Nazarbekoba Z.M.

A. Baitursynov Kostanai State University, Kazakhstan

 

Structure, functions, types  of the political system.

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 The political system is a set of the government, party and public bodies and the organizations participating in political life of the country. It is the difficult formation providing existence of society as a uniform organism, centrally operated by the political power. Depending on time and a place the concept of the political system has the various contents as the importance of components of political system changes according to type of a political regime. Besides, the political system defines as interactions by means of which in society material and cultural wealth is authoritatively distributed.

The system approach in political science was applied for the first time by D. Easton. It divided the main components of the model into "entering" factors (the requirement and support) and "proceeding", connected with the first by feedback. He divides the requirements on external, going from the environment, and internal, going from the system. The requirements are only "an initial material" of which the final product called as decisions is formed. Other type of entering impulses is the support. It acts in different forms: material, military service, observance of laws and government directives, respect for the state symbolics.

The structure of the political system consists of institutional, standard, functional and communicative subsystems. The institutional subsystem is the state, political parties, social and political movements, labor unions, the organizations, church, mass media. The standard subsystem includes rules of law, political traditions, political morals and ethics. The functional subsystem is the forms and the direction of political activity, ways and methods of implementation of the power (political regime). The communicative system represent: political culture, political consciousness (ideology and political psychology) and political relations.

First of all the political system carries out the supreme power which decisions are obligatory for all society. The concept of the power is the main characteristic of the political system in difference, for example, from the economic system for which the main is a concept of property.

The main functions of the political system are the following:

1. Definition of the purposes and problems of society, development of programs of activity according to interests of citizens of the country.

2. Mobilization of resources and the organization of activity of society for implementation of its purposes and tasks.

3. Strengthening of the unity of society.

4. Distribution of values according to interests of all society and separate social groups, the nations, each person.

5. Settlement of the conflicts.

The types of political systems are defined by intrinsic methods of their organization and functioning, in many respects depend on character of the political power and a political regime of society. The typology of political systems of society can be made on the basis of use of different criteria. So, if to take formational, class (Marxist) approach for base, it is possible to allocate slaveholding, feudal, "Asian" (the despotic government and communal property), bourgeois and state and socialist political systems. From the point of view of evolution it is expedient to allocate the traditional and modernized systems, taking into account historical features of development of politics and parties – the English-American, the European-continental, and the developing states. The typology of political systems is most widespread on character of the power and the principles of the organization of political life of society. By these criteria it is possible to allocate three main types of political systems: democratic, authoritative and totalitarian, and also transitional between them. The democratic type of political system is characterized: broad involvement in politics of people, ensuring their rights and freedoms, a high standard of living, a basic role of the developed middle class; role in implementation of the power of a wide range of persons and power institutes; competitive form of political role and multi-party form of government; parliamentary method of expression of will of the people, selectivity and accountability of legislature of the power from top to bottom

The authoritative type of political system is characterized: concentration of all political power in the uniform center of adoption of political decisions; the greatest expansion of competence of executive power; limited by the political role of non-governmental parties and movements, and also the cut-down imperious opportunities of subordinate bodies; uncontrollable application of the power and firm control of behavior of all segments of the population; firm realization of the nomenclature principle.

The totalitarian type of political system characterizes: supercentralization of the power and establishment of totalitarian authoritative board of one favourite or very narrow circle of people (junta); the mechanism of power structures on one-party base led by the individual favourite, firm hierarchical subordination and severe discipline; submission of all political institutes and power structures to ruling party and to its favourite; totalitarian regulation from one center of all economic life, elimination of all forms of pluralism, opposition and some autonomies in power system, intervention in private life of people; imposing to society of the one and only official ideology. oppression of some manifestations of dissent and criticism of the management, complete party and political control and the most severe censorship in mass media; socio-political demagogy, eagerness to a spiritual brainwashing of the population, its belief in unity of a regime and society, ruling elite and masses, party and the people.

The formation, functioning and evolution of political systems of various types, transition from one type to another, and their interaction with an environment (or with milieu) become as political process. And the features of this process demand the concrete analysis of a condition of the real political systems, political regimes, forms of political management and political role.