Introduction

Questions:

1. Origin, essence and main features of the state as a "special organization of power"

2. Institutional forms of government and forms of government

3. Features of the structural and functional organization of state power in Russian Federation

4. Elections as an institution of reproduction and renewal of state power

As a result of successful study of the topic, you will learn:

the basic concepts of the origin and essence of the state as a universal organization designed to produce the minimum necessary for society to regulate and order

The structure and functions of the state as an extensive system of institutions and institutions that embody the three branches of power: legislative, executive and judicial

The essence and meaningful meaning of parliamentarism as a basic institution of democracy, in which the principle of popular sovereignty is most directly manifested

The main types of the state, classified on such grounds as the form of government, the form of government

The essence and foundations of the rule of law as an institution that ensures the rule of law and law in public life

the essence and foundations of the welfare state as an institution that guarantees its citizens a certain level of social protection and security

place and role in the system of public authorities of the institute of presidency and parliamentarism: common features and features of the presidential and parliamentary republics

· the role and importance in the organization and functioning of state power of the institution of free democratic elections: the main types of electoral systems

Features of the structural and functional organization of state power in today's Russia and the implementation of the principle of "separation of powers"

and acquire the following competencies:

· formulate fundamental differences in approaches to the analysis of the origin and essence of the state, characteristic of Marxism and the liberal Western tradition

reveal the content of the principle of separation of powers as a system of checks and balances in the organization of state power, ensuring freedom and democracy

give an exhaustive description of the mechanisms for the formation of each of the branches of government, as well as their functional purpose

distinguish (on the example of specific countries) the features of state building in the conditions of unitary states, federations and confederations

Prove the direct dependence of the emergence and development of civil society on the form and method of government existing in this state

correlate such concepts as "parliamentary republic" and "presidential republic", "absolute monarchy" and "parliamentary monarchy"

· conduct a comparative analysis and formulate differences between the system of organization of state power in the United States and in the Russian Federation

reveal the content of the election campaign as a complex legislatively regulated process, which breaks down into a number of consecutive stages

see the "pluses" and "minuses" of the majoritarian and proportional electoral systems and the peculiarities of their use in organizing elections in our country

In the process of mastering the topic, focus on the following concepts:

State- organization of public political power, extending to the whole society, acting as its official representative and relying, if necessary, on the means and measures of coercion

Legislature- one of the three balancing powers in the state. It is a set of powers to issue laws, as well as a system of state bodies exercising these powers.

executive branch- represents a set of powers to manage public affairs

Confederation- a form of a union of states in which the states that are members of the union retain their sovereignty in full. It combines the features of both international law and state organization

Majoritarian electoral system- one of the two main types of electoral system, in which a candidate is considered elected who receives largest number votes

Monarchy A form of government in which the monarch is the head of state. His power (with rare exceptions) is for life and is inherited.

proportional electoral system- one of the two main types of electoral system, in which the distribution of mandates is carried out in accordance with the received share of votes

Republic- a form of government in which all the highest bodies of state power are either elected or formed by representative national institutions (parliaments), and citizens have personal and political rights

Judicial branch- represents a set of powers to administer justice, i.e. powers to consider and resolve criminal, civil, administrative and constitutional cases (disputes)

unitary state- one of the two forms of territorial organization of the state. A state is unitary (merged, simple) if most of the parts of this state do not have the status of a state entity

Federation- a form of government, which is a complex (union) state, consisting of state formations having legally defined political independence

To study the topic:

Read:

O.Z. Mushtuk. Political science. Tutorial. – M.: Market DS. 2006. Section 4. The state as the central institution of the political system. Chapters: 4.1. Origin, essence and main features of the state as a "special organization of power" (p. 259 - 275); 4.2. Institutional forms of government and forms of government (p. 276 - 291); 4.3. Features of the structural and functional organization of state power in the Russian Federation (pp. 292 - 317); 4.4. Elections as an institution of reproduction and renewal of state power (pp. 318 - 345).

Pay attention to:

On the importance of this topic in acquiring the necessary skills to rationally and critically analyze political phenomena and processes related to the organization and functioning of state power in various countries and political systems, the mechanisms for the formation of political and power institutions and structures in them, the distribution of spheres (and volumes) between them competencies and responsibilities, etc.

Moreover, we are talking about the skills and abilities to identify in this analysis (using the methods of comparative political science) not only what is common, related, but also what distinguishes, what gives rise to national specificity and is associated not only with differences in historical experience and traditions , but also with the subjective side of politics, including ideological attitudes and value orientations those in power, the degree of their commitment to democratic forms and methods of government, their attitude to the possibility (and necessity) of control by the public, etc.

"Any government can afford exactly as much as the people allow it" - this normative ideal of democracy is an ideal because, like any other ideal, it knows no end. But in one way or another, approaching it is a task (as the experience of Western countries shows) is quite feasible. But this requires both solid knowledge of the channels and means by which it is possible to retain power and rulers within the framework of the obligations imposed on them by societies, and practical skills in the reasonable (rational) use of these mechanisms.

If we in Russia want a truly democratic and socially responsible government, then we must accustom our "rulers" (large and small) to perceive themselves not as God-sent "pastors of the flock", i.e. of the people, but only and exclusively in the role of its “well-trained servants”, professionals who are hired (and maintained) by the people to conduct common affairs, authorized by them to govern the country according to legal (i.e. fair) law in the name of not private and not corporate, but the common good.

And those who are removed (expelled) by the people, if they do not comply (or unprofessionally fulfill) the obligations assumed under the social contract. If, instead of taking care of promoting the general state interests, they act only and exclusively for the sake of their personal egocentric ambitions and plans.

And for this there is only one way - to learn how to really (effectively) use (among other things) such an instrument of control and rotation of those in power as free (alternative) elections, which is accessible to all. Only through this ability to choose self-worthy "leaders" and "stewards", and choosing to cope with them, can we really come to real democracy, a democracy of rationally conscious and responsible participation, in which power will be exercised (and constantly renewed) by freely expressing themselves. majority.

Check out the following additional materials:

1. The Constitution of the Russian Federation. Official publication. - M .: Publishing house "Legal Literature", 1997

2. O.Z.Mushtuk, E.A.Kiselev. Modern electoral systems and electoral technologies - M.: MESI Publishing House, 1999 - p. 4 - 77 (Introduction, chapters 1 - 5)

3. Mushtuk O.Z. Breaking is not building. Next tasks of the government. – M.: Obozrevatel-Observer. 2002. No. 2 - p. 69-76

Pay attention to:

The analysis contained in these publications of the structural and functional organization of the power of the Russian Federation as part of its transition to a market economy and the implementation of political modernization “in the image and likeness” of what exists in developed Western democracies, including factors that “pull” the country back, and that causes constant reproduction in political practice what we are trying to get away from.

Answer the following questions:

1. The structure and functions of the political system and the mechanisms of its interaction with the environment

2. Abilities-capabilities of political systems as factors-determinants of efficiency

3. The main criteria for the classification of political systems and their typological plurality

4. Concept political regime as a functional side of the political system

5. Initial features and "generic signs of totalitarianism as a regime of" all-consuming domination"

7. Democracy as a value and political form social progress

8. Basic principles and attributes of a pluralistic (representative) democracy

9. Human rights and freedoms and international standards in this area

10. The main directions and effectiveness of the political modernization (democratization) of Russia

Theoretical material on the topic:

Theoretical material of question 1:

When studying the first question – Origin, essence and main features of the state as a "special organization of power" - you should, first of all, familiarize yourself with the various theories of the origin of this institution. Understand the content of such of these theories as:

· theocratic theory(in which the emergence of the state is interpreted as the result of a contract between man and God)

· patriarchal theory(within which the state crowns the process of inter-clan and inter-tribal integration and appears as the highest (ultimately developed) form of patriarchal power)

· social contract theory in which the state is the resultant product of a voluntary agreement between people)

· violence theory(in which the emergence of the state is associated with the conquest and enslavement of some tribes by other tribes)

· class theory(within the framework of which the state arises there and then, where and when the division of society into antagonistic (socially irreconcilable) classes took place).

It must be borne in mind that all these theories cannot be evaluated unambiguously. Each of them contains a rational grain and in its own way (taking into account the knowledge accumulated by that time) reveals one or another side (or manifestation) of the genesis and development of the state - processes that were generally objective in nature, being an institutional expression of the social need to streamline the joint life and centralization.

In legal terms The main features of the state are: coercion(obedience to the mechanism of government by coercive laws); sovereignty(the supremacy of state power within the country and independence in relation to other states); generality(the state acts on behalf of the whole society and extends its power throughout the entire society).

On the social side- population (community of people living within the borders of given state and being its citizens or subjects), as well as institutions such as the ruling political elite(carries out the function of strategic management of the company) and administrative apparatus(a special layer of government officials and employees involved in direct government).

In a geographical sense- clearly delineated by state borders territory as the physical (material) basis of the state, which is characterized by: indivisibility, inviolability, exclusivity and inalienability. A state that has lost its territory ceases to be a state.

At the organizational and institutional level- an extensive network of institutions and institutions that embody three branches of government- legislative, executive and judicial, which in democratic systems are built on the principle of separation, i.e. are autonomous and independent of each other, having (each) a constitutionally established scope of powers and prerogatives.

As regards the main functions of the state as the supreme manager of public affairs, then among them it is necessary to distinguish the functions internal(management-related separate areas public life and ensuring social stability in society, protecting the constitutional order) and functions external(aimed at ensuring national security and protecting the interests of the country in the international arena).

To conclude the study of the first question should be an understanding of what is behind the concepts "constitutional state" and "welfare state".

Theoretical material of question 2:

When studying the second question – Institutional forms of government and forms of government - First of all, it is necessary to understand what these concepts mean. concept "form of government" indicates the method of organizing the supreme state power, the principles of the relationship between its individual constituent institutions and institutions, the degree of participation of the people in the formation of government bodies and control of their activities. concept "form of government"- on the national-territorial organization of the state and the nature of the relationship between the central and regional (local) administrative and management structures.

From point of view forms of government one should distinguish between states in the form of a monarchy (hereditary power) and in the form of a republic (elected power). Monarchies are of two types: absolute and constitutional. V absolute monarchies unlimited power is concentrated in the hands of one person (king, king, sultan, etc.). There are no representative bodies, as well as political parties and organizations.

V constitutional monarchies the power of the monarch is no longer comprehensive and is limited in the field of legislation by a representative body, i.e. parliament (dualistic, or dual, monarchy), or it is a “purely” symbolic (formal) power, when the monarch, as it were, “reigns”, but does not rule, real power is concentrated not in the hands of the monarch, but in the hands of the popularly elected parliament and the government formed by it on a party basis, headed by the prime minister - minister - leader of the party (or bloc of parties) that won the election (parliamentary monarchy).

Among the republics, one should also distinguish republics with a presidential form of government and republics with a parliamentary form of government. But at the same time, it must be borne in mind that these two types of republics are rare in their "pure form" and most of them now existing belong to the category of mixed (presidential-parliamentary or parliamentary-presidential republics).

In this regard, it is advisable to compare the procedure for the formation and status powers of the legislative and executive authorities in republics of different types. In this regard, what is typical for the United States as a presidential republic of the classical type, France as a semi-presidential republic, Germany as a parliamentary republic. And also for different types of monarchies: Saudi Arabia - as an absolute monarchy, Jordan - as a dualistic monarchy, Great Britain - as a parliamentary monarchy.

It is also necessary to distinguish between the typological heterogeneity of states in terms of forms state structure. According to this criterion, they are divided into states unitary,federal and confederate. The former predominate, the latter are isolated and, as a rule, short-lived. At the same time, it is important to take into account that this or that form of government is determined by countless factors (social, political, economic, historical, cultural, geographical, etc.). The more diverse the living conditions of individual countries and peoples, the more likely it is not a unitary, but a federal or confederal form of the state, the more specific features there are between them, even within the same type. And in order to clarify the differences between unitary states and federations in terms of centralization and decentralization of power and prerogatives, it is necessary to conduct a comparative analysis of them on the example of the United States or Germany (federal republics) and Great Britain or France (unitary states).

Theoretical material of question 3:

When studying the third question – Features of the structural and functional organization of state power in the Russian Federation - one should, first of all, turn to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, popularly adopted in 1993, as the main Law of the country, according to which the Russian Federation is a democratic, federal, legal state with a republican form of government. And on this basis, you need to consider:

· Legally- legal status President of the Russian Federation as the head of state and guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, and the functions arising from this status of the first official in the state to represent the country in the international arena and determine the main directions of foreign policy, his powers and prerogatives related to the organization and the functioning of the executive branch, relationships with other branches of government (legislative and judicial)

Place and role in the system of organization and functioning of the state power of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation - an institution that personifies parliamentarism as a leadership system based on the principle of separation of powers, acting as a representative body, designed to express and implement the will and sovereignty of the multinational people of Russia, playing the role legislature with the sole power to make laws

· Differences in the order of formation and status powers between the two chambers of the Federal Assembly- the upper one, represented by the Federation Council, designed to express the interests of all subjects of the Russian Federation, and the lower one, represented by State Duma representing the interests of the population of the country as a whole. Particular attention should be paid to the question of the possibilities and channels of influence of both chambers on the executive branch at the formation stage, as well as the forms of control over current activities.

· The procedure for the formation and status powers of the Government of the Russian Federation as the highest body of executive power, as well as the possibility of his resignation by the State Duma, given that the Government of the Russian Federation is not born from the parliament (the participation of the latter in the process of forming the government is reduced only to the approval of the candidacy of the prime minister). The key figure in this process is the President of the Russian Federation

· Legal status and differences in areas of competence three constituent instances of the judicial system of the Russian Federation at the federal level - the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Arbitration Court and the Supreme Court.

Particular attention should be paid to issues related to federal structure Russian state , and to understand that the republics that are part of the Russian Federation do not have the status of sovereign and independent. The sovereignty of the Russian Federation is indivisible and extends to its entire territory, which is manifested (among other things) in the fact that it is not republican constitutions and republican legislation that have supremacy throughout the entire territory of the Russian Federation, but namely the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws. And the former (i.e., republican constitutions and laws) must not contradict the latter (i.e., federal laws and the federal Constitution).

Theoretical material of question 4:

When studying the fourth question – Elections as an institution of reproduction and renewal of state power - it should be borne in mind that, although there is no democracy without elections, by no means all elections are a manifestation of such, but only those that are built on:

· freedom of suffrage, i.e. universal and equal suffrage on the basis of the principle: "one person - one vote"

· freedom of nomination and related alternatives and fair competition of elections

· freedom and equality all registered participants in the election race in information rights and campaigning

· freedom of self-determination each potential voter regarding personal participation in elections (at the level of both active and passive suffrage)

· obligation and periodicity when elections are held not occasionally, but regularly - within the time limits specified by law.

Elections are a rather complex legally regulated process, which includes a whole a series of successive steps. In this regard, it is necessary to distinguish and clearly understand the content of:

· initial stage associated with the announcement of the date of the elections and the formation of their institutional infrastructure

· nomination and registration of candidates to representative bodies and elected government posts

· organizing and conducting an election campaign(campaigning) by candidates and electoral associations

Special attention should be referred to financial side elections and the existing legal regulations in this area and "taboos" in regard to the formation of election funds and their sources, limiting the range of legal and individuals, entitled to voluntary donations to these funds, rules and principles for the use of received funds, etc.

The same attention should be paid to the question of electoral systems. Here it is necessary to clarify the essence of two of the most widely used systems, namely: majoritarian systems (or majority systems) and proportional systems (or systems of proportional representation), as well as the "pluses" and "minuses" of each of them in terms of the possibilities of real representation of the political forces operating in the country and reflecting the will of the majority, the creation of capable governments, the development of certain types of party-political systems, etc.

To conclude the study of the topic should be considered practice of organizing and holding elections in the Russian Federation by referring to the relevant legislation. And, above all, to federal laws: “On the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in Referendums of Citizens of the Russian Federation” of June 12, 2002, “On the Election of Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation” of December 20, 2002 and “On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation” of January 10, 2003

To prepare for the workshop:

Consider answering the following questions for discussion:

The state exists not to turn earthly life into heaven, but to prevent it from finally turning into hell. (V.S. Solovyov - Russian philosopher). “The state system, it is first and more important than the economy, because this is a condition for it to be possible to live at all” (A.I. Solzhenitsyn - Russian writer). "Even a bad state is better than anarchy" (Kirill - Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad). Considering these statements, consider answering the following questions:

1. What factors objectively determine the need for the state as a political institution?

2. What is behind the definition of the state as a "special organization of power"?

3. What functions does the state perform as the supreme "manager-manager" of public affairs?

4. Does democracy deny the need for a strong state, and how should this strength be manifested?

Write a short essay (2-3 pages) on one of the following questions:

Questions for a short essay:

1. What are the main postulates of Marxism regarding the origin and essence of the state?

2. What characterizes parliament and parliamentarism as the basic institutions of representative democracy?

3. What factors determine the need for a federal structure of the state

5. What is the functional purpose of the administrative apparatus of the state and how do the concepts of "bureaucracy" and "bureaucracy" correlate?

6. How is the government of the Russian Federation formed and who plays a key role in this process?

7. What structural elements and technologies make up the election campaign of a candidate and an electoral association?

8. From what sources of funds are the election funds of candidates formed and what are the legislative prohibitions and “taboos” in this regard?

Complete self-assessment quizzes

· Control test of section 4. The state as the central institution of the political system from the book: OZ Mushtuk. Political science. Tutorial. – M.: Market DS. 2006. - p.331 - 339

To prepare for the consultation:

Write down the questions, the answers to which caused you difficulty and require additional consultation with the teacher

· Check out the virtual consultation class for a list of frequently asked questions. Perhaps you will find answers to your questions there.

"The state as an institution of the political system"

Origin and essence of the state

The state is the main institution of the political system of society. It organizes and controls the joint activities and relations of people, social groups, classes, associations. The power and resources are concentrated in the hands of the state, allowing it to decisively influence all manifestations of public life. The eye is the central institution of power in society and, as such, concentrates in the hands the levers that set the social organism in motion.

Since the appearance of the first political theories and to this day in political science, attempts to understand the essence of the state, the causes and process of its emergence, to characterize its functions and properties do not stop. The versatility and multifunctionality of the state explain the difference in its interpretation, ranging from ancient thinkers to modern researchers. For Aristotle, it is the personification of reason, justice, the common good, a reflection of the generic essence of man, as "a political animal striving for joint cohabitation." On the contrary, for T. Hobbes, the state is like a biblical monster, sowing fear and horror around itself.

What circumstances brought the state to life? Political science has persistently tried to answer this question in the past. The following concepts are common.

theocratic theory, according to which the state is an act of God's providence. The justification of extraterrestrial origin for centuries supported the authority of the rulers, justified their absolute power, prescribed the binding nature of their decisions.

Patriarchal concept interprets the state as a large family that arose in the process of connecting clans into tribes, tribes into states. According to this interpretation, the relationship of the monarch and subjects correspond to the relationship of the father and family members, the task of the monarch is to take care of the subjects, the duty of the latter is obedience.

Theory of conquest (violence) explains the process of the emergence of the state as the result of political action - conquest, violence, internal or external. The result of the victory of the strong over the weak, of the majority over the minority, is the state, which becomes the governing body of the vanquished.

All of these theories are confirmed in the history of civilizations. None of the modern states did not arise without violence, without seizures. Each piece of land on earth repeatedly passed from hand to hand, one conqueror was replaced by another. The first states were clothed in religious forms (the rule of the priests in Egypt), and later religious power competed - and not without success - for supremacy with secular state power. The attitude to state power, as to paternal power, was firmly established in the mass consciousness of many peoples: in Russia, until the 20th century, the tsar remained a “father” for the peasant masses, and to this day, clan, clientele relations with local authorities are characteristic of the peoples of the Caucasus, Asia , Africa. This became a serious obstacle to the establishment of the principles of democracy, which asserts not only the freedom of the individual, but also the personal responsibility of the citizen before the law for his actions.

contract theory ( T. Hobbes, J. Locke, J. - J. Rousseau) explains the origin of the state as the result of a contract consciously concluded between people. The state, according to the supporters of this theory, is preceded by complete anarchy, "the war of all against all", - the "state of nature" - the state of unlimited personal freedom. People deliberately decided to sacrifice it in favor of the state, designed to provide them with security, protection of the person, property.

Marxist theory explains the origin of the state by the division of labor, the emergence of private property, and with it classes with irreconcilable interests. The economically dominant class creates a state to subjugate the poor. The state, therefore, becomes an instrument for protecting the interests of the economically dominant class.

The emergence of the first city-states dates back to the 4th-3rd millennia BC. in Mesopotamia, in Gorny

Peru, etc. The state arises from the pre-state forms of power of the leader of the tribe, the priest, along with the formation of society, that is, an ordered set of people united by unnatural ties, in conditions of emerging social differentiation. The emergence of property, social, and functional inequalities requires a different kind of authority than in a tribal society - authorities with governing bodies and control.

The history of the formation and development of the state is a complex, diverse process that proceeded in a peculiar way in different regions the globe. Nevertheless, despite the peculiarities inherent in different civilizations and eras, the evolution of the state in most peoples basically coincides.

At the early stage of the formation of the state, the remains of the primitive organization of society with elements of direct democracy are preserved. Already in the early stages of statehood, various forms of government arise - republican and monarchical. The main social difference is the division into free and slaves, although professional, social, property differentiation appears among the free. The state performs two main functions:

1) ensures the dominance of the free over the enslaved population and 2) is in charge of organizing the "common affairs" of free citizens (XIII-XVI centuries).

The Middle Ages and the beginning of the New Age were for European countries a period of strengthening and centralization of state power. The foundation of this process was the elimination of feudal disunity, the elimination of polycentric power, the unification of the provinces around a single center. Gradually, a state-territorial organization of society arises with an organized state administration apparatus, with its characteristic service relations and functions that have replaced vassal ties, relationships of personal dependence inherent in early Middle Ages. The term "state" (stato) introduced by N. Machiavelli replaces the terminology used until now - "republic", "principality", "urban community", etc. In the 17th century the concept of "state" is finally formed, abstracted from specific forms of government (republic, kingdom, despotism, etc.).

In the 17th-18th centuries in Europe, centralized nation-states are finally taking shape and conditions are being created for the formation of civil society and the rule of law. The process of delimitation of state power and self-regulating civil society took a long time and many nations have not completed to this day.

Structure and functions of the state

The differentiation of economic, social, cultural and other interests and needs of both individuals and social groups that make up society required the creation of a social institution capable of linking together all the diversity of thoughts and aspirations, reflecting a common interest. So social institution and is the state. It is called upon to regulate relations between different groups, strata, classes, to ensure the security, rights and freedoms of all individuals, to protect law and order.

The main features of the state are:

It acts as a single organization of political power throughout the country, exercises power within a certain territory, the spatial limits of which are determined by the state border. The integrity of society and the interconnection of its members is ensured by the institution of citizenship.

The state has a special mechanism, a system of bodies and institutions that directly control society. These include institutions of the legislative, executive, judicial branches of government, enforcement agencies: the army, police (police), security services.

The state acts as a source of law and law, for the implementation of which it has special bodies (courts, prosecutors, penitentiary (correctional) institutions).

State power is independent of other authorities both within the country and outside it. Its sovereignty is expressed in supremacy, that is:

in the binding nature of its decisions for the entire population;

in the possibility of canceling acts of non-state political institutions;

in the possession of the exclusive right to legislate, in the monopoly on legalized violence.

The state has the right to levy taxes and other obligatory payments that ensure its economic independence.

In the process of social development, the ratio of institutions of state power, the volume of functions performed by them, changed. In the pre-industrial era, the state controlled all manifestations political life regulated all aspects of society. In the conditions of a mature civil society, the state retains the most important of them, providing the foundations of social life.

The most important state institutions are:

representative bodies (parliament);

executive and administrative bodies (president, government, prime minister);

supervisory and control bodies;

judicial system;

authorities of public order, state security;

military establishment.

In society, the state performs a number of functions. The most important of them:

economic function - regulation economic processes through tax, credit policy, through sanctions or the creation of economic incentives;

social function - regulation of relations between different groups (social strata, classes, ethnic groups, etc.), support for socially unprotected segments of the population, assistance in the development of education and healthcare systems;

legal function - the establishment of legal norms, ensuring their implementation;

cultural and educational function - the creation of conditions for meeting the cultural needs of the population;

external functions of the state include:

1) the defense of the country;

2) economic, technological, cultural and other cooperation with other countries, participation in the work of international organizations.

Forms of government

Since its inception, the state has been a special organization of political power, it has been distinguished by a variety of specific forms of its manifestation. The experience of mankind in the organization, structure and implementation of state power is summarized by political scientists in the concept of "state form". Three elements were included in it: the form of government, the forms of state (territorial-administrative) structure, and the political regime.

The form of government is a way of organizing the supreme power, the principles of interaction of its elements, the degree of participation of the population in their formation.

The main forms of state government are the monarchy and the republic.

Monarchy arises together with statehood itself and exists at all stages of human civilization, including the modern one.

She is characterized by:

Supreme power belongs to one person who uses it for life. The monarch has full power, it is sovereign and supreme. The will of the monarch is carried out through an extensive bureaucratic-bureaucratic management system (advisers, ministers, officials of all ranks).

Power is inherited. The inheritance of the supreme power removes from the process of its formation not only the royal subjects, commoners, but also the feudal aristocracy, which is unable to legally influence its replacement. Is this why the murders of monarchs objectionable to the aristocracy are so common in the arsenals of the political struggle of the Middle Ages?

The monarch, having concentrated in his hands all the reins of government, does not bear political and legal responsibility for the results of his reign. The king can not wrong - ("The king is never wrong") - says a medieval English legal maxim.

The monarchical form of government arose in a slave-owning society. In the Middle Ages, it became the main form of government. Over its long history, the monarchy has undergone significant evolution. During the Middle Ages, the early feudal monarchy, the monarchy feudal fragmentation, later limited estate-representative monarchy and, finally, absolute monarchy.

The estate monarchy is characterized by polycentric power: along with the royal (royal) power, there is a parallel power of its vassals, full-fledged rulers of their territories (“the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal”), in addition, royal power is limited in some matters by decisions of the class representatives of the assemblies (parliament (England), States General (France), Seim (Poland), Boyar Duma (Russia).

Under the conditions of feudal civil strife that threatened the integrity of the state, the royal power, like a hoop, pulled together all parts of the territory, step by step limiting the sovereignty of its vassals in the provinces subject to them. The result of this process of centralization of power was the creation absolute monarchies, in which all state power, without any restrictions, was in the hands of the monarch. The monarch carried out domestic and foreign policy with the help of officials and ministers responsible only to him. Formally, the country and subjects were proclaimed the property of the monarch ("sovereign people").

Having fulfilled its main purpose - having created centralized national sovereign states - absolutism lost its justification and turned into a brake on the naturally developing economic life. The struggle against absolutism, which was persistently waged by the emerging bourgeoisie, ended with the transformation of absolute monarchies into constitutional ones.

Constitutional monarchies are characteristic of bourgeois society. They are characterized by a constitutional limitation of the king's power, existence next to the royal representative parliamentary power, which performs a legislative function.

There are two types of constitutional monarchy:

dualistic monarchy. Here the legislative power belongs to the parliament, and the prerogative royalty is the executive branch. The monarch forms a government responsible both to him and to Parliament. This form of monarchy existed in Kaiser Germany in 1871-1918.

Parliamentary monarchy is a form of government where all branches of government - legislative, executive and judicial - are independent of the monarch's will. The monarch performs a representative function, being the head of state. He rules but does not govern. However, in a number of countries it retains "reserve functions" in case of possible political crises that threaten the unity and integrity of the country.

Monarchies survived in those countries where the process of democratic development proceeded in an evolutionary form, and the gradual reform of state institutions was the result of compromises between the supporters of the "old order" and the initiators of change. Modern monarchies (England, Spain, Sweden, Japan, etc.) perform an integrating function in a stratified society, transmit traditional values ​​for a given country from generation to generation. And only in the East, in the countries of the Persian Gulf (Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, etc.), monarchies exist in our day almost unchanged.

Republic is a form of government based on the elective power and its functional and organizational division.

The republic is characterized by:

the election of the highest bodies of power by the population for a certain period. The source of power is the people;

division of power into legislative, executive and judicial with the institutions of its implementation inherent in each of them;

legal responsibility of the head of state in cases provided for by the constitution.

Depending on the amount of power, the principles of relations between the branches of government, the republics are presidential (USA, Brazil, Argentina, etc.), parliamentary (Germany, Italy, Spain), mixed - presidential-parliamentary (France, Austria, Ukraine, Russia) , parliamentary-presidential (Switzerland).

Forms of government

The state is located on a certain territory, consisting of administrative-territorial units. Ways of their unification, forms of relations between the supreme state power and power at the level of provinces, regions, cantons, etc. are described in political science through the concept of "form of government".

Form of government is a way of organizing the territorial-administrative unity of the state, a mechanism for the relationship between its constituent parts. The form of government reflects the degree of centralization (decentralization) between the supreme power and local authorities.

The most common form of territorial-political organization is unitary state. It is characterized by a strict concentration of power in the center with a small amount of political and power relations that the territories have. In a unitary state, there are bodies of legislative, executive and judicial power common to the whole country, whose powers extend to the entire territory. All administrative-territorial units (regions, departments, provinces) have the same legal status and do not have any political independence. Unitary states have a single constitution, judicial and legal systems, a single system government controlled, single citizenship, the subordination of civil authorities to the central.

Most countries of the world, including Ukraine, are unitary states.

Federation is a voluntary association of several independent states into a single union state, in which the states that have joined the federation retain part of their rights as subjects of the federation. There are two levels of government in the federation: federal and republican, whose powers are delimited by the federal constitution. The main features of a federation are:

the supremacy of the federal constitution in relation to the constitutions and laws of the subjects of the federation;

subjects of the federation have autonomous system legislative, executive and judicial power;

subjects of the federation do not have the right to secede from the federation;

the federal government has a monopoly on the implementation of foreign policy;

the parliament of the federation consists of two chambers, one of which represents the interests of the subjects of the federation;

the internal boundaries of the subjects of the federation can only be changed with their consent.

Federations are built on territorial (USA), national (India) or mixed (Russia) grounds.

Federations are based on different reasons. They may be the desire to obtain economic and other benefits within the framework of a single state, aggressive aspirations towards other states or peoples, or, on the contrary, the desire to protect oneself from an external threat. A federation may emerge from a unitary state as a means of:

a) curb the excessive centralism of the supreme power;

b) as a way to extinguish the separatist tendencies of the regions seeking to protect themselves from the dictates of the center;

c) as a means of expansion political participation population in public life.

Confederates are a union of several independent states who united to pursue a joint policy for certain purposes (economic, military, etc.). There is no single legislative body in a confederation, no single citizenship, no single currency, and so on. Countries - members of the confederation - independently carry out foreign policy. The confederal governing bodies, created to carry out a coordinated policy, act within the framework of the powers determined by the Union Treaty. Their decisions do not have direct effect and come into force only after their approval by the central authorities of the member states of the confederal union. The subjects of the confederation may terminate the confederal treaty and leave the union at will. An example of a confederation is the Swiss Union (1291-1798 and 1815-1848). It was an association of 23 sovereign cantons, but was gradually transformed into a federation.

Empire was another form of territorial-administrative community for thousands of years. Empires were a system in which various ethno-national and administrative-territorial entities were united under a strict centralized authority. Relations within the empire were built along the vertical line of metropolis - colony, center - province, center - national republics.

V different forms empires that arose in a slave-owning society lasted until the second half of the 20th century. and were swept away as a result of European social revolutions and the national liberation movement. but political science overlooked this phenomenon of world history. "Empire has never been a subject of theory, or even a subject of thought, it has neither its own Hegel, nor its legalists, nor its professors of law" (B. Badi). Nevertheless, there is agreement in Western scholarship on the defining characteristics of imperial rule. "The term 'empire'," writes S.N. Aizenshtadt, "is usually used to denote a political system covering large, relatively highly centralized territories in which the center, embodied both in the person of the emperor and in the central political institutions, formed an autonomous unit ".

The main features of an empire are:

emergence as a result of military subjugation and / or economic or political subjugation by one people of others;

the inclusion of conquered (subordinate) peoples and territories in a hierarchical power structure, the presence of a center and periphery, outskirts, provinces or metropolises and colonies;

ethnic, national, historical heterogeneity of the constituent parts of the empire;

differentiation of the population in matters of law, citizenship, privileges, advantages, serving to achieve main goal any empire - deriving benefits for the people who created it, at the expense of the peoples included in it;

power in the empire is monolithic and is in the hands of one person or party.

The most important feature of any empire is territorial expansion. It is with her, with her scale that the claims of the imperial elite to world greatness are often associated. “The very concept of an empire includes the idea of ​​responsibility to its constituent peoples and duty to humanity as a whole ... the possibility of using this debt is directly related to the expansion of territory and the strengthening of domination. Of course, greatness cannot be made directly dependent on size. less the size of the territory is an integral element of the idea of ​​empire "(J. Meriet).

The scale of the empire, the heterogeneity (economic, cultural, religious) of its components sharply raises the question of the mechanism of political, social connections and interactions that ensure its integrity. The collapse of empires is primarily due to the gradual alignment of the center and periphery. Sooner or later, the development of the economy of the provinces (outskirts) and the inevitable formation of new groups of intellectual, professional and economic provincial elites leads to the alignment of the economic imperial space, the provinces and the center, as a result of which an unequal exchange between them becomes impossible, the empire falls apart. The imperial system exists as long as there is an imperial center (cultural, political, economic) that ensures the interaction of all its elements. The loss by the center of its backbone functions leads the empire to collapse.

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A)* state

89. The concept of the rule of law was formulated by supporters of the ideas A)* liberalism

91. The model of constitutions is considered A)* US constitution

According to the form of government, a constitutional monarchy is

A)* UK

93 .If, along with the monarch in the state, there is a parliament, then such a state in the form of power is constitutional monarchy

A) * the monarch

The constitutional monarchy was first established as a result of

A)* the English bourgeois revolution

95. A sign of the rule of law isdivision of power into 3 branches

96. Only the A) * state

A characteristic feature of totalitarian states is

A)* single party

The founders of the theory of the totalitarian state are

A)* Plato, Aristotle

99. The current Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan was adopted A)* in 1995

100. According to the form of government, the Republic of Kazakhstan A)* presidential republic

The integrity of society and the interconnection of its members ensures

A) * the institution of citizenship or citizenship

102. It is typical for a unitary state A) * the presence of a single subject of power

The main criterion for dividing states into unitary and federal is

A)* number of subjects of power

104. The most unstable form of state association, easily transforming into other forms A)* confederation

105. A political institution designed to regulate, control the activities and behavior of citizens A)* State

106. Find a match Correct answer: 1 D, 2 A, 3 F, 4 E, 5 B, 6 C

Find a match

Correct answer: 1B, 2A, 3D, 4C

Political institution that performs executive functions

A)* government

109. There is no single bureaucracy if the form of the state A)* confederation

A) * Delegation of powers by society to the state

The centralized control of the economy is characteristic of

A)* totalitarian regime

Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan

A)* is the highest representative body exercising legislative functions

In the parliamentary model, the main functions of parliament are

A) * in the formation of the government, control over it and its dissolution

The most common type of political-territorial organization or form of government is

A) * unitary state

The internal borders of the federation can be changed

A) * only with the consent of its subjects

116. Foreign policy functions in a federal state are carried out A) * allied state bodies

117. Among the real political forces openly operating on the political stage, the most influential are A) * parties

Political parties in the modern sense arose

A) * in the second half of the nineteenth century

119. Party is A)* political public organization who fights for power or for participation in the exercise of power

120. Mass political parties emerge A) with the introduction of universal suffrage

122. Political parties directly perform the function of exercising power A) * in totalitarian systems

A)* electorate

One-party systems are characteristic of

Multipartyism is a characteristic feature

A) democratic regime

126. The 2-party system has historically developed A)* in the USA

According to their participation in political power, parties are divided into

A)* ruling and opposition

Multi-party system is a characteristic feature

A)* democratic political regime

129. Ideology is A) * a more or less complete system of ideas and views, ideals expressing the interests and values ​​of a particular society or part of it

A political institution designed to generalize, justify and protect the interests of certain social groups

A)* political party

The state as the central institution of the political system (slide).

The structure of the political system is made up of a number of elements, among which the most important place is occupied by the so-called political institutions - organizations, institutions, associations of citizens that perform special functions in the political life of society. Political institutions include the state, political parties, socio-political organizations, movements, etc. What is a state? What is the meaning of this concept widely used by many sciences in political science? What are modern states like? What are the functions of political parties and interest groups in political life? These and other questions are considered in this module, which is devoted to the main institutions of the political system of society.

V modern world, which has more than 200 states, there are also tiny (dwarf) states (such as the Principality of Monaco with an area of ​​1.95 km2 and a population of less than 32 thousand people, or the Vatican, located in the capital of Italy, with an area of ​​0.44 km2 and a population of about a thousand people) , and huge in territory and number of inhabitants of the country(as, for example, Russia is the largest state in terms of territory with an area of ​​17075.4 thousand km2 and the seventh in the world in terms of population - 144.2 million people, or China, with the largest number inhabitants - over 1 billion 286.97 million people, and the third in the world in terms of territory - 9.6 million km 2). But regardless of the size and number of inhabitants, location and history, they all have a number of properties that distinguish them from other public entities and organizations:

· versatility- the ability to manage a socially heterogeneous society with the help of special bodies;

· sovereignty- supremacy, completeness and independence of political power;

· monopoly on the publication of laws and regulations binding on the entire population;

· collection of taxes;

· the use of violence.

The state is the central element of the political system of society. If the functions of implementing political power in society can be performed by various organizations, parties, public associations, unions, in their totality and constituting the political system of society, then supreme authority, whose decisions are binding on all citizens, organizations and institutions, only the state has . It acts as the official representative of the entire society, coordinating and ordering its life with the help of power resources entering the political system.

The term "state" is relatively young. The fact is that until the XVI century. the state and civil society were not separated from each other; concepts such as principality, kingdom, republic etc. Special term "stato"(from lat. status- status, position) to designate the state as a special form of political organization of society was introduced into scientific circulation by an Italian scientist and statesman Niccolo Machiavelli, the first to note the difference between the management of small city-states (polises) with the help of the direct participation of all its citizens and large national communities, where management is carried out by the political elite with the help of state power.

The emergence of statehood different stages The development of political thought was associated with the influence of various factors. Thus, the origin of the state was explained by divine will ( theological theory ), historical development - the unification of clans and tribes ( patriarchal theory ), rational agreement of people ( contract theory ), military-political factors - as an apparatus for managing the captured peoples and territories ( capture theory ), economic factors - the political dominance of the economically dominant class ( economic, marxist-lenin concept ), psychological factors - the need for people to obey ( psychological, psychoanalytic concepts ) and etc.

Important elements states are:

Territory

2) population– community of people permanently residing in the territory of a given state and subject to its authority. The population is connected with the state by the fact of permanent residence on its territory, as well as by the special nature of political and legal affiliation - the fact citizenship (Citizenship is the permanent connection of a person with the state, manifested in their mutual rights and obligations.). By national composition allocate mono-national states (example: Japan), and multinational states (example Russia).

3) public authority, those. a special system of bodies and institutions that implements the functions of state power ( state apparatus).

1) legislatures, whose main function is the development and adoption of laws. The highest legislative body is called parliament.

2) Executive agencies, performing executive and administrative functions in the state. The highest body of executive power is called government.

3) judicial authorities, exercising the functions of justice in the state.

4) Bodies of control and supervision - Bodies assisting in the exercise of the judiciary(Prosecution, advocacy, etc.), as well as various control and audit departments and inspections.

5) The head of state is a constitutional body or the highest official (monarch or president), representing the state within the country and in the international arena.

Each state may also have its own state symbols. (flag, coat of arms, anthem, sometimes - motto), own currency, official language(legislated language of official communication, mandatory for use in office work, legal proceedings, education, state media), the capital. In this way, STATE can be defined as a universal, sovereign political form organization of society, the central institution of the political system, created to organize and manage the life of the population in a certain territory with the help of public authority, which is binding.

State functions:

1. Internal:

· Legal (protection of the constitutional system);

Socio-economic (regulation of the economy, implementation social programs, social protection population)

· Ecological (environmental protection, consolidation of the legal regime of nature management)

· Cultural and educational (state support and development of culture, education, sports)

2. External:

· State defense

· Cooperation with other states

· Maintaining world order

So, all states have approximately the same set of properties, features and functions. In any state there are parliaments, governments, courts, an army, police, etc. However, a closer look at the structure of state power, national-territorial organization, the relationship between religion and secular power, one can notice significant differences in the structure of modern states. Thus, the head of government in Germany is the chancellor, appointed by parliament, and in the United States, the president, elected by the people; the head of state in Japan is the emperor, in Sweden the king, in France the president, in Australia and Canada the queen of Great Britain, represented by governors general, and in Cuba or Libya there is no president, no monarch, no head of state at all. The Sultan of Brunei single-handedly rules the state, and the power of the queen in the UK is almost completely limited by an independent parliament, government and courts. The territory of Germany consists of the lands, the USA and Mexico - of the states, Russia - of the republics, territories, regions and autonomous regions, and the territories of China, Spain, Ukraine include autonomous entities. Even the names of states (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Islamic Republic of Iran, etc.) indicate the existence of specific features inherent in each particular state. At the same time, of course, some states also have quite similar characteristics, which makes it possible to combine them into certain groups according to the methods of formation of the highest authorities (forms state government) and territorial organization (forms state structure).

1. concept, signs, theories of the emergence of state-va.

2. functions of the state.

3. forms of government.

4. form of territorial structure.

QUESTION 1. CONCEPT, SIGNS, THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF THE STATE

The essence of the state

The state is the main institution of the political system of society, organizing, directing and controlling the joint activities and relations of people, social groups, classes and associations. The state is the central institution of power in society and the concentrated implementation of policy by this power. V broad sense the state is understood as a community of people represented and organized by a higher authority and living in a certain territory.

From the point of view of modern ideas, the state should act as a power system that organizes society in the interests of man. And, like any system, the state must be integral: both in terms of power and organization, and in territorial terms. The state is a "shell" that preserves the integrity of a particular social community.

The term "state" began to be used in political science from about the second half of the 16th century. Until that time, such concepts as “polis”, “principality”, “kingdom”, “kingdom”, “republic”, “empire”, etc. were used to designate the state. One of the first to introduce the term “state” into scientific circulation was N. Machiavelli. He interpreted it broadly as any supreme power over a person.

V modern science state in narrow sense is understood as an organization, a system of institutions that have supreme power in a certain territory, is often identified with a certain ethnic group, with the administrative and managerial apparatus, with justice.

State signs

Most contemporary authors believe that state- this is an organization of public power that has sovereignty, operates in a certain territory and subjugates the entire population living in this territory.

Main structural elements states are the legislative, executive and judicial authorities, the protection of public order and state security, the armed forces and partly the media. From the definition it is clear that the state as a subject of international law must have at least sovereignty, territory and population.

Also, the features of the state are:

1. Coercion. No one can arbitrarily make decisions about their existence outside the state, about non-subordination to state power. Belonging to the state is socially necessary, forced (“The Motherland is not chosen”) and is regulated by state and international law.

From the point of view of the latter, apatritism (statelessness) is regarded as an undesirable and abnormal phenomenon. It should be borne in mind that an arbitrary decision by the state authorities to deprive a person of citizenship is also a violation of international law, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN in 1948.

2. The right to use violence - legitimate violence. Considered by many as a key feature of the state. M. Weber wrote about this: “The state is that human community that within a certain area claims a monopoly of legitimate physical violence.”

It should be borne in mind that the purpose of legitimate violence on the part of the state is to ensure order, to protect society and citizens from arbitrary actions of individuals (groups) that harm society and citizens.

The legitimization of violence is ensured by the fact that it can only be used:

central government;

those to whom such a right has been given;

strictly within the law;

to establish and maintain order in society.

3. Sovereignty(supreme power). Sovereignty is the independence and autonomy of the state in its internal affairs and in the conduct of foreign policy.

Thus, the concept of state sovereignty has an external and internal dimension.

From the point of view of the external dimension, sovereignty means non-interference in the affairs of the state of all other states, respect for its independence, preservation of integrity.

From the point of view of the internal dimension, sovereignty means that the state has the highest power in relation to internal subjects and is best specified by the next sign of the state - universality.

4. Universality. The state covers with its influence the people who are on its territory, including citizens of other states.

In other words, citizens of other states are obliged to obey the laws of the state in whose territory they are located.

5. Right. It is an obligatory attribute of the state. Any state operates within the established legal order. Law gives legitimation to all actions of the state, including the use of violence. The system of law determines the order and technique of the state, the procedure for regulating relations and the coexistence of citizens, organizations, institutions, etc.

The number 1 legal document in the state is the constitution, which is not accidentally called the fundamental law of the state.

The constitution defines:

basic principles of state activity;

the structure of the state;

organization of authorities and their powers;

the nature of the relationship between the state and society, the state and the individual.

The Russian Federation has a Constitution adopted on December 12, 1993 by popular vote.

6. Public authority. Each state has an extensive system of organs and institutions of state power. The main ones include:

representative-legislative;

executive management;

judicial;

state control and prosecutor's office;

bureaucracy (administration).

The bureaucracy, understood in this case as a special layer of people specializing in government, is an obligatory phenomenon in the state. The task of society is to find ways to control the activities of the bureaucracy, to prevent it from turning into a closed caste, living at the expense of society and neglecting its obligations to the state.

7. Territory. Each state is “tied” to a certain territory, separated by borders from the territory of other states. In addition, within the internal borders of the state has a certain administrative-territorial structure.

8. The people inhabiting the territory of a given state. A historically established national or multinational community of people, which is subject to the right and political power of the state.

9. Taxes. Mandatory attribute of any state. Only it has the right to establish and collect taxes. Through taxes, sovereignty (the highest power) and the universality of the state are demonstrated. This is a strong way to control citizens and an indicator of the influence of the state. Taxes are used by the state:

to perform their functions, social in the first place.

10. Monetary unit. Each state has its own currency. Only it has the right to issue (release) money. This enables the state to control the economic system of society.

11. State symbols. The most important symbols of the state include the state emblem, flag, anthem. The coat of arms and the flag are the official distinctive signs of the state, the description of which is established by law. They are a symbol of the sovereignty of the state. The state emblem is depicted on flags, seals and coins. The national flag is a one-color or multi-color panel with a coat of arms or other emblems, signs. The national anthem is a solemn song (motive) glorifying a given state.