Political institutions are institutions or a system of institutions that organize and serve the process of exercising political power, ensuring its establishment and maintenance, as well as the transfer of political information and the exchange of activities between power and other areas of political life. Such institutions are the state, political parties and politicized social movements. The most common functions of political institutions include:
consolidation of society, social groups in order to realize their fundamental interests through political power;
the development of political programs expressing the aspirations of these social communities, and the organization of their implementation;
streamlining and regulating the actions of communities in accordance with political programs;
integration of other social strata and groups into the field of social relations, expressing the interests and corresponding aspirations of the community that created the institution;
protection and development of the system of social relations, values ​​corresponding to the interests of the communities represented;
ensuring the optimal development and orientation of the political process towards the realization of the priorities and advantages of the relevant social forces. Political institutions usually arise on the basis of certain non-institutionalized communities or groups and differ from previous structures in the creation of a permanent and paid management apparatus.
Each institution as a subject of politics implements political activity through the activities of its leaders, leaders of various levels and ordinary members, interacting with the public environment in order to meet specific and at the same time constantly changing individual and group socio-political interests.
Aggregate subjects play a decisive role in the political process, nevertheless, the primary subject of politics, its "atom", is undoubtedly an individual, a person. In domestic political practice, a person was not always recognized as an independent and free subject of political actions. First of all, the popular masses, political communities, and associations acted as such subjects. A person, as a rule, could participate in political life as a member of official structures with a certain regulation of political functions. However, in fact, it is the needs of each individual person, his value orientations and goals that act as a “policy measure”, the driving principle of the socio-political activity of the masses, nations, ethnic groups and other communities, as well as organizations and institutions expressing their interests.
The status of the subject of politics does not exist as inherent in any individual or social community. Political qualities are not given to a person initially. Every individual is a potential subject of politics, but not everyone becomes one in reality. In order to become a political subject, a person must find his essence and existence in politics. In other words, he must practically master political experience, realize himself as a subject of political action, develop his position in the political process and consciously determine his attitude to the world of politics, the degree of participation in it.
A person's realization of his political essence is closely related to his individual characteristics and is refracted through the personality structure, in which social, psychological, biological and spiritual substructures can be distinguished as components.

The political system can name the ordered set of norms, institutions, organizations, ideas, as well as the relationships and interactions between them, during which political power is exercised.

Political system - a complex of state and non-state institutions that carry out political functions, that is, activities related to the functioning of state power.

The concept of a political system is more capacious than the concept of "public administration", since it covers all persons and all institutions involved in the political process, as well as informal and non-governmental factors and phenomena that affect the mechanism for identifying and posing problems, the development and implementation of solutions in the field of state-power relations. In the broadest interpretation, the concept of "political system" includes everything that is related to politics.

political institution- a more complex element of the political system, which is a stable type of social interaction that regulates a certain area of ​​the political sphere of society. The Institute performs an important function (or several functions) that is significant for the whole society, while forming an ordered system of social roles and rules of interaction.

Examples of political institutions are parliamentarism, the institution of civil service, institutions of executive power, the institution of the head of state, the presidency, the monarchy, the judiciary, citizenship, suffrage, political parties, etc. The main institution in the political system is the state.

Thus, political institutions are stable types of political relations, the reproduction of which is ensured due to the following:

a) the rules governing the nature of the interaction;

b) sanctions that prevent deviation from normative behavior patterns;

c) getting used to the established institutional order.

These properties are usually called the attributes of the institution. It is they who make political institutions objective, self-reproducing social formations that do not depend on the will and desire of individual individuals, encouraging people to focus their behavior on prescribed patterns of behavior, on certain norms and rules. At the same time, what has been said means that it is possible to speak about the existence of this or that institution only if in the actions of people there is a reproduction of the behavior patterns prescribed by this institution. Political institutions exist only in the actions of people, reproducing the corresponding type of relations, interactions. What political institutions can be identified in modern society?

Institute of Parliamentarism, performing the functions of regulating relations regarding the creation of basic legal norms - laws that are binding on all citizens of the country; representation of the interests of various social groups in the state. Normative regulation of the institution of parliamentarism concerns, first of all, the issues of the competence of the parliament, the procedure for its formation, the powers of deputies, the nature of their interaction with voters and the population as a whole.

Executive Institutions represent a complex system of interactions that develop between the bodies of officials who carry out the current management of public affairs and the population of the country. The main subject making the most responsible decisions within the framework of this type of political power relations is either the head of state and the government (Egypt), or only the head of state, the president (USA), or only the government (Italy).

The dispersal of the public affairs management system required the unification of the requirements for persons working in state institutions. So in society began to take shape institute of public service, regulating the professional activities of people belonging to a special status group. In our country, this regulation is carried out on the basis of the Federal Law "On the Fundamentals of the Public Service of the Russian Federation". This law defines the legal status of civil servants, the procedure for performing civil service, the types of incentives and responsibilities of employees, the grounds for termination of service, etc.

It also acquired independent significance in the system of executive power. institution of the head of state. It ensures sustainable reproduction in society of relations that allow the leader of the state to speak on behalf of the entire people, to be the supreme arbiter in disputes, to guarantee the integrity of the country, the inviolability of the constitutional rights of citizens.

Judicial institutions regulate relations that develop in connection with the need to resolve various conflicts in society. Unlike the legislative and executive powers, the court (with the exception of judicial precedent) does not create normative acts and does not engage in administrative and managerial activities. However, the adoption of a judicial decision becomes possible only in the field of political power, which ensures the strict obedience of specific people to this decision.

Among the political institutions of modern society, a special place is occupied by those that regulate the position of an ordinary person in the system of political power relations. This is first of all institute of citizenship defining the mutual obligations of the state and the citizen in relation to each other. The regulations state that a citizen is obliged to abide by the constitution and laws, pay taxes, in a number of countries there is also universal military duty. The state, in turn, is called upon to protect the rights of a citizen, including the right to life, security, property, etc. Within the framework of this institution, the procedure for acquiring citizenship, the conditions for its loss, the citizenship of children when the citizenship of parents changes, etc. is also regulated.

An important place in the creation of an orderly system of relations of influence on the subjects of political power is electoral institution, regulating the procedure for holding elections to legislative bodies of various levels, as well as presidential elections in those countries where it is provided for by the constitution. Institute of Political Parties ensures the orderliness of relations that develop in the course of the creation of political organizations and in relations between them. Some general ideas are being formed in society about what a political party is, how it should act, how it differs from other organizations and associations. And the behavior of party activists, ordinary members begins to be built on the basis of these ideas that form the normative space of this political institution. We have listed only the most significant political institutions of modern society. Each country develops its own combination of these institutions, and the specific forms of the latter are directly affected by the socio-cultural environment. The institution of parliamentarism in the United States, India, Russia and South Korea, with similar principles of functioning of the legislative assembly, will have its own special national flavor. Political institutions structure the field of political power relations, they make the interactions of people fairly certain, stable. The more stable the institutional relations in a society, the higher the predictability of the political behavior of individuals.

After studying the material of the chapter, the student must:

know

• main theoretical approaches to the study of the state in modern political science;
• modern concepts of the state;
• the main provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation;

be able to

• describe the main forms of government;
• reveal the main content of the concept of "form of government";
• carry out a comparative analysis of state institutions;

own

• knowledge about the modern nation-state as a key element of the political system;
• the skills of independent analysis of the specific features of the modern Russian state.

Key concepts: nation state; constitution; form of government; form of government; institutions of the state; presidential-parliamentary republic; Russian federalism.

Form of government and form of government

The most important institution of the political system, on the normal functioning of which its self-preservation and adaptation depend to a decisive extent, is state. The minimum necessary features of a modern state are three elements: state territory, state people, state power. In the legal and political sense, the concept of "state", as a rule, is used in the narrow sense of the word - as an institution of domination, the bearer of state power (the right to legitimate coercion). The state is opposed to society and acts in relation to it as an instrument of leadership and control.

From other political institutions the state is different: 1) the presence of a special group of people engaged exclusively in the management of society and the protection of its economic and social structure; 2) a monopoly on coercive power; 3) the right and opportunity to implement domestic and foreign policy on behalf of the whole society; 4) the sovereign right to issue laws and regulations binding on the entire population; 5) the monopoly right to levy taxes and fees from the population, the formation of the national budget; 6) organization of power on a territorial basis.

The state has a complex structure. Usually, there are three groups of state institutions - bodies of state power and administration, the state apparatus (public administration), and the punitive mechanism of the state. The structure and powers of these institutions depend on the form of the state, and the functional side is largely determined by the existing political regime. The concept of "state form" is revealed through the categories "form of government" and "form of government".

The form of government is the organization of supreme power, characterized by its formal sources. It determines the structure of state bodies (institutional design) and the principles of their relationship.

The two main forms of government are monarchy And republic. Also distinguish their varieties.

Monarchy (classical) is characterized by the fact that the power of the head of state - the monarch - is inherited and is not considered a derivative of any other authority, body or voters. It is inevitably sacralized, for this is the condition for legitimizing the power of the monarch. There are several types of monarchical form of government: absolute monarchy characterized by the omnipotence of the head of state and the absence of a constitutional order; a constitutional monarchy implies limiting the powers of the head of state by more or less developed features of the constitutional system. Depending on the degree of limitation of the power of the head of state, dualistic and parliamentary constitutional monarchies are distinguished.

Dualistic constitutional monarchy- the powers of the monarch are limited in the sphere of legislation, but wide in the sphere of executive power. In addition, he retains control over representative power, since he is endowed with the right of a complete veto on parliamentary decisions and the right to dissolve it ahead of time (Germany under the Constitution of 1871, Japan under the Constitution of 1889, Russia after October 17, 1905). Today, this form of government is in Saudi Arabia and a number of small Arab states.

Parliamentary constitutional monarchy exists in Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Spain, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Japan. The power of the monarch does not extend to the sphere of legislation and is significantly limited in administration. Laws are adopted by parliament, the right of veto is actually (in a number of countries formally) not exercised by the monarch. In most modern constitutional monarchies, according to the doctrine of the separation of legislative power between parliament and the monarch, the latter has the right of royal assent. As a rule, the decision of the monarch must be countersigned by the government (Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Japan), which theoretically excludes the possibility of refusing to approve bills supported by the executive branch. In Great Britain, the right of the royal power to refuse to promulgate a bill is not limited, and the monarch can exercise it regardless of the will of the government. However, in practice this rarely happens. The last refusal of royal assent took place in 1707. The government is formed on the basis of a parliamentary majority and is responsible to parliament. The actual administration of the country is carried out by the government. Any act of the monarch requires the approval of the head of government or the relevant minister.

Thus, the monarchy today is a weak political institution, however, according to M. Weber, it provides additional legitimation of power, since the monarch is the bearer of tradition, a symbol of the unity of the nation, the inviolability of the political system. In addition, according to A. Leiphart, a constitutional monarchy "provides a neutral head of state and makes it unnecessary to search for a candidate for this post acceptable to all."

There are two main forms of republican government - presidential and parliamentary republics.

Presidential republic characterized by a special role of the president; he is both head of state and head of government. There is no post of prime minister, the government is formed by extra-parliamentary means, the president appoints its members either independently of parliament, or "with the consent of the Senate" (US practice). Ministers are obliged to carry out the policy determined by the President and are accountable to him. The parliament does not have the right to express a vote of no confidence in the government, and the censure of ministers by the parliament does not entail their automatic resignation.

The head of state is elected independently of parliament: either by an electoral college elected by the population (USA) or by direct vote of citizens. Such an election procedure enables the president and his government to act without regard to parliament. The President, in addition, is vested with the right of suspensive veto on laws adopted by Parliament, and actively uses it. The leader of the party that won the presidential election becomes president, while the parliamentary majority may belong to another party. Such a discrepancy is impossible in a parliamentary republic.

The most important distinguishing feature of a presidential republic is a strict separation of powers. All branches of power have considerable independence in relation to each other, but there is a developed system of checks and balances that ensures a relative balance of power. Thus, the parliament has no right to pass a vote of no confidence in the government, but the president does not have the right to prematurely dissolve the parliament. At the same time, Parliament has the right to impeach, i.e. the right to bring to justice and try cases of crimes of senior officials, including the president, but the head of state has the right of suspensive veto on parliamentary decisions. An independent judiciary, formed by the president with the participation of parliament, has the right to constitutional review and the right to interpret the "letter and spirit of the constitution" (the right to discretion).

Favorable conditions are being created in the presidential republic for the concentration of power in the hands of the president. At the same time, if constitutional norms are observed, the government is more stable, and the parliament has more real powers than in many countries with a parliamentary system. A classic example of a presidential republic is the United States, where this form of government was first established, reviving many of the principles of the Roman mixed political system.

The most important distinguishing feature parliamentary republic- formation of the government on a parliamentary basis and its formal responsibility to the parliament.

Parliament, along with issuing laws and voting the budget, has the right to control the activities of the government. The head of state appoints the government, but not at his own discretion, but from among the representatives of the party (coalition of parties) that has the majority of seats in parliament (its lower house). A vote of no confidence in the government by the parliament entails either the resignation of the government, or the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early parliamentary elections, or both. The government, formed from representatives of the party (parties) of the parliamentary majority, having received a vote of confidence, with the help of party discipline directs the activities of this majority and thereby gains control over the parliament as a whole. Thus, the government represents the main governing body of the country, and the head of government is actually the first person in the power structure, pushing the head of state into the background. Of course, the degree of sovereignty of the head of government depends on the specific alignment of political forces in the country, the established rules for the relationship between parliament and government, etc.

The head of state occupies a modest place in the system of power bodies. The president of a parliamentary republic is elected either by the parliament (Greece), or by the parliament with the participation of representatives of administrative-territorial units (Italy), or by a special electoral college, including deputies of parliament and representatives of federal subjects on a parity basis (FRG), less often by universal suffrage (Austria) .

The powers of the president, except for representative ones, are exercised only with the consent of the government. Acts of the president need to be approved by members of the government, who are responsible for them. Typical parliamentary republics are Austria, Greece, Italy, Germany.

Among the forms of government there are those that combine the features of both presidential and parliamentary republics. This is the Fifth French Republic, which arose as a result of the adoption of the Constitution of 1958. This mixed form was called prime presidential. It is characterized by the fact that: 1) the president is elected in direct general elections; 2) the president is endowed with broad powers of authority; 3) Simultaneously with the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, responsible to the Legislative Assembly, exist and perform the functions of the executive branch.

According to M. Duverger, this is a system in which, depending on whether the parliamentary majority supports the incumbent president or not, presidential and parliamentary phases alternate. During the presidential phase, the president plays a key, dominant role in the system of the highest bodies of state power; during the parliamentary phase, he is forced to share power with the prime minister.

Mixed presidential-parliamentary a form of government with even greater dominance of the president is characteristic of a number of Latin American countries (Brazil, Peru, Ecuador). It is also enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 and the new constitutions of a number of CIS countries. Its most important features are: 1) the presence of a popularly elected president; 2) the president appoints and removes members of the government; 3) members of the government must enjoy the confidence of parliament; 4) the president has the right to dissolve parliament.

A special form of government has developed in Switzerland. Here, the functions of the head of state and government are carried out by the "collective president" - the Federal Council, which is elected by the seven-member parliament on a broad coalition basis. The president of the Federal Council is elected for one year from among its members and performs purely representative functions. There is no principle of parliamentary responsibility of the government. M. S. Shugart and D. M. Carey suggested calling such a system assam-blaine-independent, this designation, in their opinion, indicates both "the source of executive power and the absence of the need for mutual confidence between the legislative assembly and the executive."

The form of government is the territorial and political organization of the state, including the political and legal status of its constituent parts and the principles of the relationship between central and regional state bodies. There are two main forms of government - unitary and federal.

unitary state - it is a single state, which is subdivided into administrative-territorial units that do not have political independence.

federal state - it is a union state, consisting of several state entities, each of which has its own competence and has its own system of legislative, executive and judicial bodies.

In the past, there was such a close to federal form of government as confederation. The difference between a confederation and a federation lies in the fact that a federation presupposes the existence of a center authorized to make decisions on behalf of all members of the union and exercising authority over them. The confederation, according to A. Mommen, was a more or less flexible organization, without any constitutional formalization, a federation of independent states. Each of its members united with others in an alliance, to the competence of which a limited number of issues were transferred (defense and external representation). The confederations were Switzerland from 1291 to 1848, the USA in 1776-1797, the German Confederation in 1815-1867. Today there are no confederations, although this word is used in the official name of the Swiss and Canadian states. At the same time, some features of a post-confederal structure were acquired in the 1990s. European Union (EU).

The form of the state structure depends on the historical conditions for the formation and existence of the state, traditions, the degree of territorial and ethnic community in the state, etc. Ultimately, the form of government reflects the degree of centralization or decentralization of government, the ratio of the center and places.

For unitary state is characterized by the following features: a single constitution, legal system, citizenship, a system of higher bodies of state power and administration, a judicial system, division into administrative-territorial units, the status of governing bodies in which is determined by national legal norms and their subordination to central government bodies.

Depending on the degree of centralization, several varieties of unitary states can be distinguished:

• 1) there are no elected local bodies, management functions are carried out by officials appointed from the center;
• 2) there are local elected bodies of government, but they are placed under the control of appointed representatives of the center;
• 3) elected local self-government bodies are indirectly controlled by the center;
• 4) in the state there is a certain autonomy for certain territories, including internal self-government and a limited right to issue legislative acts on issues of local importance.

In the latter case, autonomy does not change the unitary nature of the state, but can be considered either as a special transitional form from unitarism to federalism, or as an attempt to combine and balance the positive aspects of unitarism and federalism. The practical expression of these trends is regionalism, most fully realized in the development of the state structure of Italy and Spain. The foundations of such a state structure were laid in them by the democratic constitutions adopted in Italy in 1947, and in Spain in 1978. But in Italy, years passed before the provisions of the constitution were put into practice.

Unlike states that have separate autonomous formations created for various reasons, including taking into account compactly living national groups (the Alan Islands in Finland), in Italy and Spain autonomy is granted to all administrative-territorial formations. There are 20 such regions in Italy, of which five have broader powers, and their status is approved by the constitutional law of the republic. There are 17 autonomous entities in Spain, some of them (the so-called historical regions - the Basque Country, Galicia, Catalonia) have broader powers.

As in a federal state, the regions have legislative and executive power (while maintaining a single, centralized judicial system). They form legislative assemblies and collegial executive bodies. The constitution contains a list of issues on which the regions can issue local laws, which is reminiscent of the division of competence between the federation and its subjects. Regions have special acts-statutes that determine their organization. These are not yet constitutions, but they are not ordinary legal acts either. Statutes are developed and adopted by the legislative authorities of the regions.

In a number of ways, regionalism is also close to unitarism. Thus, regions do not have constitutions, and their statutes are subject to approval by constitutional laws. A government commissioner is appointed to the regions, who approves the acts of the legislative bodies of the regions. He can refuse a visa, which is reminiscent of the institution of administrative guardianship in a unitary state. The government has the right, under certain conditions, to dissolve the legislature of the region. Changing the boundaries between autonomous entities is also carried out by acts of the central government, etc.

A significant part of autonomous territorial formations was created on a historical and geographical basis (most of the regions of Italy, the Madeira and Azores islands in Portugal, etc.), some autonomous formations were created on a national-territorial basis in Spain and the former USSR. The autonomy of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland within Great Britain combines historical, geographical and national features.

Idea federal state goes back to Ancient Greece and Rome. In both cases, federalism was expressed in the unification of independent city-states in the face of an external military threat. Rome was at first the center of the Latin Federation and only over time, thanks to military power, turned into a huge centralized empire. Today, about a ninth of the world's states are federations (USA, Russian Federation, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Argentina, Brazil, India, Australia, etc.).

For A federal state is characterized by the following features:

• the federation consists of state entities (states in the USA and Australia, lands in the Federal Republic of Germany and Austria, cantons in Switzerland, provinces in Canada and Belgium, republics in the former Yugoslavia and the USSR, etc.), which are its subjects and have their own circle of powers;
• subjects of the federation do not have full sovereignty, despite its formal declaration in some federations (Switzerland);
• along with the general federal constitution and laws, the constitutions and laws of the subjects of the federation operate under the supremacy of the general federal ones;
• in addition to the legislative, executive, judicial bodies of the federation, there are the same bodies of the constituent entities of the federation, while between the federation and its constituent entities a differentiation of competence in the field of legislation and administration is carried out;
• in the federal parliament, representation of the subjects of the federation is provided in various forms (as a rule, there is a chamber of representation of the subjects).

Interaction and competition between different levels of government is one of the key elements of federalism. It is federalism that is designed to prevent the establishment of unlimited sovereignty of one of the levels of a complex system of power. It is no coincidence that the federal form of government is rigidly associated with democracy. The federal state and the subjects of the federation are based on two different types of legitimacy, both of which are based on the principle of popular sovereignty, but it refers to different "peoples" - respectively, the people of the federation as a whole and the peoples of individual subjects of the federation, as noted by T. Fleiner and L Basta.

The sovereignty thus defined in a federal state is divided among different levels of power. The main system-forming elements of sovereignty in a federal state are the following:

• the state character of the subjects of the federation;
• their autonomy and financial sovereignty;
• decentralization of the decision-making process;
• participation of subjects of the federation in the adoption of federal decisions;
• responsibility of subjects of the federation to the federal center.

Typically, the federal constitution sets the framework for the division of power between the center and the subjects of the federation. Thus, the US Constitution specifically stipulates certain rights of the center, such as issuing money, declaring war, regulating trade between states and with other states, and foreign policy. Other rights, such as the imposition of taxes, are transferred to the national government as a parallel jurisdiction, i.e. both federal and state governments have them. The US Constitution also provides for rights that the central authorities do not have and those that state governments do not have;

areas are also indicated in which it is forbidden to interfere with both. The powers of the states are not enumerated in the US Constitution. They are considered reserved, and, under Amendment X of the US Constitution, all powers not transferred to the national government and not prohibited by the state authorities are reserved to the latter or to the citizens. Each state has its own constitution, which, within the framework outlined by the US Constitution (state constitutions must not contradict it), gives power to the state government and determines the procedure for its implementation. The laws of each state must conform to its constitution. Such a complex system requires a dispute resolution mechanism not only between the state and the national government, but also between the states. This mechanism is the federal judiciary, and above all - the US Supreme Court.

According to the experience of Western countries, the federation does not serve as a means of solving the national question, but rather one of the ways to share power. Therefore, subjects, as a rule, were created not on a national-territorial basis, but on a physical-geographical (USA, Australia) or historical basis (Switzerland, Austria, Germany). Historically, federations were formed, as a rule, not on a voluntary basis; the right of secession (secession) is not recognized for the subjects. The only exceptions were the socialist federations (USSR, Czechoslovakia, SFRY, etc.), which have now collapsed.

There are various classifications of federal states:

• 1) federations based on the union and autonomy of constituent parts;
• 2) contractual or constitutional federations;
• 3) centralized or relatively decentralized federations.

This division at the present stage has not completely lost its significance, although from among the federations created in the 20th century. based on the union, only Tanzania survived (the result of the 1964 union treaty between Tanganyika and Zanzibar), and this union excludes an important feature of this type of federation - the right to secession. The rest of the differences are very arbitrary.

Today, the division of federations into symmetrical and asymmetric ones has come to the fore (although it is also rather conditional).

Federalism - a complex and contradictory phenomenon, it is characterized by the interaction of two opposite tendencies: towards greater centralization and towards decentralization and even separatism. Therefore, it can be considered both as a prerequisite for the formation of a state with a centralized control system, and as a result of disintegration processes in a centralized state that is losing control over part of its territories. Historical practice provides examples of both.

An attempt to overcome the contradiction between centrifugal and centripetal tendencies is the concept of "cooperative federalism", which implies the development of close interactions and relationships not only between the authorities of the federation and its subjects (vertical cooperation), but also between the authorities of the members of the federation (horizontal cooperation). Moreover, the authorities of the federation and its subjects should be considered as equal partners. However, this concept has never been fully implemented in practice.

The concept of the Austro-Marxists O. Bauer and K. Renner found practical application. In contrast to the usual territorial principle, they called their concept of national-cultural autonomy federalism based on the personal principle. According to it, every citizen of a multinational country received the right to declare which nationality he wanted to belong to, and the nationalities themselves became autonomous (cultural) communities. O. Bauer drew a parallel between the alleged cultural communities and communities of Catholics, Protestants and Jews often coexisting within the same state, independent in the conduct of matters relating to religion.

In a number of European democracies, where ethnic or linguistic segments were not territorially divided, their autonomy was established on the basis of precisely the personal principle. This was the case in the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium. The last of the mentioned countries, according to A. Mommen, could serve as a model for the process of federalization of a unitary state, which may eventually turn into a new type of federation, uniting national "communities" (segments) and "regions" on the basis of equality, while avoiding civil wars and other conflicts between different nationalities. The conflicting demarcation of the Walloons and the Flemings in Belgium did not go beyond the framework of political struggle and parliamentary compromises and never led to violent clashes between the two communities.

Since the days of the French Revolution, when the two main theories of the state structure were already known, there have been disputes about the advantages and disadvantages of federalism and unitarism.

In the eyes of the French revolutionaries - the defenders of the republic as a form of nation-state - the republic must be united and indivisible, since federalism allegedly serves the interests of the rich and nobles and ultimately consolidates privileges. However, in the same historical era, the thesis that federalism contributes to the development of democracy, while centralism is dangerous to it, was defended by the founding fathers of the United States. For them, a highly centralized state is unacceptable, since only federalism and local autonomy can prevent the establishment of tyranny and promote democratic processes at the grassroots level. Indeed, the complexity of the federal system can create certain difficulties in the way of those political leaders who, in their quest for dictatorship, are ready to violate the constitutional limits of their power.

However, this concept of “local” democracy is based on the assumption that democracy can only be exercised at the local level, “at the bottom”. In fact, local autonomy does not always contribute to the development of the democratic process, especially when citizens unite around non-democratic ideas. So, in the early 1960s. The civil rights movement in the United States was opposed by the authorities of the southern states, who defended the idea of ​​their political autonomy. The cantons of Switzerland have long rejected the idea of ​​religious tolerance.

Supporters of a unitary state insist that the protection of human rights and freedoms is always easier to ensure in a unitary state, since in a federal state, local power structures can obstruct some positive changes coming from the center, or put pressure on movements advocating greater democracy in state management.

The researchers give the following arguments. In such a highly decentralized state as Switzerland, the authorities of many cantons did not grant political rights to women for a long time, since the majority of men opposed this. The federal system is cumbersome and often inefficient, and its inherent disputes over the division of functions slow down the implementation of many necessary political and social programs. In addition, some states that have a federal structure, in fact, are not. This applies to all "socialist federations". But not only. Brazil is similar in its administrative structure to the United States. However, depending on which government was in power, the actual nature of the state structure changed from federal to virtually unitary, with the central government taking away most of the power from the states.

At the same time, in the face of the threat of the collapse of the state, federalism is the most practical way to resolve conflicts, giving the lands the opportunity to choose the form of internal government and leaving behind the center only those functions that cannot be implemented locally (of a general, coordinating nature).

Therefore, only taking into account the specific historical situation, the political traditions of the country can facilitate the search for adequate forms of government. Since each model has its advantages and disadvantages, any model of government can be the best if it meets the specific conditions and most fully ensures the free development of citizens.

Speaking about political institutions in modern Russia, I would like to start with the definition itself.

What are political institutions?

Political institutions are, in particular, the state and its structures, the electoral system, political parties, public opinion, and the media. Any political institution consists of a structure (organization) and an idea that these structures serve.

The state is the most significant system of political institution.

The main institutions of the political system of modern Russian society are: presidency; institute parliamentarism represented in Russia by the Federal Assembly; executive institute authorities represented by the government; institutions judicial authorities; institute citizenship; universal suffrage; institute of political parties And public organizations; institute local government. Political institutions, in turn, include relevant organizations, institutions that solve specific problems within the framework of institutional relations.

Political institutions are also divided into institutions of power and institutions of participation. The former include institutions exercising state power at various hierarchical levels, while the latter include institutions of participation, structures of civil society. The totality of political institutions make up the political system of society, which is a certain integrity, organic interaction of political subjects, other elements of political reality.

Another important political institution is civil society, within which the activities of non-state political institutions are carried out.

Summing up, I would like to start with the fact that the search for a formalized model of political power capable of reproducing and maintaining an ideal society originates in ancient philosophy. Plato, Aristotle and other ancient Greek philosophers tried to answer the question of what kind of political institutions are able to provide the best type of society and personality. Comparative analysis of legislation (constitutions), typology of political regimes, identification of various forms of government, possible combinations of political institutions, terminological identification of political phenomena and facts - this is the circle of studies of political philosophy of that period. However, it should be recognized that institutional analysis (using modern terminology) was quite limited and descriptive by all authors and did not pretend to build a strict normative-conceptual apparatus. Nevertheless, it should be recognized that the beginning of institutional research was laid in the era of antiquity.

Smoothly moving to political institutions in modern Russia, we note

The transformation of the Russian political system can be divided into three main periods related to the priorities in the development of the country:

2. Transition from oligarchic to state capitalism, strengthening of statehood (1998-2004).

3. Formation of political institutions designed to ensure Russia's claims to the status of a "great power" and the implementation of the idea of ​​sovereign democracy (since 2005).

Those states that, following historical ambitions, seek to act independently or have a dissenting opinion on certain issues, are still forced to adjust their behavior, based both on their priorities and consolidated international influence.

The vertical of power pushes back democracy, but as a result of rising living standards, Russian citizens who form civil society will increasingly need to influence political processes, which, in the end, can become a guarantee of the formation of democratic political institutions.

And modern Russia strives for this.

Completed by student 422 uch.gr. Plakhin Alexander

Political institutions

A political institution is a stable type of social interaction that regulates a certain segment of political power relations in society. The stability of the political institution. achieved through:

• rules governing the nature of interaction
• sanctions that prevent deviation from normative patterns of behavior
• accustoming people to the established institutional order.

These properties are usually called the attributes of the institution. It is they who make the political institution objective, self-reproducing social formations, independent of the will and desire of individual individuals, encouraging people to focus their behavior on prescribed behavior patterns, on certain norms and rules. At the same time, a political institution exists only in the actions of people who reproduce the corresponding type of relations and interactions. In modern society, there are the following political institutions: the institution of parliamentarism, which performs the functions of regulating relations regarding the creation of basic legal norms, laws and the representation of the interests of various social groups in the state; institutions of executive power that regulate the system of interactions that are formed by m. bodies, officials who carry out the current management of public affairs and the population of the country; an institution of public service that regulates the professional activities of people belonging to a special status group; the institution of the head of state, which ensures sustainable reproduction in society of relations that allow the leader of the state to speak on behalf of the entire people, to be the supreme arbiter in disputes, to guarantee the integrity of the country, the inviolability of the constitutional rights of citizens; institutions of justice that regulate relations over disputes and conflicts. Political institutions structure the field of political relations of power, make people's interactions quite definite and stable.

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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 in scientific circulation was the term "state" was introduced by N. Machiavelli. He interpreted it broadly - as any supreme power over a person.

In ordinary consciousness, the state is often identified with a certain ethnic group (the Belarusian state, the French state, etc.), with the administrative and managerial apparatus, with justice.

Most modern writers state that state - this is the main institution of the political system and the political organization of society, created to organize the life of society as a whole and carry out the policy of the ruling classes, other social groups and sections of the population.

Main building blocks states are the legislative, executive and judicial authorities, the protection of public order and state security, the armed forces and partly the media.

Common to the state are the following features:

1. The separation of public authority from society, its mismatch with the organization of the entire population, the emergence of a layer of professional managers, which distinguishes the state from a tribal organization based on the principles of self-government.

2. Sovereignty, that is, the supreme power in a certain territory. In modern society, there are many authorities: family, industrial, party, etc. But the state has the highest power, the decisions of which are binding on all citizens, organizations and institutions.

3. Territory delineating the boundaries of the state. The laws and powers of the state apply to people living in a certain territory. It itself is built not on consanguineous or religious grounds, but on the basis of the territorial and, usually, ethnic community of people.

4. Monopoly on the legal use of force, physical coercion. The range of state coercion extends from the restriction of freedom to the physical destruction of a person (the death penalty). To perform the functions of coercion, the state has special means (weapons, prisons, etc.), as well as bodies - the army, police, security services, the court, the prosecutor's office.

5. The most important feature of the state is its monopoly right to publish laws and regulations binding on the entire population. Legislative activity in a democratic state is carried out by the legislature (parliament). The state implements the requirements of legal norms with the help of its special bodies (courts, administration).

6. The right to levy taxes and fees from the population. Taxes are necessary for the maintenance of numerous employees and for the material support of state policy: defense, economic, social, etc.

7. Mandatory membership in the state. Unlike, for example, from a political party, membership in which is voluntary, a person receives state citizenship from the moment of birth.

When characterizing the state, the distinctive features are supplemented and its attributes - coat of arms, flag and anthem.

Signs and attributes allow not only to distinguish the state from other social organizations, but also to see it as a necessary form of existence and development of societies in modern civilization.

The main theories of the emergence of the state today are:

but) theological- the state arose by the will of God;

in) social contract theory(G. Grotius, T. Hobbes, J.-J. Rousseau, N. Radishchev) - the state is the result of an agreement between a sovereign ruler and subjects;

G) conquest theory(L. Gumplovich, F. Oppenheimer, K. Kautsky, E. Dühring) - the state was an organization of winners over the vanquished;

e) Marxist-Leninist theory, - the state arose as a result of the division of society into classes as a spokesman for the interests of the economically dominant class; an organic part of this theory is the idea of ​​the withering away of the state.

There are theories that explain the origin of the state and other factors, such as the need for joint construction of irrigation facilities, the influence of other states, etc. It is impossible to single out any one that determines the cause of the emergence of the state. It is clear that these processes were influenced by a variety of conditions and factors, both external and internal.

State functions. The social purpose of the state is determined by the functions it performs. It is generally accepted to divide functions into internal and external.

To the main internal functions relate:

Regulation of social life; conflict resolution, search for ways of compromise and consensus in society;

Public order protection;

Development of a legislative framework for the functioning of the public system;

Definition of economic development strategy;

Protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens;

Providing social guarantees to its citizens;

Creation of conditions for the development of science, culture, education;

Activities for the protection of the environment.

External functions aimed at ensuring the security, integrity and sovereignty of the state, protecting national interests in the international arena, developing mutually beneficial cooperation between countries, solving global problems of human civilization, etc.

Forms of government and government

The state has a complex structure - usually there are three groups of state institutions: bodies of state power and administration, the state apparatus (public administration), and the punitive mechanism of the state.

The structure and powers of these institutions depend on the form of the state, and the functional side is largely determined by the existing political regime. The concept of " form of state» is revealed through the categories « form of government" And "form of government".

"Form of government"- this is the organization of the supreme power, characterized by its formal sources, it determines the structure of state bodies (institutional design) and the principles of their relationship. The two main forms of government are monarchy And republic and their varieties.

Monarchy(classical) is characterized by the fact that the power of the head of state - the monarch is inherited and is not considered a derivative of any other power, body or voters. It is inevitably sacralized, for this is the condition for legitimizing the power of the monarch. There are several types of monarchical form of government: absolute monarchy- characterized by the omnipotence of the head of state and the absence of a constitutional order; a constitutional monarchy- involves limiting the powers of the head of state by more or less developed features of the constitutional system. Depending on the degree of restriction of the power of the head of state, there are: dualistic and parliamentary constitutional monarchies.

Dualistic monarchy- the powers of the monarch are limited in the sphere of legislation, but wide in the sphere of executive power. In addition, he retains control over representative power, since he is endowed with the right of a complete veto on parliamentary decisions and the right to dissolve it ahead of schedule (Saudi Arabia and a number of small Arab states).

parliamentary monarchy- the power of the monarch does not extend to the sphere of legislation and is significantly limited in management. Laws are adopted by parliament, the right of "veto" actually (in a number of countries and formally) the monarch does not exercise. The government is formed on the basis of a parliamentary majority and is responsible to the parliament. The actual administration of the country is carried out by the government. Any act of the monarch requires the approval of the head of government or the relevant minister (Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden).

Republic- two main forms of republican government are known: presidential and parliamentary republics.

Presidential republic characterized by a special role of the president; he is both head of state and head of government. There is no post of prime minister, the government is formed by extra-parliamentary means, the president appoints its members either independently of parliament or with the consent of the senate (for example, the United States). Ministers are responsible to the President. The parliament does not have the right to express a vote of no confidence in the government, and the censure of ministers by the parliament does not entail their automatic resignation. The head of state is elected independently of parliament: either by an electoral college elected by the population (USA), or by direct vote of citizens (France, etc.)

Such an election procedure enables the president and his government to act without regard to parliament. The President is vested with the right of suspensive veto on laws passed by Parliament. The most important distinguishing feature of a presidential republic is a strict separation of powers. All branches of power have considerable independence in relation to each other, but there is a developed system of checks and balances that maintains a relative balance of power.

Parliamentary republic: its most important distinguishing feature is the formation of a government on a parliamentary basis and its formal responsibility to parliament. The head of state occupies a modest place in the system of power bodies. Parliament, along with the issuance of laws and the voting of the budget, has the right to control the activities of the government. The head of state appoints the government, but not at his own discretion, but from among the party representatives who have the majority of seats in parliament (its lower house). A vote of no confidence in the government by the parliament entails either the resignation of the government, or the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early parliamentary elections, or both. Thus, the government is the main governing body of the country, and the head of government is actually the first person in the power structure, pushing the head of state into the background (Greece, Italy, Germany).

Mixed presidential-parliamentary the form of government, with even greater dominance of the president, is typical for a number of Latin American countries (Peru, Ecuador), it is also enshrined in the 1993 constitution. in Russia and the new constitutions of a number of CIS countries.

Its most important features:

Presence of a popularly elected president;

The president appoints and removes members of the government;

Members of the government must enjoy the confidence of Parliament;

The president has the right to dissolve parliament.

Form of government- this is the territorial and political organization of the state, including the political and legal status of its constituent parts and the principles of the relationship between central and regional state bodies. There are two main forms of government: unitary and federal.

Unitary - it is a single state, which is subdivided into administrative-territorial units that do not have political independence. Federal- is a union state, consisting of several state entities, each of which has its own competence and has its own system of legislative, executive and judicial bodies.

Previously, there was such a close to federal form of government as confederation. The difference between a confederation and a federation lies in the fact that a federation presupposes the existence of a center authorized to make decisions on behalf of all members of the union and exercising authority over them. A confederation, on the other hand, is a more or less flexible organization, without any constitutional formalization, a federation of independent states.

Each of its members united with others in an alliance, to whose competence a limited number of issues were transferred (for example, defense and external representation) Confederations were: Switzerland from 1291 to 1848, the USA in 1776-1797, the German Union in 1815-1867. Today there are no confederations, although this word is used in the official name of the Swiss and Canadian states.