Subsystems included in the political system. Summary: Political system. Its elements and subsystems

RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF CIVIL SERVICE

UNDER THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

VLADIMIR BRANCH

Department of Social and Humanitarian Disciplines

test

in Political Science

on the topic:Politic system. Its elements and subsystems

Performed:

Student group 210

Maksimova Olga Valerievna

Vladimir 2010

Plan

Maintenance………………………………………………………………………………..3

    Politic system. Its elements and subsystems………………….…4

1.1 The political system and its functions………………………….……4

1.2 Elements of the political system………………………………..…7

1.3 Subsystems……………………………………………………..…..10

Conclusion………………………………………………………………….…....12

List of used literature……………………………….…………..13

Introduction

Every class society is politically shaped, has a mechanism of power that ensures its normal functioning as a single social organism. This mechanism is called the political system.

The topic is relevant because the concept of a political system is one of the main ones in political science. Its use makes it possible to distinguish political life from the rest of the life of society, which can be considered "environment" or "environment", and at the same time establish the existence of some connections between them.

The political system consists of many subsystems, structures and processes, it interacts with other subsystems: social, economic, ideological, cultural, legal. The limits of a political system are determined by the boundaries within which the political decisions of the given system are binding and actually enforced. In the case of the legislative system, we are talking about the operation of the law in a certain territory, in the case of a municipality - its acts are limited to its territory, in the case of a political party - the limits of the charter, program, party decisions are taken into account.

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 various social groups, organizations and movements are coordinated, social relations are harmonized, a consensus is reached on the basic values, goals and directions of social development.

    Politic system. Its elements and subsystems

      The political system and its functions

Politic system is a set of political subjects, their interactions based on political norms, consciousness and political activity.

The essence of the political system lies in the regulation of people's behavior through political power and political interests. Consequently, the political system of society is a set of organizations and citizens interacting in the process of realizing their social interests through the functioning of government institutions.

The essence of the political system is also manifested in its functions.

Functions of the political system:

1. Ensuring the political power of a certain social group or the majority of members of a given society, country.

The political system is an institutional (ordered, fixed by norms) form of power being. Through the institutions that form the political system, legitimation of power is carried out, a monopoly is realized on the publication of laws that are generally binding, and the use of coercion to enforce them. Politic system, according to the definition of G. Almond, is a legitimate, maintaining order or transforming system in society.

The political system establishes and implements certain forms and methods of rule: violent and non-violent, democratic and authoritarian. This or that subordination and coordination of political institutes is applied.

The institutionalization of the political system is carried out through the Constitution - a set of legally approved models of institutions, laws and political and legal practice.

2. The political system is the governing system.

It regulates social relations, manages various spheres of people's life in the interests of certain social groups or the majority of the population. The volume of managerial functions, the scale, forms and methods of administrative activity of political institutions depend on the type of social systems.

Thus, the sphere of influence of political institutions in the modern developed capitalist countries on the economy is much narrower than in countries with a socialist orientation.

This feature is due to two factors. On the positive side: socialism ideally presupposes the conscious creativity of the masses. Politics as a form of organization of mass activity is called upon to become the most important factor in historical progress. In fact, the negative role of politics and its institutions in countries that have made a socialist choice has become excessive and deformed.

Political institutions largely absorbed the society, as its social organizations were not sufficiently developed and ceded their roles to state structures.

The action of the political system as a manager includes the setting of goals and the development on their basis of political projects for the activities of social institutions. This function, called political goal-setting, cannot be absolutized.

The process of social life under all historical conditions and systems is not globally purposeful. The conscious is always combined with the spontaneous.

The dramatic pages in the development of our country refute the stereotyped characterization of Soviet history that has been promoted for many years only as a practical embodiment of the scientific theory of Marxism-Leninism.

3. The political system performs an integrative function in society.

Provides a certain unity of all social groups and strata of the population, as it is necessary to maintain the status quo of society. It unites these social groups and strata around common socio-political goals and values, which makes it possible to realize both the interests of the system as a whole and the interests of individual groups. The political system, writes P. Sharan, is a system of interaction found in all independent societies, which performs the function of their integration and adaptation through the use or threat of use of more or less legitimate coercion.

4. One of essential functions political system - creating the necessary political conditions for the functioning and progress of the economy(legal consolidation of forms of ownership of the means of production, ensuring a single economic space, pursuing a tax policy, regulating the financial system, etc.).

5. Protection of a given society, its members from various kinds of destructive (internal and external) influences.

We are talking about protection from destructive elements, including criminal groups, which are acquiring an international character in our time, from external aggressions (military, economic, ideological, informational), and finally, from ecological catastrophe.

In a word, the political system implements the function of setting goals and achieving goals, ensures order in society, controls the processes of social tension in relations between people, ensures its unity, creates conditions for security (physical, legal, professional and other), distributes material and spiritual values ​​( directly or indirectly) between members of society, mobilizes resources to meet social needs.

As common points that unite various political systems as one - ordinal phenomena, the following can be distinguished:

    Their existence and functioning only within the framework of a class society, the emergence and development with the emergence and development of classes.

    The coverage of each of them is the entire class society that exists within the boundaries of a particular country.

    The presence of each of them of a political nature, the performance of these systems as political, and not economic or any other formations in nature.

    The reliance of every political system of society on certain type economy, social structure and ideology.

    Acting as structural elements of any political system of various state, party and public organizations participating in the political life of a country.

Thus, the political system is a complex, multifaceted subsystem of society. Its optimal functioning is extremely important for the viability and normal development of both society as a whole and its constituent social groups and individuals.

1.2 Elements of the political system

The political system includes the organization of political power, relations between society and the state, characterizes the course of political processes, including the institutionalization of power, the state of political activity, the level of political creativity in society, the nature of political participation, non-institutional political relations.

An essential element of the political system is the political and legal norms that exist and operate in the form of constitutions, charters and programs of parties, political traditions and procedures for regulating political processes. They form its normative basis. As far as political regimes differ from each other (for example, totalitarianism and political pluralism), the principles and norms underlying the functioning of the respective political systems differ as well. Political and legal norms regulate political relations, give them order, defining what is desirable and undesirable, what is permitted and what is not permitted in terms of strengthening the political system.

Through political and legal norms, certain political foundations are officially recognized and consolidated. In turn, with the help of these norms, political and power structures bring to the attention of society, social groups, and individuals their goals, the rationale for political decisions, and determine a peculiar model of behavior that will guide all participants in political life.

Fixing prohibitions and restrictions in the norms, coordinating interests and encouraging initiative, the forces that dominate in a given political system have a regulatory impact on political relations. This is how the formation of political consciousness and the behavior of subjects in political activity takes place, the development of attitudes in them, the goals and principles of the political system corresponding to them.

Among the elements of the political system of society are also political consciousness and political culture. Being a reflection and formed primarily under the influence of specific social and political practices, ideas, value orientations and attitudes of participants in political life, their emotions and prejudices have a strong impact on their behavior and all political dynamics. Therefore, in the process of leading and managing society, it is important to take into account the political mood of the masses.

Great significance political ideology, which occupies a leading place in the political consciousness and serves as a determining factor in the change and development of the sphere of political psychology. Political ideology in the most concentrated form expresses the fundamental interests of social communities, substantiates their place and role in social development, in the political system of society in particular. It serves as a conceptual basis for the program of socio-economic and political transformations, which are put forward by the relevant social forces.

Influencing the choice of a strategic course, the development and adoption of political decisions, the political views and behavior of individuals and social communities.

Each structural element of the political organization of a class society must be not just an organization, but an organization political in character.

So he must:

    express the political interests of a certain class or other social community;

    be a participant in political life and bearer of political relations;

    have a direct or indirect relationship to state power - its conquest, organization or use, and not necessarily interacting with state bodies, but also opposing them;

    be guided in their activities by political norms that have developed in the depths of the political life of a particular country.

1.3 Subsystems

The political system is a rather complex and multidimensional formation, the main purpose of which is to ensure the integrity, uniformity of the actions of people and their communities in politics. It includes the following subsystems:

1. Institutional subsystem- this is the "framework", "supporting structures" of the political system. It includes the state, political parties and social movements, numerous public organizations, the electoral system, the media, the church, etc. Within the framework of this subsystem, a legal framework is created for the functioning of the entire political system, the forms of its impact on other social systems, international politics. It is not surprising that this subsystem plays a key role in the political system.

2. Regulatory subsystem- these are legal and moral norms, traditions and customs, political views prevailing in society, affecting the political system.

3. Functional subsystem- this is the form and direction of political activity, methods of exercising power. This subsystem finds a generalized expression in the concept of "political regime".

4. Communication subsystem - covers all forms of interaction between various elements political system, between political systems different countries.

5. Political - ideological subsystem - includes a set of political ideas, theories and concepts on the basis of which various socio-political institutions arise and develop. It plays an essential role in determining political goals and ways to achieve them.

Each of the subsystems has its own structure and is relatively independent. In the specific conditions of different countries, these subsystems function in specific forms.

A component of any developed political system is the nomenklatura - a circle of officials, the appointment and approval of which falls within the competence of higher bodies. The existence of the nomenclature makes it possible to effectively address personnel policy issues. However, the lack of control over its activities can lead to negative consequences, serve as a source of corruption, lead to abuse of power.

Conclusion

So, in this work, we found out that political power functions within the framework of a political system. The political system is the fundamental form of political organization, and indeed all other spheres of life in modern society. The diverse social systems that now exist in numerous countries of the world differ primarily in the nature of their inherent political structures.

In each particular society, its political system and the political ideas, representations, political consciousness corresponding to it do not exist in isolation, as something isolated, posited from outside. Acting as a set of the most important political institutions, arising and functioning on the basis of certain political ideas, the political system of a particular society and the ideas corresponding to it continuously interact with each other, have a constant influence, and presuppose each other.

The analysis of the political system makes it possible to advance along the path of concrete disclosure of the interrelated components of politics as a social reality. It allows you to find out the subject-practical forms and ways of realizing political interests and the underlying political relations. The study of the political system provides a transition from a theoretical consideration of various aspects of political life to the development of concepts and characteristics that lend themselves to empirical sociological research.

The significance of knowledge and study of the political system lies in the fact that it is in it that the core of the social, economic and spiritual life of society passes, that it is here that through the clash and coordination of the will of various social forces, decisions are made that can influence different sides the life of society.

List of used literature

The political system, as already noted, consists of subsystems that are interconnected with each other and ensure the functioning of public authority. Various researchers call different amount such subsystems, however, they can be grouped according to their functional characteristics.

Institutional subsystem

Institutional subsystem includes the state, political parties, socio-economic and public organizations and relations between them, which together form political organization of society. The central place in this subsystem belongs to the state. Concentrating in its hands the majority of resources, having a monopoly on legitimate violence, the state has the greatest opportunity to influence various parties public life. The binding nature of the state's decisions for citizens allows it to impart expediency, rationality, and orientation towards the expression of generally significant interests to social changes. However, the role of political parties, interest groups, whose influence on state power is very great, should not be belittled. Of particular importance are the church and the media, which have the ability to significantly influence the process of forming public opinion. With its help, they can put pressure on the government, leaders 1 .

Regulatory subsystem

Regulatory subsystem includes legal, political, moral norms and values, traditions, customs. Through them, the political system has a regulatory impact on the activities of institutions, the behavior of citizens.

Functional subsystem

Functional subsystem - these are methods of political activity, ways of exercising power. It forms the basis of the political regime, whose activities are aimed at ensuring the functioning, transformation and protection of the mechanism for exercising power in society.

Communication subsystem

Communication subsystem includes all forms of political interactions both within the system(for example, between state institutions and political parties), and with the political systems of other states.

2. Functions of the political system

The political system is characterized by functions. The functioning of the political system reflects its dynamics, processes and is related to issues of power (who rules and how).

One of the generally accepted classifications of the functions of the political system was presented G. Almond and J. Powell. They singled out by importance those functions, each of which satisfies a certain need of the system, and all together they ensure "the preservation of the system through its change."

Preservation or maintenance of the existing model of the political system is carried out with the help of functions of political socialization. Political socialization is the process of acquiring political knowledge, beliefs, feelings, values ​​inherent in the society in which a person lives. Familiarization of an individual with political values, adherence to the standards of political behavior accepted in society, loyalty to the institutions of power ensure the maintenance of the existing model of the political system. The stability of the political system is achieved if its functioning is based on principles that correspond to the political culture of the society.

The viability of the system is ensured by its ability to adapt to the environment, its capabilities. Adaptation function can be carried out with the help of political recruiting - training and selection of subjects of power (leaders, elites) who are able to find the most effective ways to solve pressing problems and offer them to society.

No less important response function. Thanks to this function, the political system responds to impulses, signals coming from outside or inside it. Highly developed reactivity allows the system to quickly adapt to changing operating conditions. This is especially important when new demands of groups, parties appear, ignoring which can lead to the disintegration and disintegration of society.

The political system is able to respond effectively to emerging demands if it has resources that it draws from internal or external economic, natural, etc. environment. This function is called extraction. The resources obtained must be distributed in such a way as to ensure the integration and agreement of the interests of various groups within society. Consequently, the distribution of goods, services and statuses by the political system is the content of its distributive (distributive) function.

Finally, the political system influences society through management, coordination of the behavior of individuals and groups. The managerial actions of the political system express the essence regulatory function. It is implemented through the introduction of norms and rules on the basis of which individuals and groups interact, as well as through the application of administrative and other measures against violators of the rules.

Thus, the political system is a holistic entity, performs specific functions to ensure and regulate the political life of society.

    Typology of modern political systems: common features and features, development trends.

An important role in understanding the essence of political systems belongs to their typology and classification.

1. According to the social basisstand out : military (military) political system (when the military is in power); civil; national democratic system; bourgeois democratic political system.

2. Based on the nature of the political regime,political systems : democratic; liberal; totalitarian; authoritarian.

3. The division of political systems into:traditional- they are based on an undeveloped civil society, weak differentiation of political roles, a charismatic way of justifying power; modernized- have a developed civil society, a rational way to justify power.

4. Based on participation in political process allocatepolitical systems : liberal democracy- it is characterized by a high degree of voluntary but passive political participation; communist system- with a high degree of compulsory participation; developing- characterized by a low degree of political participation.

5. Political systemsalso subdivided into : open having a dynamic structure and wide connections with other systems and environment; closed having a rigidly fixed structure and minimal connections with the environment.

6. Less commonclassifications of political systems are the following: completed and unfinished; centralized and decentralized; microscopic, local, macroscopic, global; instrumental and ideological; with high, medium, low levels of autonomy.

The variety of typologies of political systems indicates the multidimensionality of the political world, the possibility of its analysis from the standpoint of a variety of criteria. From this point of view, every real system that exists in a particular country can be characterized by various indicators and have different definitions and classifications.

The main criterion for determining the nature of the political system is the distribution of power in the process of managing society: whether it is dispersed among several political entities or concentrated in the hands of one entity- be it an individual, a party or a coalition of parties. Based on this provision, consider the political system of Russia.

political party political system

A large legal dictionary gives the following definition of a political system: A political system (society) is: (as a complex constitutional and legal institution) a set of norms that establish the constitutional and legal status of the state as a special political entity, political parties, public and religious organizations and regulate the relationship of the above subjects; (in the material sense) a set of state and public bodies and organizations through which state (political) power is exercised.

In other words, the political system is a set of interacting norms, ideas and political institutions, institutions and actions based on them, organizing political power, the relationship between citizens and the state. The main purpose of this multidimensional formation is to ensure the integrity, unity of people's actions in politics.

Every class society is politically shaped, has a mechanism of power that ensures its normal functioning as a single social organism. This mechanism is called the political system.

The concept of a political system is one of the main ones in political science. Its use makes it possible to distinguish political life from the rest of the life of society, which can be considered "environment" or "environment", and at the same time establish the existence of some connections between them.

The political system consists of many subsystems, structures and processes, it interacts with other subsystems: social, economic, ideological, cultural, legal. The limits of a political system are determined by the boundaries within which the political decisions of the given system are binding and actually enforced.

This concept combines a variety of actions and relationships between ruling groups and subordinate, governing and controlled, dominant and subordinate, theoretically generalizes the activities and relationships of organized forms of power relations - state and other institutions and institutions, as well as ideological and political values ​​and norms that regulate the political life of members of this society. The concept of a political system denotes the structures of political activity and relations characteristic of a particular society and the types of political process.

The political system of society reflects the diverse interests of social groups that directly or through their organizations and movements exert a certain pressure on political power. In case of appropriate recognition, these interests are realized with the help of political and administrative structures through the political process, through the adoption and implementation of political decisions.

Consequently, the significance of the political system, the expediency of studying it are determined by the fact that the nerve of the socio-economic and spiritual life of society passes here, that it is here that through the clash and coordination of the will of various social forces, decisions are made that are of an imperious nature and can influence different aspects of the life of society. .

The structure of the political system means what elements it consists of, how they are interconnected. The set of functions of the political system is directly related to its constituent elements. Depending on the functions and roles performed, the following elements can be distinguished:

  • 1. The political community of people, including large social groups - carrying the social components of the system, the ruling elites, a group of civil servants, various sections of the electoral corps, the military, etc., in a word, all those who are in power, strive for it, manifest only political activity or alienated from politics and power.
  • 2. The totality of political institutions and organizations that make up the structure of the system: the state, all levels of government from the highest authorities to local ones, political parties, socio-political and non-political organizations pursuing political goals (associations of entrepreneurs, interest groups, and others).
  • 3. Normative subsystem: political, legal and moral norms, traditions, customs and other regulators of political behavior and activities.
  • 4. Functional subsystem: methods of political activity.
  • 5. Political culture and communicative subsystem (media).

So, the elements of the political system include all the institutions of social life, groups of people, norms, values, functions, roles, means by which political power is exercised and the social life of people is managed. As part of the system - political structures and a community of people with their own way of political life style of political activity.

Political institutions are one of the main elements of the political system. Each social institution occupies a certain place in the political system. The nature of institutions and their interaction are determined by the properties of the system as a whole. Since the existence and activities of political institutions are associated only with their inherent functions, roles and norms, they acquire relative independence within the system.

The core of the political system is the state. The state acts as an instrument of political domination of a certain class (or classes) and management of society. But this is only one of the concepts of modern political science. And it should not be simplified. K. Marx, as you know, emphasized "that the state in a society with a class-antagonistic structure solves two kinds of tasks:" the implementation of common affairs arising from the nature of any society, and specific functions arising from the opposition between governments by the masses.

The state is a multifunctional institution. This is a relatively independent subsystem of public authority and management of society, which includes a set of hierarchically interconnected and complementary institutions and structures. Among them: the institutions of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities, legal system, public administration, bodies of representative and executive power at the regional levels and, finally, institutions local government.

Being an institutional mechanism for expressing general interests or the interests of the ruling classes, the state, however, as a rule, does not assume the function of articulating the group interests of various segments of the population. Their representation in the political process is carried out by other organizations: political parties and other socio-political associations, which are therefore included in the political system. And this also includes opposition parties and organizations. The inclusion of the latter in the system means the fact of the institutionalization of socio-political conflicts and testifies to the democratic nature of society.

The properties of a political system, connected both with the way it actually operates in a given society, and with the subjective orientation of the members of society towards it, constitutes political culture. The specificity of this element lies in its integration into all other components of the system, its ability to be a kind of human (subjective) criterion for the progressiveness of a political society as a whole.

As for the communicative subsystem, without it the political system can neither exist nor function just because it is the essence of institutionalization. joint activities people and their social relationships.

The noted elements of the political system acquire their specific concretization depending on the type of system and political regimes. The specific set of elements in different societies is also not the same. Thus, in a number of countries one of the main elements of political life are religious institutions (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan). In the developed capitalist countries, the church, as you know, is separated from the state and does not play a significant role in politics. The political system in countries where one ideology and political party dominates is qualitatively different from others.

The political system, being an organized set of interacting political actors, all woven from political actions and relationships. That is why neither one nor the other makes sense to consider as some separate elements of the system. In unity, political actions and political relations form the very content of the system. Indeed, social institutions are organized forms of the functioning of political relations. Political and legal norms again fix patterns of relationships and interactions of political subjects. The phenomena of political culture accumulate the political experience accumulated and internalized by the subjects, including power relations. In a word, no matter what structural element of the system we take, in all cases we encounter the same matter - political relations. And everywhere their core is power, the struggle for power or participation in it, the denial of existing power or ensuring its stable functioning.

One of the most important purposes of politics is to ensure the unity and integrity of the social organism, which inevitably includes numerous differences, multidirectional tendencies, and actions. The political system acts as a means of social integration, containment of the destructive impact of social differences on the functioning constituent parts social organism.

most active and dynamic part political system is its political organization - a set of specific organizations and institutions that perform certain functions. It is thanks to the organization that the ideological and moral force is translated into material force, ideas become the rules of behavior.

State and parties - proper political organizations. The main thing in their activities is the direct and immediate exercise of political power in full or the desire for it. Indirect political organizations connected with the exercise of political power, but this is only one of the aspects of their functioning (trade unions, youth political organizations).

Non-political organizations almost do not participate in the exercise of political power (voluntary sports societies, various movements and associations). The process of their politicization takes place at certain stages of the life of the country (the nomination of deputies to the State Duma from public organizations).

Functioning of political organizations implies their systematic activity through the mass media belonging to them, active participation in the political life of society, subordination, expressed in the registration of all political organizations and the ability of state bodies to exercise necessary control behind their activities.

Functions of the political system:

Definition of goals and objectives of the society;

Development of programs for his life activity in accordance with interests ruling strata society;

Mobilization of society's resources in accordance with these interests;

Control over the distribution of values ​​- it is in this area that the interests of both social groups and their social integrity collide; loss of control over this vitality node social system, threatens its crisis;

Integration of society around common socio-political goals and values.

AT last years the predominant approach to studying the structure of the political system was the allocation of the following subsystems in its composition.

1. institutional subsystem political subsystem is a set of institutions associated with the functioning of political power. Structural elements- the state, political infrastructure (political parties, socio-political organizations and movements, lobbying groups), the media, as well as the church.


2. Regulatory subsystem - a set of political norms and traditions that determine and regulate the political life of society. These include legal norms, norms for the activities of public organizations, unwritten customs, traditions, as well as ethical and moral norms.

3. functional the subsystem includes forms and directions of political activity, methods and methods of exercising power (political regime).

4. ideological subsystem - a set of political ideas, views, ideas, feelings of participants in political life that are different in their content. There are two levels in the ideological subsystem: theoretical- the level of political ideology (views, principles, ideas, slogans, ideals, concepts) and empirical- the level of political psychology (feelings, moods, prejudices, emotions, opinions, traditions).

5. Communicative subsystem - a set of relations and forms of interactions that develop between classes, social groups, nations, individuals, about their participation in the organization of the exercise and development of political power in connection with the development and implementation of policy.

6. cultural the subsystem is an integral factor of the political system, a complex of typical for a given society, rooted samples (stereotypes) of political ideas, value orientations and political behavior.

The concept of a system in the general scientific sense means a complex institution that includes many elements that are in relationship with each other and form an integrity that is relatively independent and capable of self-regulation. The system has structuredness and determines this structuredness itself. If a system is a unity of elements and structure, then structure is a way of ordering elements.

In the political system, as a complex superinstitution, public power is formed and structured, there is a struggle for the mastery of state power. Its structure represents the inherent links between such elements as the state, parties, social movements with their characteristic ideology, programs, slogans. But this is only one level of elements and system connections.

The political system forms a multi-level integrity of the elements of political life - political institutions, political consciousness, political culture and ideology, political technologies, political participation of citizens. The structure of the political system includes several subsystems:

  • - institutional and organizational (parties, public authorities and local governments, public associations, etc.);
  • - functional (distribution of functions, goals, tasks, actions, ensuring participation, different forms expression of will, including elections and referendums);
  • - normative and regulatory (rule-making, including legislation, as well as regulation of relations with the help of moral norms, law, religious prescriptions, etc.);
  • - information and communication (circulation of information, exchange of experience between members of society);
  • - ideological (political ideas, theories, political and legal culture, oriented towards maintaining the values ​​of justice, freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, democracy, security, patriotism).

Thus, the political system also includes such systems as the legislative, party, electoral, legal, legislative system, etc., which are the subject of study of jurisprudence, state studies.

The political system of society is connected with non-political systems in society and with the system international relations. In turn, in relation to society as an integral system, political life acts as a part of it, one of the subsystems of society that determines the struggle for political power, interacting with social, economic, ethical, legal, cultural subsystems.

Scientific approaches to the analysis of the political system were formed gradually. AT ancient world and the Middle Ages for the first time there was an understanding of politics and the state as an organism (Plato, John of Salisbury). In the XX century. the impetus for the development of the problem of the political system was the works of A.A. Bogdanova and L. von Bertalanffy about general theory systems; K. Schmitt - about politics as an association and dissociation of social forces and the political system as ordering institutions, relations, principles of organization of society, social, legal and cultural norms, traditions of society; T. Parsons - about the role of the political system in ensuring integration, development and implementation of common goals.

Currently, the following approaches to the political system of society can be distinguished.

Systems approach. In the studies of the American political scientist D. Easton, the political system is presented as a self-regulating and developing organism with the ability to respond to external challenges. This open system subject to the constant influence of other systems of society (economic, social, spiritual). Under this influence, it is forced to develop mechanisms that respond to disturbing influences and thereby adapt it to changing conditions. Adaptation leads to a change not only in the internal structure (for example, norms, associations), but even in fundamental goals (the development and adoption of new programs).

The political system has so-called inputs, through which impulses enter the body from the outside in the form of demands from the population (territories), and exits, through which, after processing the demands, political decisions are issued. The acceptance of signals and the production of decisions are determined by the way (mode) of the system's response to the environment and to internal processes. The political system helps to optimally distribute material and spiritual values ​​by persuading citizens to accept such distribution as useful and necessary, thereby preventing possible conflicts in society (on a separate territory).

functional approach. According to the American political scientist G. Almond, who developed the functional approach, the political system is a set of interactions of the political behavior of different subjects. It has two levels - institutional (political institutions) and orientational (political culture). Proponents of this approach attach particular importance to political culture, believing that it plays a decisive role in the political system. Thanks to it, a set of political positions and ways of responding to certain political situations are developed, taking into account the plurality of interests. The political system develops popular beliefs, views, creates myths, symbols and slogans, manipulates them to maintain and enhance the necessary legitimacy and effectiveness of power. It must maintain a balance between the exercise of power and its responsibility, passivity and activity, creating opportunities for the political system to adapt to the active actions of citizens.

There are other approaches, but many of them use system and functional analysis to some extent. In particular, the regulatory approach provides for consideration of the complex of normative regulation as a whole (customs, traditions, principles, views, legal norms, morality, corporate norms, etc.), as well as their impact on political life; the institutional approach is based on the identification of institutions that form the political system (organization) of society, and the analysis of its structural, institutional, and partly formal legal aspects.

The analysis of the subject composition of the political system is closely connected with the elucidation of the functions of the political system. The concept of "function" (from lat. .functionio- performance) is ambiguous, but in the theory of state and law, to characterize the political system, one can speak of two main meanings. This concept, firstly, reveals the role of the political system of society in organizing purposeful, coordinated, standardized (normalized), legitimate actions of members of society, shaping their attitude towards the distribution of power resources. Secondly, the function of the political system is to maintain the optimal ratio and mutual influence on the territory of the state as a whole and the territory of the local local community of such variables as: a) society and the state; b) the main spheres of life of society and the state - social (household, health, security environment), spiritual (education, morality, religion), economic (agent-professional, industrial activity).

The concept of the function of the political system is most developed by G. Almond. He divides such functions into two basic groups of functions: 1) "input" and 2) "output". Accordingly, four "input" functions are distinguished: a) political socialization and engagement; b) articulation of interests (their designation in slogans, drawing attention to them, their explanation); c) aggregation of interests (combining them in programs, proclamation for the purposes of the movement, party documents); d) political communication (exchange of information, experience). Along with the above, there are three functions of "output": 1) development of norms;

2) application of norms; 3) control over compliance with the norms. The functions of "input" are carried out mainly by non-state institutions, and the functions of "output", on the contrary, are carried out mainly by state bodies 1 .

In a generalized form, all the functions of the political system can be represented as follows:

  • - off-system aimed at interacting with other subsystems of society (political representation, political goal-setting, integration, regulation, communication) and intrasystem(coordinating, educational and initiative);
  • - regulatory, extraction(mobilization), distribution(distribution) and reactive(classification by D. Easton and J. Powell).

Among these functions, special mention should be made of functions of political goal-setting, which acts as one of the defining ones. It includes the development of goals, objectives, activity programs, forecasting and planning of resource mobilization, social integration, regulation of the socio-political activity, distribution of values, legitimation of public power. The subjects of goal-setting are such elements of the political system as public authorities, political parties and other semi-state and non-state institutions (public associations, interest groups, including trade unions, associations of entrepreneurs), as well as to a certain extent religious associations, media, cooperative organizations, etc.

It must be taken into account that the functions of individual subjects do not coincide in volume with the functions of the political system. On the whole, the political system creates conditions for legitimate, legal, relatively “transparent” competition and struggle for power of different subjects, for the participation of citizens and associations in representing their interests, and for optimizing legislative, electoral, and parliamentary processes.

  • For more details, see: D. Easton, Categories of System Analysis of Politics // Anthology of World Political Thought. T. II. pp. 630-642.
  • For more on this, see: Almond G. Political science: the history of discipline // Polis. Political studies. 1997. No. 6. S. 174-183.

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