functional political system. The concept, structure and functions of the political system of society. The political system of society

Under the structure of the political system is understood as a way of linking its elements into a single, holistic systemic formation, that is, the establishment of stable links and relationships between the elements of this system.

In the legal literature there are the following components, or subsystems, political systems that are connected with each other and ensure the functioning of public power.

1. Institutional;

2. Regulatory;

3. Functional;

4. Communicative;

5. Cultural and ideological.

Institutional subsystem consists of political institutions, each of which is also a system - state, party, socio-political, consisting in turn of private subsystems. The leading political institution, concentrating the maximum political power, is the state. A special role in the political system belongs to political parties and socio-political movements, including trade unions, business organizations, and all kinds of lobbying organizations created under the structures of legislative and executive power. On the one hand, they are important participants in the political process, they carry out a kind of mediation between various state structures and the population. For this reason, they are sometimes lumped together under the general concept of "political infrastructure". A specific place in the political system is occupied by such non-political in nature social institutions as the media and the Church, which are able to significantly influence the process of forming public opinion, and through it - to put pressure on political power.

Regulatory subsystem forms all sorts of norms - legal and moral, political traditions, values, customs. With their help, the political system has a regulatory impact on the activities of institutions, the behavior of citizens, defining the rules of their relationship.

Functional subsystem expressed in the forms and directions of political activity, in various political processes, in the way and methods of exercising power. It forms the basis of the political regime, the task of which is to ensure the functioning, transformation and protection of the mechanism of power and society.

Communication subsystem implies a set of relations and forms of interaction that develop between classes, social groups, nations, individuals regarding their participation in the exercise of power, the development and implementation of policies. At the same time, these are relations based on the rules of law, as well as informal norms and relations that are not enshrined in the rules of law.

Political relations are the result of numerous and varied connections of political subjects in the process of political activity. People and political institutions are motivated to join them by their own political interests and needs.

Allocate primary and secondary (derivative) political relations. To the first, include various forms of interaction between social groups (classes, nations, estates, etc.), as well as within them, to the second- relations between states, parties, other political institutions that reflect in their activities the interests of certain social strata or the whole society.

Cultural and ideological subsystem is a collection of political ideas, views, ideas, feelings of participants in political life that are different in their content. The political consciousness of the subjects of the political process functions at two levels - theoretical (political ideology) and empirical (political psychology). The forms of manifestation of political ideology include views, slogans, ideas, concepts, theories, and political psychology - feelings, emotions, moods, prejudices, traditions. In the political life of society, they are equal.

In the ideological subsystem, a special place is occupied by political culture, understood as a complex of political orientations, attitudes, values and models of political behavior typical of a particular society.

Political culture is the experience of political activity passed down from generation to generation, in which knowledge, beliefs and behavior patterns of a person and social groups are combined. Political culture ensures the stability of the political system of society and the reproduction of political life on the basis of continuity.

In modern political science, it is accepted typology of political culture, proposed by scientists S. Verba and G. Almond. Having chosen as a criterion the degree of orientation of people to participation in political life, they identified three "pure" types of political culture.

1. Patriarchal political culture is characterized by a complete lack of interest among community members in political institutions, global political processes. The carriers of this type of political culture are oriented towards local values, indifferent to the policies, attitudes and norms of the central authorities. This type of political culture is characteristic of the developing countries of Asia and Africa.

2. Submissive political culture is distinguished by the orientation of subjects to the political system, the activities of the central authorities. Its bearers have their own idea of politics, but do not take an active part in it, expecting either benefits or orders from the authorities.

3. Civil political culture is inherent in modern developed democratic states. The carriers of this culture are not only focused on the political system, but also strive to be active participants in the political process. They obey the orders of the authorities, but at the same time influence the development of decision-making by state bodies.

Today, it is rare to find a "pure" type of political culture. Most modern societies are characterized by mixed types: patriarchal-subject, subject-civil And patriarchal-civil political culture.

The political system acts in the unity of all these subsystems, which are closely interconnected and cannot function if at least one of the subsystems does not work properly.

The essence of the political system of society is most clearly manifested in its functions. Therefore, the characterization of the political system will be incomplete without their consideration.

In systems theory under function refers to any action aimed at maintaining the system in a stable state and ensuring its vital activity.

The following can be distinguished functions of the political system:

1. Function of political socialization, i.e. familiarizing the individual with political values, following the standards of political behavior accepted in society, loyal attitude to the institutions of power. This process implies the formation of the political consciousness of the individual, when the latter is included in the work of specific political mechanisms, due to which the reproduction of the political system occurs by introducing more and more new members of society to political participation and activity. Thus, political socialization plays the role of a mechanism for preserving the political values and goals of the system, and makes it possible to preserve the continuity of generations in politics.

2. Adaptation function. Preparation 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.

3. Responsive function. With this function, the political system responds to signals from outside or inside the system. This feature allows the system to quickly adapt to changing conditions. This is especially important when new demands of groups and parties appear. Ignoring these requirements can lead to the disintegration and disintegration of society.

4.Extraction function. Extraction of resources from the external and internal (natural, economic, social, etc.) environment.

5 . Distributive (distributive) function. It involves the distribution of the functional load between various political institutions and components of the political system, the distribution of resources among groups within society; maintaining the normal functioning of the political system and ensuring its daily operation and further development.

6.Regulation function, i.e. impact on society. This impact can manifest itself through the introduction of norms and rules on the basis of which individuals interact, as well as the application of measures in relation to violators.

Society consists of many subsystems: economic, political, social, spiritual and ideological, legal, etc. The political system, being one of the subsystems of the total social system, occupies a special place in it. Political system is a system institutions and relations that determine political life society and 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 not formalized. To formalized institutions include: the state, state institutions and bodies, political parties, social and political associations and organizations, pressure groups, etc.

To informal rallies, pickets, processions, manifestations, election campaigns, etc. can be attributed to institutions. During the period of mass political actions (elections, referendums), the political system expands its borders at the expense of informal institutions.

Regulatory subsystem create those laws and norms of law that determine the functional assignment 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 is 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, political consciousness of citizens, ways of political behavior, historical traditions of the country, the media, etc.

The political system is a multifunctional structure that includes the following components:

institutional, consisting of various socio-political institutions and institutions (the 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 about 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. Removal of social tension in society;

determination of common goals, tasks and ways of development of society;

development of specific programs of activity and organization of their implementation;

distribution, redistribution of material and spiritual values between various social communities and spheres of society's life;

political socialization of citizens: preparation and inclusion of individuals in the system of established political relations;

control over the preservation of existing institutions and legal norms and the 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 the division of political systems according to the types of socio-economic formations: slaveholding, feudal, bourgeois, socialist.

civilizational approach proposes the division of political systems by 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 outside - on open And closed.

according to the nature of the relationship between the center and places - on decentralized And centralized.

Types of political systems.

The 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 in a certain period of its history. There are three main forms of political regimes: totalitarian, authoritarian, democratic.

Totalitarianism -(lat. Totalis - the whole, whole, complete) political regime in which the state completely subjugates all spheres of society and the individual. It is the omnipresence 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 rigidly 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: the military and paramilitary organization of society, the constant search for internal and external (enemies), the periodic creation of extreme situations, the 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 ruling group. For authoritarianism, the characteristic features are: high centralization of power, nationalization of many aspects of public life, command and 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 the authoritarian regime does not provide for a real separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial. Although formally all these power structures can exist.

Democracy -(Greek Demos - people and kratos - power) power of the people or democracy. This is such a form of the state, its political regime, with in which the people or the majority of them 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 authorities;

Universal suffrage, which guarantees every citizen to take part in the formation of representative institutions of power;

Equality of the rights of citizens to participate in government, that is, every citizen has the right not only to elect, but also to be elected to any elective position;

Decide on the majority of the 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 constituents;

political pluralism.

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 particular country. In a narrow sense, the state is understood as one of the institutions of the political system, which 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 judiciary, public order and state security bodies, and the armed forces. and others. 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 variety of types and forms of state formations that arose earlier and exist at the present time, it is possible to distinguish general signs, which are characteristic of any state:

1. public authority, separated from society. The presence of a special layer of people who carry out the political management of society;

2.certain territory (political space), delineated border, which is subject to the laws and powers of the state;

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 for restricting the rights and freedoms of citizens and even depriving them of their lives. For these purposes, it has special power structures: army, police, courts, prisons;

5. the right to levy taxes and fees from the population, which are necessary for the maintenance of state bodies and the material support of state policy: defense, economic, social;

6.compulsory membership in the state. A person receives citizenship from the moment of birth. Unlike membership in a party or other organizations, citizenship is a necessary attribute of belonging to any person;

7.claim to represent the whole of 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 - the activity of the state aimed at managing society, at coordinating the interests of various social strata and classes, at maintaining its power.

External functions- the activity of the state as a subject of international relations. Representing a certain people, territory and sovereign power.

There are two main forms of the state: the monarchy and the republic, which, in turn, are divided into a number of varieties:

Monarchy- (from the Greek monarchia - autocracy) A form of government in which the 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 - chapters and the state is at the same time the religious head.

Republic- (from the Latin. Res-business and publikus - public, nationwide) A form of state and government in which the popular majority is considered the source of power, and the main bodies of state power 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 he is not officially 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 by an extra-parliamentary method, through direct or indirect elections. He is the head of state and supreme commander in chief, forms the government and controls its activities, directs the country's foreign and domestic policy (USA, Brazil, Mexico). Russia, according to the constitution of the Russian Federation, is also a presidential republic, although it has certain features of a parliamentary republic.

semi-presidential (presidential-parliamentary) republic- strong presidential power is combined with effective parliamentary control over the activities of the government (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 due to the level of power vested in its constituent administrative-territorial entities (lands, states, provinces, republics, territories).

unitary a single state is a politically homogeneous organization with a single constitution and citizenship, a single political and legal space, a 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 governments (Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden), local governments have a fairly broad autonomy. However, the middle link of management is focused on the implementation of the decisions of the center.

Decentralized (France, Italy, Spain). At the level of middle management, they have their own administrative-territorial division (states, provinces, cantons), which have a certain independence.

federal state a stable union of state formations (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 an attack from outside, the creation of an interethnic security zone, etc.

Rule of law and civil society.

Constitutional state- a type of democratic state that operates only within the framework of laws adopted and uniform for all, respecting and protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens.

The rule of law implies:

The presence of a developed civil society.

Legal equality of all citizens and guarantee of legal rights and freedoms.

The universality of law, its distribution to all citizens, all organizations and institutions.

Mutual responsibility of the state and the individual, equality of the parties before the law.

Sovereignty of the people, recognition that the people are the main source of power, and state power is representative.

Real separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial.

The rule of law acts as a guarantor of the totality of the interests of civil society in their relationship with the state.

Civil society is a society consisting of free citizens, independent of the arbitrariness of the state, capable of protecting their rights and interests. In order to coordinate joint activities and protect individual and public spheres of life, citizens enter voluntarily formed non-state civil society institutions. society.

The main features of civil society:

Delimitation of the competences of the state and society, the independence of civil society institutions from the state within their competence;

Democracy and pluralism in the political sphere;

Market economy based on 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 who are socially independent of the state and have the opportunity and ability to provide for themselves;

In the legal sphere, close interaction with the rule of law. 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 in the development of human society. For their occurrence, a certain level of economic, political and social development and an appropriate level of political culture are required.

Political party as a subject of political relations.

Under the subjects of politics are meant active participants in political life, able to formulate and implement their own goals. This is the state, class, nation, political party, mass movements, voter, political leaders, political elite. Why are they subject to politics? They have their own, conscious, different interests and needs and participate in the political process to realize these interests.

The first subject of the policy is personality, since all social groups and strata are made up 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, orients himself in the rules and mechanism of the political life of society, comprehends the ways of realizing 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 policy subjects is customary to include large social groups and communities: classes, estates, interclass and intraclass groups, which, not being direct participants in politics, but have a strong influence on it.

3. It is customary to refer to the third type of political subjects such structures whose activities are not always visible.

There is a relationship between the subjects of politics and the community on behalf of which he acts. The sign of the subject of policy is his position as a member of the community. If the subject of politics does not act on behalf of the community, group, then he is not perceived as a political subject. As a representative of the community, actively participating in political life, the subject also pursues its 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 an intermediary 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 conduct a political action. After the fulfillment of the planned 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 activity of the parties is 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, 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 by merging or splitting other parties.

Classification (typology) of political parties carry out:

by social essence: bourgeois, petty-bourgeois, proletarian, peasant;

according to ideological and program settings: 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: - into avant-garde, parliamentary (ruling and opposition).

From all the variety functions, which are carried out by political parties, it is possible to single out the general, most characteristic for most of them:

Expression and protection of interests of certain segments of the population

Creation of political ideology and program of action

Political socialization of citizens and activation of their political activity

Formation of public opinion

Recruitment of new members to the 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 the implementation of their goals

Control over the institutions of state power.

The interconnection 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 rule out pluralism of opinions and open competition between various political forces. This is the monopoly of one party on power;

- two-party systems most characteristic of established democratic regimes of power (USA, England, Australia). In such political systems, each of the parties is capable of alone, without a coalition with other political forces, to form a government and exercise power. Advantages of a two-party system: stability, high degree of state control, predictability of political activity. Disadvantages: conservatism, inability to adequately express all 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 has sufficient support from the electorate and is not able to win elections and form a government without joining a coalition. It 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. The main types of modern parties:

class parties- express the interests of a particular social stratum, class (workers, peasants, bourgeois)

ideological parties- the basis of ideology (communist, liberal, radical, etc.)

cadre parties- a small number of professional functionaries; free membership and unstable composition of activists. Such parties are intended for holding periodic mass actions (elections, referendums, demonstrations)

mass parties- strive to satisfy the interests and requirements of the largest possible number of voters from various social strata and classes.

charismatic parties- are created around a specific person with charisma

opposition parties– defeated in elections and in opposition to the existing regime

legal parties– acting within the framework of existing legislation

illegal parties- activity is incompatible with existing norms, outside the law.

Like any other, the political system has its boundaries. Within these boundaries are power institutions, relationships, activities that determine policy. Outside the boundaries of the political system is the "environment". Here are located non-political spheres of society's life: economic, social, sphere of spiritual culture, private life of a person, as well as political systems of other countries and international institutions (for example, the UN). In the political system, according to one of the approaches existing in political science, there are five structural components, which are called subsystems.

The institutional subsystem includes the state, parties, socio-political movements and other political institutions.

The normative subsystem includes political principles, legal norms governing political life, political traditions and moral norms embodied in constitutions, other laws (these norms apply to the entire political system), party programs, charters of political associations (these norms operate within certain organizations), as well as the traditions and procedures that determine the rules of conduct in politics.

The functional subsystem covers the forms and directions of political activity, methods of exercising power.

The communicative subsystem is a set of connections and interactions both between the subsystems of the political system, and between the political system and other subsystems of society (economic, social, etc.), as well as between the political systems of different countries.

The cultural and ideological subsystem covers political psychology and ideology, political culture, including political teachings, values, ideals, patterns of behavior that affect the political activity of people.

In the aggregate of all these components, the political system is a complex mechanism for the formation and functioning of power in society.

The interactions of the political system with the "environment" can be grouped into two groups. First: the impact of society on the political system. These impacts are impulses that should prompt the political system to respond to them. They may take the form of demands coming from society. So, in the late 1990s. in Russian society among teachers, scientists, public figures there was concern about the state of the education system in the country. At various meetings, in the press, at the congress of workers in education and the content of education, the question of the need to modernize this system was raised. The political system received a powerful impetus, which initiated the process of developing a political solution that affects the interests of the population. The issue of modernization of education has become a subject of consideration in the Federal Assembly, the government, and other institutions of power (institutional subsystem). Its decision was prepared within the framework of the Constitution, but required changes in the Law "On Education" and other regulatory documents, as well as the adoption of the Law "On State Educational Standards" (normative subsystem). The preparation of decisions on the modernization of education manifested itself in various forms of activity (discussions, sociological surveys, teacher meetings, expert reviews) of the Ministry of Education, State Duma Committees, the State Council, print media, television, etc. (functional subsystem). It required the interaction of political parties, ministries of education, finance of the State Duma, the President of the Russian Federation (communicative subsystem) and between subsystems. The forms of political activity of all participants and the proposed modernization projects reflected values, ideals, political culture (cultural and ideological subsystem). As a result of a complex preparatory process, a comprehensive analysis of the problem, discussion, financial calculations, etc., a decision has matured in the political system, which has taken the form of resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation on conducting an experimental test of the new structure, on approving the Concept for the Modernization of Russian Education for the period up to 2010. and a number of other documents.

These decrees are a manifestation of the second group of interactions between the political system and society: the impact of the political system on society through decision-making, the implementation of measures to implement them.

So, as we see, in society (in the "environment" in which the political system exists) there is a need for certain changes, dissatisfaction with any negative phenomena, an active attitude towards certain actions of the authorities. They manifest themselves in demands, in various forms of support, or in other information. Under the influence of these impulses coming from society (or born in the political system itself), the process of preparing and making political decisions develops within the political system, in which all its structural components simultaneously participate. The adopted decisions (laws, decrees, resolutions, orders) and measures to ensure their implementation are aimed at society, at the implementation of urgent changes in it.

What is the role of the political system? What are its functions?

The main of these functions is its leading role in relation to all other systems (spheres) that together form society.

It is in the political system that the goals and objectives of social development are determined, and the political course of power is developed. This is the goal-setting function that the political system performs.

Another function - integrative - consists in maintaining the integrity of society, preventing its disintegration, disintegration, in coordinating the diverse interests of various social groups. Among the most important is the regulatory function, which consists in regulating, streamlining the entire set of social relations, developing norms for people's behavior in all spheres of social life.

Phenomena, objects and actors associated with the concept of "politics" constitute the sphere of the political life of society. The function of the political system is based on an orderly system, systemic integrity. This is, first of all, the state, parties, political norms, institutions (for example, the monarchy or suffrage), these are symbols - the anthem, coat of arms and flag, this is political culture, all its values and much, much more that makes up the structure of politics . The function of the political system is that all these elements work together, interconnectedly, and none of them exists in isolation.

Political system

An ordered set of institutions, norms, ideas, organizations, interactions and relations between them that organize political power - this is the political system. It is a whole complex of non-state and state institutions that carry out the functions of the political system of society, the activity through which all the work of state power takes place. Although the concept is much more capacious than just state power and public administration.

The political system encompasses all institutions and all individuals that participate in the political process and, in addition, all non-governmental and informal phenomena and factors that have an influence on the formulation of problems, as well as the development of solutions and their implementation in state-power relations. If interpreted most broadly, then this concept can include everything that is in any way related to politics. The function of the political system is to influence political decisions with the help of human and material resources.

Characteristic

Any political system has characteristics that are considered according to the following parameters:

political ideology;
political culture;
political norms, traditions and customs.

The main functions of the political system of society are as follows:

transformation of a public demand into a political decision (conversion);
adaptation of the political system to the conditions of society, which are constantly changing;
concentration of human and material resources (voters and money) for the pursuit of political goals;
protection of basic values and basic principles of the socio-political system - a protective function;
establishment and development of cooperation with other states on a mutually beneficial basis - a foreign policy function;
harmonization of the requirements of individual social groups and collective interests - a consolidating function;
creation of spiritual and material values and their distribution.

With the organization of the institutions of political power, each function of the political system is regulated, collectively this is called the political regime.

Principles

First of all, these are the methods of decision-making by the authorities and the limits of their intervention in the regulation of relations in society. Ways of making power decisions can be democratic and authoritarian, which determines the type and functions of the political system of power. Another sign of such a division differs in the limits of intervention in the regulation of relations in society, and here one can name totalitarian and liberal political regimes. Regarding the socio-economic basis, the regimes are divided into the following types.

The totalitarian-distributive regime, where the economy has undergone stateization, material wealth is also distributed by the state. Such a structure and functions of the political system are characteristic of a totalitarian regime.
Liberal-democratic, where the market economy is the basis. This political regime is democratic.
Mobilization and convergence, where there is varying degrees of state intervention in the market economy. Such structure and functions of the political system constitute an authoritarian regime.

Essential elements

Each specific society forms its own specific political system, because all the elements that make it up - institutions and traditions, political values and the very concept of the structure and functions of the political system - are different in different communities. Since politics is an open system, actively interacting with all spheres of public life, it not only influences the economic, spiritual, social and other components, but also experiences a huge reciprocal influence.

But absolutely any political system of society contains the basic elements. The concept, structure, functions describe it more than clearly, for this you just need to consider individual subsystems.

Organizational and institutional subsystem. Organizations (various social groups, opposition and revolutionary movements, and so on), as well as institutions (parties, parliamentarism, judiciary, civil service, presidency, citizenship, and the like).
Normative-regulatory subsystem. Legal, political and moral norms, traditions and customs.
Communication subsystem. Relationships, forms and connections of interaction between participants in the political process, and then between society and the political system.
Cultural and ideological subsystem. Political ideas and political culture, ideology, political psychology.

Organizational and institutional subsystem

People who work together as an organized group to achieve some political goal is a political organization. For example, a political party, a social movement or an association that influences state policy, as well as a group of citizens with the initiative to nominate candidates for deputies, even a cell of revolutionaries. You can also name those organizations for which political goals are not the main ones - the church or the trade union, the clubs of fishermen or numismatists, however, under certain conditions, they sometimes act as political organizations.

But a political institution is a much more complex element of the system, since its social interaction is stable and constant, where it regulates its site in the political arena of society. The political system, the concept and functions of which are significant for the whole society, forms an orderly structure with the distribution of social roles and clear rules of interaction. Here you can name the institution of the civil service, the parliament, the executive branch, the institution of the head of state, the monarchy, the presidency, citizenship, judiciary, political parties, and the like.

Communication subsystem

Connections, relationships, forms of communication and interaction that develop during political activity are a communicative component that every political society has. The functions of the political system of the state cover all components of this system. And in order to achieve their own goals, organizations, institutions, large social communities and individuals must build relationships with each other, as well as process the social environment, here is the interaction of parliamentary committees, and relations between government agencies and political parties, and relations between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, and, of course, communication between the state and its population.

The most important thing in these relationships is communication channels, the entire communicative subsystem rests on them. Through these channels, the information of the population intended for the state authorities (commissions of inquiry, open hearings, election results, opinion polls, and so on) is transmitted, as well as in the other direction - from the state to the population (the media, from which it becomes known about political decisions, new laws, etc.). For any political interaction there are norms - legal, political and moral, in addition, traditions and customs are not forgotten.

Cultural and ideological subsystem

This includes the political views, ideas, beliefs, perceptions and feelings of politicians at all levels. In this component of the political system, one can single out political-psychological and political-ideological aspects. The first deals with the behavioral features of politics, and the second focuses on its theory. Political psychology concentrates on the behavioral traits of both entire societies and groups and individuals, their moods, motivations, feelings, opinions, emotions, delusions and beliefs.

The characteristics of the cultural and ideological component are significantly influenced by the charisma of leaders, the psychology of the crowd and the manipulation of mass consciousness. Political ideology is at a higher level and is included in the functions of the political system of the state. This includes political doctrines, theories, concepts and ideas. Political culture is a part of the spiritual culture of mankind with a set of political knowledge, behavior patterns and generally accepted values, it includes the traditions of statehood, symbols and political language.

Main functions

There is no political system without the interaction of its elements, since it is this interaction that determines all of its most important social functions.

The political system determines the promising directions of social development.
It also optimizes the movement of society towards the intended goals.
It helps to allocate resources.
It harmonizes the interests of various subjects and encourages citizens to take an active part in politics.
The political system develops norms and rules of conduct for all members of society.
She also controls the implementation of rules, regulations and laws.
Only a political system can ensure stability and security in society.

The political system functions in the following institutions:

the state and all its bodies;
socio-political movements;
pressure groups, in other words - interest groups;
political parties.

State

This is the main backbone element that has almost all the functions of the political system. The state is the most powerful object of politics, because it has power and is able to coerce. Here the most fierce political struggle unfolds, a variety of political forces want to get this prize - the state machine. However, the state does not always work harmoniously in the political system.

The struggle for power quite often gives independence to individual state units, for example, the army, which then carries out a coup d'état. There are similar conflicts between the parliament and the president (Russia in 1993, when the political forces were divided precisely along this principle). The winner of the elections gets the state and its power if the system has nurtured developed political parties and they have control over the authorities.

Political parties

An ideological organization that unites citizens with the same political views creates a party to implement its program in power. Ideology is philosophy, the ideas that guide the party in the political struggle. According to this principle, parties can be divided into liberal, conservative, social democratic and simply democratic, communist, socialist and nationalist. Each of them has a permanent leadership and organizational structure, a charter and membership.

An organization that does not have fifty thousand members cannot be called a party in Russia. The state divides parties into systemic and non-systemic, where systemic parties are part of the current political system and are guided by existing laws. The non-systemic ones are usually semi-legal or illegal and fight against the existing system. Democratic states usually change hands: after the next elections, the ruling party may well become the opposition, and the opposition - the ruling one. Authoritarian and totalitarian states are usually one-party, rarely two-party, while democratic states are multi-party.

Other groups

A less significant place in political systems is occupied by socio-political movements and public organizations. They are rarely allowed to vote because they are few in number. Interest groups or pressure groups are trade unions, as well as large monopolies, industrial organizations, the media, the church and many other institutions that do not aim at coming to power. But such groups can exert influence (pressure) on the authorities to satisfy certain interests (for example, reduce taxes). All these structural elements - both state and not - operate in compliance with special political traditions and norms, since certain experience has already been gained.

Traditionally, elections are held where there are no less than two candidates on the ballot, demonstrations, rallies, meetings of current and future deputies and voters are held, far from one function of the political system is capable of rallying public groups around a correctly presented idea. Political power is much broader than state power; such a mass of various institutions is subordinate to it that, on the whole, it even looks somewhat impersonal. The function of the political system consists in the totality of the efforts of all its elements and divisions, and the system of government of political authorities is the mechanism of this function.

Society consists of many subsystems: economic, political, social, spiritual and ideological, legal, etc. The political system, being one of the subsystems of the total social system, occupies a special place in it. Political system is a system of institutions and relations that determine the political life of society and exercise 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 not formalized. To formalized institutions include: the state, state institutions and bodies, political parties, social and political associations and organizations, pressure groups, etc.

The political system is a multifunctional structure that includes the following components:

· institutional, consisting of various socio-political institutions and institutions (the 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 about 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. Removal of social tension in society;

Definition of common goals, objectives and ways of development of society;

Development of specific programs of activity and organization of their implementation;

Distribution, redistribution of material and spiritual values between various social communities and spheres of society's life;

Political socialization of citizens: preparation and inclusion of individuals in the system of established political relations;

Monitoring the maintenance of existing institutions and legal norms and the 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 the division of political systems according to the types of socio-economic formations: slaveholding, feudal, bourgeois, socialist.

The civilizational approach proposes the division of political systems by types of civilization: traditional(pre-industrial) industrial, post-industrial(informational).

According to the degree of openness to the external environment and the ability to perceive innovations from the outside - open And closed.

According to the nature of the relationship between the center and places - on decentralized And centralized.