Types and forms of existence of political power. Types of power

Everyone knows the purpose of government. However, not everyone knows exactly how it functions. In what Are there the best for society? Let's try to understand everything in our article.

What is power?

Power existed at all stages human development. Even in the primitive communal system, relations of leadership and subordination were formed. This type of interaction expressed people's needs for organization and self-regulation. At the same time, power is not only a mechanism for regulating society, but also a guarantor of the integrity of a certain group of people.

What is the main feature political power? Thinkers of different times had their own opinion on this matter. For example, he spoke about the desire to achieve good in the future. was more pessimistic, and therefore found in power the desire to subjugate his own kind. Bertrand Russell defined the relationship of leadership and subordination as the production of intentional results. However, all scientists agree on one thing: power is natural.

Objects and subjects

The question of what is the main feature of political power cannot be considered without defining the main components of the concept. It is known that any power is a correlation of domination and subordination. Both types of relations are implemented by the subjects of political power: social communities, and the state itself. The people influence the government only indirectly. This happens through elections. Only in rare cases can "grassroots" institutions be created that take all power into their own hands.

The state exercises most of the political powers. The apparatus of power includes the ruling parties, the bureaucratic elite, pressure groups and other institutions. Character and strength state functions depend on the regime of political power. Historical epochs were characterized by different regimes. Each of them should be disassembled.

Types of power

A political regime is a species government controlled, a set of methods, forms and techniques for the implementation of domination and subordination. Today, in most countries, democracy reigns - a regime in which the people are recognized as the source of power. Ordinary people indirectly participate in the exercise of state power. By voting, the state power is formed, which works in harmony with the people.

The opposite of democracy is authoritarianism. This is a regime in which all the fullness of state power is in the hands of one person or group of persons. The people take no part in state affairs. Russian empire XVIII-XX centuries can be called an authoritarian state.

A tougher form of an authoritarian regime is called totalitarianism. The state not only completely subjugates the people, but also interferes in all spheres of public life. There is complete control by the authorities over each person. History knows many examples of political power of a totalitarian nature. This is Hitler's Germany, Stalin's USSR, modern North Korea, etc.

Complete anarchy and the absence of a political regime are characteristic of anarchy. The anarchist system is established after revolutions, wars or other social upheavals. As a rule, such a system does not last long.

Functions

What is the main feature of political power? Having considered the main state regimes, we can say with confidence: this is the construction of relations of domination and subordination. Such relationships manifest themselves in different ways and may have dissimilar goals. However, the principle of power is always the same: the subordination of one group of persons to another.

Power, whatever it may be, has approximately the same functions. The first and main feature of the state is that it has the authority to govern. With his help, the authorities put their plans into practice. The next function is called control and supervisory. The authorities monitor the quality of their management, as well as ensure that no one violates its rules. To implement the control function, law enforcement agencies are created. The third function is organizational. The authorities form relations with citizens and public organizations in order to achieve mutual understanding. Finally, the last function is called educational. Power earns its authority by forcing citizens to be obedient.

Legitimacy of power

Any power must be legal. Moreover, it must be recognized by the people. Otherwise, conflicts, revolutions and even wars are possible. History contains many examples of political power that was destroyed by the people due to lack of recognition and compromise.

How does power become legitimate? Everything is simple here. The people themselves must empower the persons to whom they will subsequently obey. If a person or a group of people seizes power not by the will of the people, then a catastrophe will happen.

So what are the characteristics of political power? This is the presence of a clear structure, management apparatus, legitimacy and legality. Any government should serve only for the benefit of the people.

Political life is a special form of realizing the interests of the state, political parties and associations, classes, nations, social groups, voluntary organizations and even an individual in the conscious use of power that satisfies their political interests. Political life finds its clear expression in power relations, which are always aimed at protecting, consolidating and developing the achieved positions, creating new prerequisites for further strengthening the existing power.

The main bearer of power relations is always the state. It, represented by specific bodies in the center and locally, acts (or should act) as the main subject of power, which determines the main directions for the development of political and legal relations. From its ability to rationally, timely and effectively ensure interaction between various economic, social and cultural institutions, to coordinate the interests of all subjects political life depends on the dynamism of social processes.

But a special problem is the interaction of the state with the person, or rather, the person with the state. In principle, this is a feedback problem, because only its presence and continuous improvement ensure viability. political structures. Proceeding from this, knowledge of moods, trends in their change, forms of interaction and ways to attract people to solve social problems is the essence of the sociological interpretation of the interaction of a person with the state.

For sociology, the structuring of power relations, personified by the state, is of great importance.

The most commonly used classification used in the social sciences is the division of the forms of exercise of power: legislative, executive and judicial. Their deformation to a large extent contributes to arbitrariness, indiscriminate settlement of cases and, on this basis, the violation of human rights and freedoms. The implementation of these principles of the organization of power, like nothing else, is capable of creating the prerequisites and conditions for real political creativity of people. It is from these positions that the structure of the Soviet authorities, in which executive functions were closely intertwined with legislative, representative ones, is criticized.

Sociological studies of the three branches of government show significant differences between them, as well as the assessment of their activities by the population. For example, in everyday consciousness (both in Soviet times and in the present period) there continues to be a conviction that main man in the judiciary, it is the prosecutor. According to the analysis of relevant documents, in the mid-1990s, the number of appeals (letters) from citizens to the prosecutor's office was dozens of times higher than the number of similar appeals to the court.

At the same time, the entire judicial system is still rated very low or nothing definite can be said about it. great amount people. The most noticeable for most people are the executive authorities, and then the legislative, with almost complete lack of information about the activities of the judiciary. But with all the seeming paradox (after all, the relevant acts have long been adopted), the assessment by the population of all branches of government reflects their real situation, which cannot be changed by any decrees, decrees, resolutions and other official instructions.

The principle of separation of powers - legislative, executive, judicial - is closely related to the targeted responsibility for the performance of relevant functions. And here it is a matter of technology - whether one or several persons, one or several institutions are responsible for the performance of certain functions (it is known that in a number of countries and in different eras, the performance, for example, of legislative, executive and judicial functions was combined). It is important and fundamental that it should always be legally clear: for what function, at what moment, and who can be questioned to the fullest extent of the law.

In this regard, we should dwell on the most famous Roman legal maxim: rule by dividing. This position was interpreted and is now interpreted in the sense that successful management involves violence (i.e. "Ruler - divide, pit the subjects"). In fact, it means quite the opposite: successful management is based on distinction (“divide” - judgment, distinction) and only in this sense, the division of those whom you manage (i.e. “Ruler - know, coordinate the interests of subjects; know, distinguish your own power abilities and functions”).

Another basis for the typology of political power is the well-known position of M. Weber about three types of domination: traditional, legitimate, charismatic. Such a division rather gives an idea of ​​the nature of power than of its essence. After all, charisma can manifest itself in a democratic, and in an autocratic leader, and in a traditional one. In our opinion, for all the attractiveness of such a formulation of the question, this approach is very difficult to use in a particular sociological research. It rather characterizes some logical conclusion, is the subject of abstraction from existing practice. This is all the more significant in that real life it is impossible to find these types of domination in their pure form: they are usually present simultaneously in almost all political regimes. The whole question is the degree, the level of their embodiment in the specific analyzed type of political power. That is why, when characterizing the Russian state, depending on the political positions of the analyst, one finds features of traditionalism, which is reflected in following the principles of the functioning of the Soviet system, and features of legitimacy, manifested in the formation of a rule of law state, and the phenomenon of charisma, which was embodied in the activities of the first president of Russia.

Another approach to the typology of political power is manifested in the consideration of the exercise of power at interacting levels: federal, regional and local. These authorities, depending on the situation, are assessed differently by the population. It is interesting to note that when perestroika began, people were very sympathetic to the activities of the central authorities and, in fact, refused to trust representatives of local state institutions. In the mid-1990s, studies showed the exact opposite attitude: a relatively high assessment of the activities of local authorities with a very critical attitude towards the president, government, State Duma, the level of full confidence in which did not exceed 4-10.9% in 1994-1996.

Analysis sociological information shows that a certain confrontation has developed between the macro, meso and micro levels, which is associated with the redistribution of power, responsibility for the rational organization of the industrial, social and personal life of citizens, with the possibility of financial support for housing and social programs and events.

Besides, in scientific literature there are various attempts to classify forms and types of power: 1) institutional and non-institutional; 2) by function; 3) by the volume of prerogatives; 4) by methods, etc. .

We would like to draw attention to another division that can be made by analyzing the structure and activities of the ruling subject. This typology is based on an assessment of the nature and quality of power, on the degree of complicity of the population in its implementation, on the completeness of the representation of the interests of various social groups.

Based on this, we can name the following types of power.

Democracy, which functions within the framework of civil society and the rule of law and personifies the universal procedures associated with: 1) the election of legislative bodies by the people; 2) with universal suffrage; 3) with free will; 4) with the right of the majority to restrict (but not cancel) the rights of the minority; 5) with the confidence of the people in the authorities; 6) with the state being under public control, etc. (In this interpretation, we used the modern explanation of democracy, in contrast to Aristotle, who characterized democracy as a spontaneous form of the exercise of power.)

Distortion of these and others modern principles implementation of democracy can lead to its rejection by the majority of the population, as happened in Russia after the rise of hopes in 1991-1992 for democratic reforms. According to VTsIOM, by the end of 1996, only 6.2% of the respondents were in favor of democracy, while 81.1% were in favor of order, which can be regarded as the formation of a favorable (or sparing) situation for the possible establishment of tough political power.

In a democracy, access to all types of information is significantly changing, as a result of which many groups of the population behave differently, openly express their attitude to specific political processes.

The oligarchy personifies the power of a few individuals or groups in the state, sharply limiting the rights and powers of other entities wishing to participate in political life and seeking to come to power. The oligarchy usually does not allow its replacement, even on the basis of procedures approved by law, and rejects any attempts to limit its power. Therefore, the redistribution of power can occur only within this group, for which "palace" coups, various secret agreements are used. The oligarchy is ready to move to such forms as totalitarianism rather than democracy in order to preserve the possibility of continuing political domination.

This type power is characteristic of many states, including Russia, both in tsarist times and in Soviet times. We can only talk about different aspects of this oligarchic power, and not about its presence or absence. This applies even more to political life. modern Russia where the struggle of oligarchic groups is the essence of the ongoing political changes.

Ethnocracy is becoming more and more widespread, although it usually appears in a camouflaged form. Its manifestations - ethno-limitation, ethno-egoism and ethno-phobia - really exist in a number of countries of the world, including in one form or another in the CIS countries. The danger of this form of power is manifested not so much in the fact that all key positions in politics and the economy are concentrated in the hands of people of one nationality, but in the fact that tension between peoples is growing, which leads to hidden or open confrontation, increased migration, increased distrust in ethnic soil and a serious and sometimes sharp deterioration of the situation in the region.

The possibility of theocratic forms of power continues to exist, when power is concentrated in the hands of the religious elite or political leaders guided by religious postulates. Theocratic states existed in ancient time(for example, Judea in the 5th - 1st centuries BC), in the Middle Ages (the Holy Roman Empire, the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates), in modern times (Paraguay - the 17th century). V modern period there is Iran headed by the Shiite clergy, attempts are being made to create theocratic states in Algeria and Chechnya. The establishment of theocratic regimes is accompanied by the strengthening of religious regulation of all aspects of public and private life, which is expressed in giving religious holidays the status of state holidays, the implementation of legal proceedings based on the requirements of religion, and the participation of religious ministers in the political struggle.

Such a form of power as technocracy is also gaining ground, when the implementation of the functions of the state occurs from the standpoint of production, the economy, without due regard for political and social requirements. One of the miscalculations of the ideologists of perestroika and the neoliberals who replaced them was that specialists in the national economy came to all levels of state and socio-political power, who, knowing a lot about the organization of production, as a rule, were not able to be guided by the needs community development, poorly knew human psychology, performed their functions due to duty, and sometimes careerism due to this assignment, and not a personal understanding of the significance of political work.

The technocrats have quite consistently put into practice their conviction that the institutions and governments involved in economic affairs should not be involved in political work and influence her. They ignored the fact that any form of power is in one way or another connected with influencing the consciousness of a person, subordinating him to a certain order and striving to achieve a specific result. They did not understand that these functions would not be fully or partially realized if people's attitudes towards various political actions were not taken into account.

It is worth mentioning such a form (type) of power as ochlocracy, which appeals to populist sentiments in their most primitive and at the same time mass manifestations. This type of government is distinguished by the variability of the political course, simplification in solving complex social problems, constant appeals to the lumpenized sections of the population, and resorts to provocations to arouse mass passions. History shows that the more and the longer the authorities abuse these methods, the more sad and sinister the political leaders who turned to these sections of society for assistance and support end their journey.

In the conditions of ochlocratic regimes, the level of parasitic attitudes is high, when efforts often come down to criticizing everyone without exception. political institutions, but far from always this is accompanied by the creative work of the person himself.

In conclusion, it is worth recalling one fundamental position that has been repeatedly tested by the logic of social development: the absence of opposition has a detrimental effect on the entire political system. When there are no opponents, when all political decisions are made from one center, calmness cannot but come, a kind of “obesity” of power structures. Faith in the infallibility of the "single center", the practice of its categorical dictate destroys all searches in the political field, drives diseases and vices deep and gradually creates the preconditions for a conflict of great destructive power. This is exactly what happened to the CPSU, when, having concentrated power in its hands, the responsibility for the development of everything and everything, it doomed itself to defeat, as well as the system that it personified.

Speaking about the content and essence of power relations, it should be recalled that this is largely a problem of management, a qualitative improvement in the relationship between theory and practice, an organic combination of word and deed. Problem solving scientific management has always been associated with the search for new, more effective forms and methods of systematic impact on public life. This fully applies to any sphere of public life, which is especially evident in the style of activity of both the state and public organizations.

Power can be exercised based on legal norms, authority, violence, and other means. Depending on the predominantly used means, types of power are distinguished - economic, social, spiritual and informational, family, political, etc.

economic power- these are relations objectively determined by material needs in society, in which the owner of the means of production subordinates other participants in the production process to his will. The possibility of such subordination provides direct ownership or control over property.

social power has an impact on the distribution of social benefits, i.e. it is associated with securing the status of various groups in the structure of society, providing social services in health care, education, housing, etc., income distribution.

Spiritual and informational power is an organization various forms spiritual production and the implementation of information and ideological influence. The means of spiritual and informational influence can be religion, morality, art, scientific knowledge, information about events taking place in public life, etc. Spiritual and informational power is aimed at integrating the consciousness and will of people into the system of interests of the forces ruling in society. The possibility of spiritual and informational influence is realized through persuasion or manipulation. The greatest spiritual and informational power in modern societies have the means mass media- press, radio broadcasting, television, Internet.

One of the types of power in society is family power- based on the power of authority, the influence of one or more family members on its life.

The most important type of power is political power, which is understood as the real ability of some people to exercise their will in relation to others with the help of legal and political norms. In other words, political power- this is the possibility and ability of all subjects of politics to influence the processes of making and implementing political decisions, the political behavior of individuals, social groups and associations.

Political power is exercised by the state and other political institutions - political parties, socio-political organizations, local governments. Accordingly, it is possible to single out state power, the power of political parties, public organizations, local governments as forms of political power.

Specificity state power is that she:

• carried out by a special apparatus;
• extends to the entire territory of the state;
• has a monopoly on the adoption of laws and the use of violence.

Unlike state power, which extends to the entire territory of the country and society as a whole, power of political parties and public organizations carried out within these parties and organizations. It is based both on the legal norms established by the state and on the political norms enshrined in the statutory documents of these parties and organizations.

Power exists and functions not only in various fields society, but also on different levels its structure: public, associative, personalized.

V political power structure the following main elements can be distinguished: the subject of power relations, the object of power relations, the means of power, the resources of power and the forms of exercising power.

The subject of power relations is the direct bearer of power that organizes behavior object by means of power. The subjects of political power are: the state and its institutions, political elites and leaders, political parties and socio-political organizations.

Cast object of political power can act as a society as a whole (people), and its individual elements: individuals, social groups, etc.

The object of power in democratic societies (the people) has two sides:

is the primary source of power, delegating power or part of it to certain power formations (parties, parliament, etc.),

· after the delegation of power takes on the obligation to obey the delegated power, acting as a subject.

Means of political power- these are, first of all, legal and political norms, as well as violence, traditions, authority, persuasion and manipulation.

Resources of political power include the following groups:

• economic resources(material values ​​necessary for social production and consumption - money, means of production, land, minerals, etc.);
• power resources- weapons and apparatus of physical coercion (police, army, etc.);
• social resources- the ability to change the social status of individuals and groups (for example, promotion, provision of benefits, etc.);
• informational resources- knowledge, information, as well as ways to obtain and disseminate them;
• political and legal resources(constitution, laws, program documents of political parties, etc.);
• demographic resources- people as a universal resource that produces other types of resources.

The following can be distinguished forms of exercise of power relations:

• domination- this is a mechanism for the exercise of power, which involves the division of social groups into dominant and subordinate, hierarchy and social distance between them, the formation of a special apparatus of control. Political dominance manifested in control over the use of state power. economic- in control over the means of production, the production itself and the distribution of its products. Ideological domination manifests itself in the monopoly position of that system of ideas and views, which substantiates the justice of the existing economic, social and political orders.
• Management- this is an activity to determine the main goals of social systems and institutions, as well as ways to achieve them, the strategy of social development. It is carried out on the basis of vertical ties, relations of subordination and has a legal basis. political leadership- this is the ability of a class, group, party, individuals to carry out their political line by influencing various methods and means of power on society as a whole and its individual elements.
• Control is the use of power in order to form the purposeful behavior of objects. It is carried out by professional politicians, employees of the state, administrative, economic, party apparatus, who operate within the framework of established norms and rules.
• Control- this is the ability of subjects of power to monitor the implementation of laws, decrees, orders, etc.

Specifying the characteristic political power, we can distinguish such Key Features as: supremacy, publicity, monocentricity, legality, diversity of resources, cumulativeness.

Supremacy political power is manifested in the binding nature of its decisions for other types of power, society as a whole. Political power can limit the influence of other types of power, prohibit the functioning of certain subjects of power relations.

Publicity political power lies in the fact that it is implemented on behalf of and within the boundaries of the whole society, and based on the system of law, it addresses each member of this society.

monocentricity political power is manifested in the presence of a single center of decision-making relating to the whole society. Such a center is the state, its highest organs.

Legality political power means the legal nature of its formation and implementation, in particular the legality of its use of violence.

As noted above, political power uses various resources and facilities implementation of the intended goals.

An important feature of power in general, and political power in particular, is its cumulative nature, which manifests itself in a significant increase in the influence of power as a result of the interaction of its various types and resources. Thus, economic power creates opportunities for the acquisition of political power, for example, by financially securing victory in elections. The presence of economic resources opens up access to spiritual and informational power. Mastering the media, in turn, creates opportunities for informational influence on society, taking important political positions, and generating income. The greatest opportunities are created by the mastery of political power, especially state power. Political power opens up access to economic, social and spiritual-informational power, makes it possible to concentrate significant economic, social, information resources in the hands of specific individuals. This concentration can lead to oligarchic form of government.

Democratic political systems provide mechanisms, contributing to the prevention of concentration in one hand different types and resources authorities. These mechanisms are, in particular:

• division of state power into legislative, executive and judicial branches;
• distribution of power between the state, political parties, interest groups, local governments;
• antimonopoly law;
• ban on combination public service with some other activities;
• declaration by senior officials of income, property status and interests in the economic sphere;
• public control over the exercise of state power.

Political power is the ability of one person or group of people to control the behavior of citizens of society, based on national or national goals. Political power has a dual nature, because it performs a truly legislative function and a representative, abstract political function.

The main features of political power

• - The presence of the object and subject of political management. Subjects are divided into:
• - primary - large social groups with their own interests,
• - secondary - public authorities, political parties and organizations, leaders, political elite,
• - consolidation in the laws of the powers of the subject of government,
• - a clear mechanism for implementing the decisions of political power in practice,
• - the principle of (functional) separation of powers,
• - legitimacy of power:
• - legality (legal basis for power)
• - loyalty (support for power by society)
• - sovereignty, which means independence and indivisibility of power,
• - authoritative power, i.e. generally recognized influence of the subject of power in all spheres of society,
• - the coercive nature of power (persuasion, submission, command, domination, violence),
• - the universality of power, which means the functioning of power in all social relations and political processes. Universality, i.e. publicity. This means that political power acts on the basis of law on behalf of the whole society.
• - Legality in the use of force and other means of power within the country,
• - Monocentricity, i.e. the existence of a nationwide center (system of authorities) decision-making,
• - The widest range of means used to gain, retain and exercise power.

Political power, like any power, means the ability and right of some to exercise their will in relation to others, to command and control others. But at the same time, it has its own specifics, unlike other forms of power. Its distinguishing features are:

Supremacy, the binding nature of its decisions for the whole society and, accordingly, for all other types of power. It can limit the influence of other forms of power, putting them within reasonable limits, or eliminate them altogether;

The main elements of power are its subject, object, and means (resources).

The subject of power embodies its active, guiding principle. It can be a person, an organ, an organization, a social community, etc. To implement power relations, a subject must possess a number of such qualities as a desire to rule and a will to power. In addition, the subject of power must be competent, must know the state and mood of subordinates, and have authority.

The subject determines the content of the relationship through:

• -order (instruction) as an imperious command to obey the will of the subject of power;
• -subordination as the behavior of the private will of power:
• -punishment (sanctions) as a means of influencing the denial of the dominant will;
• -rationing behavior as a set of rules in accordance with the general interest

The attitude of the object (executors) - the second most important element of power - largely depends on the order, the nature of the requirements contained in it. Power is always a two-way relationship, the interaction of subject and object. Power is inconceivable without subjection to the object. Where there is no object, there is no power.

The scale of the relationship of the object to the subject of power ranges from fierce resistance, the struggle for destruction to voluntary, joyfully perceived obedience.

The most important social reason for the subordination of some people to others is the uneven distribution of power resources. The resources of power are very diverse. There are several classifications of resources. According to one of them, resources are divided into utilitarian, coercive and normative. Utilitarian include material and other social benefits; to coercive - measures of criminal and administrative influence on inner world, value orientations and norms of human behavior. They are designed to ensure the approval of the actions of the subject of power, the acceptance of its requirements. The second classification is the division of resources in accordance with the most important areas of activity into economic, social, political power and cultural information.

Economic resources - these are the material values ​​necessary for social production and consumption (money, food, minerals.).

Social Resources - this is the ability to increase (or decrease) social status or rank, place in the social hierarchy (position, prestige, education, etc.)

Cultural and information resources - knowledge and information, as well as the means of obtaining them: institutes of science and education, mass media, etc.

Force Resources- this is a weapon and an apparatus of physical coercion, people specially trained for this.

The specific resource of power is the person himself (demographic resources). People are a universal, multifunctional resource that creates resources.

The use of power resources sets in motion all its components, makes its process a reality, which occurs in the following stages (forms); dominance, leadership, organization and control.

Political power as one of the most important manifestations of power is characterized by the real ability of a given class, group, individual to carry out the will expressed in politics. The concept of political power is broader than the concept of state power. It is known that political activity is carried out not only within the state but also in other constituent parts socially - political system: within parties, trade unions, international organizations, etc.

In political science, the following basic components of the structure of communication within the framework of state-public power are distinguished:

• -agents;
• -values;
• -ways (instrumental-institutional) and
• -resources

The interaction between them determines the whole palette of relations expressed in the Russian language by the concepts of "domination" and "subordination", "will" and "strength", "control" and "distribution", "leadership" and "leadership", "management" and "pressure", "dominion" and "influence", "authority" and "violence", etc.

Thus, the relations of “dominance and subordination” of agents of power constitute the central link in the mechanism of social communication between people, in which its participants recognize the established order of power relations as legitimate, i.e. socially significant and necessary way and the stereotype of human interaction in society.

Let's touch on the institutional basis of the power structure, which is based on the principle of separation of powers. It was based on a powerful tradition of ensuring stability and balance, the synthesis of autocracy and collectivism in decision-making. However, in the ancient and Middle Ages the idea of ​​balance was reduced to questions: who rules, how the ruler takes into account the interests of all who can influence power.

The separation of powers facilitates the mutual control of the activities of state bodies. The theory of separation of powers is also defined as a system of control and balance. It turns out that each government has its own sphere of authority, closed to others, but also affects the adjacent sphere, since there are issues of joint jurisdiction.

Legislature.

It is based on the principles of the Constitution and the rule of law, formed through free elections. The legislature amends the constitution, determines the foundations of internal and foreign policy of the state, approves the state budget, adopts laws binding on all executive authorities and citizens, controls their implementation. The supremacy of the legislature is limited by the principles of law, constitutions, human rights.

Legislative bodies and other authorities (judicial and executive) are under the control of voters through a system of popular representation and free democratic elections. In democratic states, the legislature is the legislature, which is bicameral and unicameral. The most common is a unicameral parliament. A number of countries have a so-called simple two-chamber parliamentary system, in which one chamber is formed as a result of direct elections, and the other on the basis of territorial proportionality.

Executive and administrative power.

It is distinguished by dynamism, increased susceptibility to public life, and is carried out by the government. The peculiarity of the executive power is that it not only executes laws, but also issues normative acts itself or comes up with a legislative initiative.

If we take into account that this power carries out its activities mainly behind “closed” doors, then in the absence of proper checks, the executive power will inevitably crush both the legislative and judicial powers. The executive-administrative activity must be based on the law and within the framework of the law. It does not have the right to arrogate to itself powers and demand from citizens the fulfillment of any duties, unless it is provided for by law, its containment is achieved through regular accountability and responsibility to the people's representation, which has the right to control the activities of the executive branch.

Judicial branch.

It includes institutions that represent an independent structure state organization. The state of the judiciary, the attitude towards it in society, the direction of its development have a significant impact on all aspects of society: economic, political, cultural, the status of a person, ensuring and protecting his rights and freedoms. Each person must have a firm conviction that his appeal to the judiciary will be completed by a fair decision, because the protection of human rights and freedoms, the resolution of conflicts and disputes by civilized means is the norm of the rule of law. The court is called upon to be a defender of the law by suppressing offenses.

The judiciary influences the legislative and executive. Legislative power is controlled through a system of courts. Thus, with the help of the Constitutional Court in the country, the constitutionality of not only by-laws, but also the laws themselves is ensured.

The next aspect of the power structure that I want to elaborate on is its resources. The main resources of societies include the topics of material objects and spiritual goods that are able, firstly, to satisfy the needs and interests of people, representing a certain value. social relations and, secondly, to increase the potential of influence and the power of influence of the agents of power. According to a number of American political scientists, power is, first of all, the control and distribution of society's resources, and politics, respectively, is the sphere of resource exchange or resource exchange regulation.

Types of power:

-Traditional power

To maintain traditional power, there are habitual and long-standing existing forms public life.

• - management costs are less
• -a sense of community among people
• -poor receptivity to new things

Power can acquire legitimacy through tradition. M. Weber characterizes such power as traditional power. In this case, they obey because "it has always been so." Traditional domination takes place in patriarchal societies organized in the likeness of the family, where obedience to the father of the head of the family is a natural reaction to the political order.

-Rationally-legal power.

The source of its legitimacy lies in the fact that it relies on a generally recognized legal order. People who have such power come to their position on the basis of a legal procedure. For example, as a result of elections.

economic power

In order for economic power to take place, some kind of wealth is needed that the object has, but the subject does not have, while the subject needs this wealth.

Charismatic power

Charismatic power based on the exceptional properties that the subject possesses. The charismatic type of power can be considered the most peculiar. First, it is based on the belief in supernatural holiness, heroism, or some other dignity of the leader. Moreover, the authority of his personality extends to the institutions of power, contributes to their recognition and acceptance by the population. The unconditional support of the leader by the population often turns into Caesarism, leaderism and a cult of personality. Secondly, it is often built on the denial of everything that happened before, that is, it implies that the proposed version of domination is the best. A charismatic leader often comes to power in " Time of Troubles”, when there is no need to rely on the authority of traditions or laws, and the population is ready to support the one who promises a better future. It is because of the very specifics of charasmatic power that a number of problems arise with the transfer of power.

Mechanisms for the transfer of charismatic power:

• - The leader himself appoints his successor. In this case, people's love and trust are transferred to the "successor of the cause."
• - The charisma of the institution (“not a person paints a place, but a place of a person”), allows the leader to become such, taking the post of head of state (US President). The charisma of the organization is also widespread, which implies unconditional support by the population of all members of a particular organization (CPSU, CCP, etc.).
• -The charisma of the family is a very rare variant of the transfer of power. In this case, the state is governed by members of the same clan or dynasty. V modern world This practice exists mainly in Eastern countries. The most striking example is the rule of the Gandhi family in India.

If none of the listed mechanisms for the transfer of power does not work, a struggle for power begins within the elite.

• - management efficiency (especially during a crisis),
• - Practical lack of accountability and lack of control.

The authority of the carrier of charismatic power is the authority of some unusual personal gift - charisma. M. Weber notes that charisma follows, calls the personality quality recognized as extraordinary. Thanks to this quality, she is evaluated by others as gifted with the supernatural, or at least specifically special forces and properties that others do not. Such a person is considered as if sent by God. V Russian history we can easily find examples of charismatic authority. This is the authority of such Bolshevik leaders as Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky and others.

Phobocracy(lat. " Power of fear”) is an extreme version of military power based on unquestioning discipline and unity of action.

Authoritarian social relationships mean dividing society into (few) giving orders and (many) taking orders, depriving the individuals involved in this process (intellectually, emotionally and physically) and society as a whole. human relations in all spheres of life are marked by power, not freedom. And since freedom can only be created by freedom, authoritarian social relations (and the obedience they require) do not (and cannot) educate the individual in freedom - only participation (self-government) in all areas of life can do this.

It should be borne in mind that in real political life one can hardly find any "pure" types associated with only one of the forms of legitimacy. In reality, one can only speak about the dominance of one of their forms of legality and about a certain structure of marginal or secondary forms associated with various sociocultural traditions and influences.

The concept of "power" is one of the fundamental categories of political science. It provides the key to understanding political institutions, politics itself, and the state. The inseparability of power and politics is recognized as a matter of course in all political theories past and present. Politics as a phenomenon is characterized by a direct or indirect connection with power and activities for the exercise of power. Social communities and individuals enter into various relations: economic, social, spiritual, political. Politics, on the other hand, is a sphere of relations between social groups, layers, personalities, which deals mainly with the problems of power and control.

All prominent representatives of political science paid close attention to the phenomenon of power. Each of them contributed to the development of the theory of power.

Modern concepts of power are very diverse. Within the framework of an educational lecture, it is advisable to formulate generalizing provisions.

In the broadest sense of the word, power is the ability and ability to exercise one's will, to exert a decisive influence on the activities, behavior of people with the help of any means - authority, law, violence. In this aspect, power is economic, political, state, family and other. Such an approach also requires a distinction between class, group and personal power, which are intertwined but not reducible to each other.

The most important type of power is political power. Political power is the real ability of a given class, group, individual to carry out his will in politics and legal norms. Political power is characterized either by social domination, or the leading role, or the leadership of certain groups, and most often various combinations these qualities.

It should also be noted that the concept of political power is broader than the concept of state power. Political power is exercised not only by state bodies, but also through the activities of parties, public organizations various types. State power is a kind of core of political power. It relies on a special apparatus of coercion and extends to the entire population of a given country. The state has a monopoly right to develop laws and other orders binding on all citizens. State power means a certain organization and activity in the implementation of the goals and objectives of this organization.

In political science, the concept is used source of power. The sources, or foundations, of power are diverse, since the structure of social relations is diverse. The grounds (sources) of power are the means that are used to influence the objects of power in order to achieve the goals. Resources Powers are potential bases of power, that is, means that can be used, but are not yet used or are not used enough. The whole set of used and possible bases of power constitutes its potential.

The recognized source of power is power. However, the power itself also has certain sources. Sources of strength can be wealth, position, possession of information, knowledge, experience, special skills, organization. Therefore, in general terms, we can say that the source of power is a set of social factors that create the prevailing, dominating, dominating will. In other words, these are economic, social, psychological foundations political power.

The state power can achieve its goals various means, including ideological influence, persuasion, economic incentives and other indirect means. But only she has a monopoly on compulsion with the help of a special apparatus in relation to all members of society.

The main forms of manifestation of power include domination, leadership, management, organization, control.

Political power is closely related to political leadership and authority, which in certain senses act as forms of exercising power.

The emergence and development of political power is due to the vital needs of the formation and evolution of society. Therefore, the government naturally performs exceptionally important special functions. It is the central, organizational and regulatory control of policy. Power is inherent in the organization of society and is necessary to maintain its integrity and unity. Political power is aimed at regulating social relations. It is a tool, the main means of managing all spheres of public life.