the political self-organization of society. These are, first of all, institutions and bodies of management, leadership and coordination of political life. The central, or axial, institution of the political system, around which other institutions are grouped, is the state.
It is around the state that the rest of the political institutions are grouped; the struggle between various socio-political forces unfolds primarily for the conquest of state power and the levers of government. The state, by its very nature, is called upon to ensure the integrity and unity of the various institutions and agencies that perform various functions of government.
The highest bodies of state power in the person of the head of state and his apparatus, the government, parliament and the judiciary collectively play the role of a control subsystem, the components of which are interconnected by complex functional relationships. They make decisions of national importance, binding on execution as, without exception, parts of the state apparatus, government, parliament and judiciary collectively play the role of a control subsystem, the components of which are interconnected by complex functional relationships. They make decisions of national importance, binding on both all parts of the state apparatus, without exception, and citizens. Each of higher authorities state power has real structural and functional certainty, established by the constitution and a certain independence in relation to each other. This follows from the principle of separation of powers into three independent branches - legislative, executive and judicial. In this capacity, each of them acts as an independent subsystem in relation to the general control system.
The political system appears to include various socio-political organizations, political action committees, institutions and decision-making mechanisms. In general, the political system covers the institutional and organizational aspect of the political subsystem with its fundamental goals, subjects, relationships, procedures, mechanisms, functions, etc.
The political system belongs to the class open systems: she experiences various influences not only internal, but also external factors. Political science carefully studies all these influences.
Different systems have by different mechanisms resistance to external influences. Internal crises and contradictory processes inherent in political systems indicate the need for adjustments to either the policy or the system. The political behavior of figures and parties must be extremely attentive to the emergence of crisis phenomena and dead-end processes. On early stages they can always be resolved without serious losses.
In the structure of the political system, scientists distinguish such subsystems as institutional (organizations, institutions), normative (legal and moral norms, political traditions), functional (forms and directions of political activity, various political processes, ways and methods of exercising power), communicative (unifying connections, forms of interaction, for example, between parties and the state, between political and economic subsystems), ideological (views).
The functions of the political system are diverse, which is caused by the complexity and verbosity of political life.
1) determining the goals and objectives of the company;
2) development of programs for his life activities in accordance with the interests of the ruling strata of society;
3) mobilization of society's resources in accordance with these interests;
4) control over the distribution of values.
5) integration of society around common socio-political goals and values.