Council 1: What is political power

Culture and Society

Council 1: What is political power

Power is the ability to coerce an individualperson or large group of people to perform any duties, compliance with established rules. There are various types of power, one of which is political.

Instructions

Since the abilities, moral qualities,habits and desires are different for all people, it is power that is the connecting factor that ensures the sustainable existence of society, the work of all its institutions. Without it, there will quickly come anarchy, gross arbitrariness and lawlessness, where the right of the strong will triumph. Political power is the ability of any social stratum, group, social movement to subordinate the whole society to its will, to compel to comply with those legal norms that appear to be correct to this group (movement).

In a democratic society, power structurestry to establish and comply with legal norms that correspond to the wishes and interests of the majority of the population. Although this can not always be achieved, for various reasons. In an autocratic, and even more totalitarian society, legal norms are often established that are beneficial only to a narrow stratum of the ruling elite.

The main feature of political power -monopoly on the use of violence. That is, only state structures that operate within the strict framework of the law can deprive citizens of their liberty, punish them for crimes committed, resort to force to restore order, suppress antisocial actions, and so on. Although private individuals in certain cases also have the right to protect themselves, their property and other people, including using weapons.

Political power acts as an arbiter,the arbitrator, if there are misunderstandings, conflicts between different groups of the population, for example, because of religious, national or economic disagreements. It is obligated to ensure the greatest possible stability in society and to extinguish such conflicts in the bud, without letting them flare up. In case of extreme necessity, the political power should not hesitate to resort to strict measures to restore order and tranquility. Failure to comply with this rule is fraught with serious consequences.

Political power is divided into twomain components: state and public. State power belongs to the highest official (the president, the monarch), and also to the government, parliament, judicial bodies, power bodies (army, police). Public authorities are formed by political parties and public organizations, as well as by the mass media.

Tip 2: What is political science as a science?

Among the social sciences it is customary to single out thosedisciplines that are related to politics. This sphere of human activity has long occupied an important place in the life of both individual states and the entire human civilization as a whole. Over the years, a whole science has formed, within which political relations are examined. It's about political science.

Rudiments of political knowledge appeared in ancienttime. With the emergence of the state, political processes began in ancient Egypt, China, and India. Up to now, separate parts of legal documents have come up, which make it possible to assert that in those days political life was fully developed and active. Even then, there was an administrative division into states and provinces, there were mechanisms for regulating public relations. One of the sources of this time is the world famous "Laws of King Hammurabi". An invaluable contribution to political science was made by ancient Greek philosophers. Even the very term "politics" has Greek roots: in a literal translation "policy" means "state", "city". Even then, attempts were made to draw an image of the ideal structure of society. Philosophers Plato and Aristotle consistently developed the main categories of emerging political science - property, state, power. In ancient Greece, the idea of separation of powers was first put forward. Subsequently, political science successfully developed in medieval Europe. One of the public figures of that era, Niccolo Machiavelli, cleared politics of religious content, made a parallel between the processes taking place in nature and social phenomena. The center of research was the problem of state power. Over time, political science has acquired all the features of modern science, studying political phenomena, specific historical political systems, their structure, mechanisms of action and development. Developed also methods of research, allowing a detailed and comprehensive study of the subject of political science. Descriptive, historical and comparative methods are widely used to describe political phenomena and processes. Some approaches are borrowed from mathematics, sociology and psychology. Nowadays, the main efforts of scientists working in the field of political science are focused on the search for an optimal political system. It is assumed that the ideal state and society should ensure social justice, the maximum public good and allow the person to best realize his natural rights. Modern political science is an independent scientific discipline that studies the general and specific patterns of phenomena and processes in the political sphere. Turned into a vast field of knowledge, it includes political theory, the theory of political institutions, comparative political science, as well as the theory of international relations and world politics. More recently, a separate science - political psychology - has separated from political science and acquired independence.

Council 3: What is the state apparatus

Even if you are not interested in anything at allpolicy, you must have basic knowledge in the field of social science. Not knowing what a state apparatus is and what it is, you can not be considered an educated person. Therefore, from time to time it is worth repeating the material that has been passed at school or university.

In science, several differentdefinitions of the concept of "state apparatus". There is no fundamental difference between them; it can be said that in general the state apparatus is a certain system of bodies exercising public administration. Thus, power is exercised through the state apparatus. Often, the term "state mechanism" is used as a synonym in jurisprudence. However, there is an opinion that this is not exactly the same: the state apparatus should be understood directly as a system of bodies and institutions, and under the mechanism of the state, these same bodies are in operation, i.e. administrative activity. The state apparatus exercises management through the legislative, executive and judicial authorities. There are officials and state bodies of general and sectoral competence, central and local bodies. The state apparatus includes: - professional civil servants engaged in management for remuneration, - hierarchy of state bodies and institutions regulating various spheres of public life, - material means. It is necessary to understand that in countries with different state structure the structure of the state apparatus can differ substantially. For example, in totalitarian states there is no separation of powers and local self-government. The structure of the state apparatus also depends on the political and territorial organization of the country (unitarism, federation, confederation). In a modern democratic state, the state apparatus necessarily includes the head of state, legislative, executive and judicial bodies, state enforcement bodies, armed forces and all kinds of administrative entities. The state apparatus is obliged to follow a number of principles, including constitutionality, political loyalty, responsibility, optimal the structure and high professionalism.

Council 4: What is the political system of Russia

A political system is a complex of state and public institutions that directly or indirectly carry out activities related to state power.

Instructions

In the broad interpretation of the term "politicalsystem "means everything that has to do with the foreign and domestic policies of the state. Therefore, such a term is more capacious than public administration, since it covers everything that influences the formulation of policies, the mechanism for setting and resolving important issues and problems. And what is the political system in Russia?

The political system of the Russian Federation is clearlyis defined in the Constitution, adopted in December 1993. The Constitution provides for the separation of state power into legislative, executive and judicial branches.

Legislative power in Russia belongs toThe Federal Assembly, consisting of two chambers - the Federation Council and the State Duma. The State Duma consists of 450 deputies elected for 4 years in a secret ballot. The Federation Council consists of representatives of the subjects of the Russian Federation - regions, territories, autonomous republics, cities with special status (2 people per subject).

The executive is concentrated in the hands ofGovernment of the Russian Federation. It consists of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, his deputies and federal ministers. The Government of the Russian Federation is being formed by the highest official of Russia - the President. The candidacy of the Chairman of the Government must be approved by the State Duma. When electing a new President of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution, the Government puts its authority.

The judiciary, according to the Constitution of Russia,has complete independence and is independent of the legislative and executive powers. The highest bodies of the judiciary in Russia are: the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation. The Constitutional Court ensures the supremacy of the Constitution throughout the territory of Russia, verifies compliance of laws and by-laws with it. The Supreme Court oversees the activities of lower-level courts of general jurisdiction, including military courts (tribunals). The Supreme Arbitration Court is the highest judicial body when examining economic disputes and other cases that are within the competence of arbitration courts.

According to the Constitution of Russia, the stateguarantees political diversity and multi-party system. That is, all political parties, regardless of the number and popularity, acting within the law, should have an equal opportunity to conduct campaigning among voters and offend the implementation of the goals indicated in their programs.