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The core of political activity is activity. Political activity

Abstract on the topic: Democracy: theory and political practice

1. Ancient and medieval ideas about democracy

The term "democracy" (from the Greek demos - people and kratos - power), first encountered by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, means "power of the people" or "democracy".

The first, most developed form of democratic government is considered to have developed in the ancient world - in ancient Greece and ancient Rome, in ancient city-states - direct democracy. It assumed a public - sometimes directly on city squares - discussion of the most important issues in the development of the state: the approval of laws, the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace, the appointment of senior officials, the passing of sentences. Participation in government was considered not only a right, but also a duty of a free citizen, whether he was a rich aristocrat or a poor man, was encouraged financially and was evaluated as the most worthy occupation of the free.

Let us single out the differences between the ancient understanding of democracy and the modern one:

1) the democratic state system did not guarantee the freedom of the individual, which was considered as part of the state (society - the state - the individual acted in an undivided form);

2) the existence of slavery and class division of free citizens was perceived as natural.

Many symbols of democracy came to us from the times of Ancient Greece and Rome (the ideas of the rule of law, equality of citizens before the law, equality of political rights have become an integral part of democratic traditions).

The greatest thinkers of antiquity saw dangerous tendencies to increase the power of the spontaneous crowd, which, in their opinion, did not have a high intellect (this power is defined by the term "ochlocracy"). They considered it reasonable in a democratic government to have a ruling elite and grant civil rights to various groups of the population in accordance with their property status and professional interests.

The further development of ancient democracy confirmed the correctness of their conclusions: democracy, in the conditions of an increase in the share of the lower class - fetes - increasingly turned into a "violence of the mob", and this process led first to an oligarchic tyrannical coup, and then to the complete elimination of ancient civilizations.

The medieval period in the history of human development is characterized by the establishment of the absolute power of monarchs, a rigid class division of society, the strengthening of the role of the church in the state and public life, restriction of the rights and freedoms of the general population. Despotic forms of government permeated all levels of state and public life, completely subordinated the economic and cultural activities of citizens, their personal lives to the power of the overlord - the supreme ruler, the feudal owner.

At the same time, the Middle Ages were marked by the appearance of the first representative institutions (1265 - Parliament in England; 1302 - States General in France; XVI century - Zemsky Sobors in the Muscovite State, etc.). Already in the period of the early Middle Ages, three most important elements of modern parliamentary democracies could be observed in the activities of these institutions: the publicity of power, its representative nature, and the presence of a mechanism of checks and balances (the purpose of which is to prevent the concentration of all power in the hands of any one institution, class or estates).

The socio-economic and political-ideological situation also affected the views of the thinkers of the Middle Ages, their ideas about the state structure and the role of man in society.

Secular political thought was dominated by the ideas of local and estate democracy and self-government.

Firstly, the possibility of the participation of representatives of various, especially the propertied, classes in parliamentary activity, which, although it was of an extremely limited, advisory nature, provided the opportunity to participate in the development and adoption of management decisions, in government activities.

Secondly, the content and functions of local forms of self-government were determined (for example, zemstvos in Russia, "free cities" such as Lübeck, Hamburg, Bremen, in Germany, or the veche form of government in Ancient Novgorod and Pskov). Such forms of democratic expression of will, although they were under the complete control of the monarch and the local aristocracy, at the same time provided the population with the opportunity to exercise certain civil rights, primarily the right to manage the affairs of their locality. The development of the guild organization of crafts and trade, the emergence of political and religious guilds - the prototypes of future political parties - served the same goals.

Another direction in understanding the problems of state structure and democracy in the Middle Ages was the search for the source and boundaries of the power of the monarch, his right to intrude into the spiritual life of his subjects. This analysis was carried out by theologians who, justifying the need for socio-economic inequality of estates, the divine origin of absolute monarchy, the dominant position of Christian ideology, at the same time defended the equality of all people before God, the inadmissibility of humiliation of their human dignity and the interference of secular power in the field of human spiritual life, and the accountability of the power of the monarch to divine laws.

The largest representatives of the philosophical and theological thought of the Middle Ages, defending the position of "medieval democracy", were A. Augustine and F. Aquinas.

So, Aurelius Augustine (354-430), believing in the divine origin of earthly state power, at the same time defined it as a "great robber organization." Citizen in socially completely subordinate to this authority, but has the right to respect for his human dignity, for God remains the supreme judge over him.

Thomas Aquinas (1225 or 1226-1274) already at the end of the Middle Ages also substantiated the class structure of society and the need for a state that has a divine origin. Like ancient thinkers, he condemns democracy as a form of oppression of the rich by the poor, ultimately leading to tyranny. He considers the correct form of monarchy, which ensures the stability of the state; at the same time, man must have a set of human rights defined by eternal divine law.

Thus, the ancient and medieval ideas about power and democracy, which contributed to the formation of modern concepts of democracy, can be summarized in the following provisions:

democracy is one of the forms of the political structure of society, based on the broad participation of various social groups population in its administration;
the most important characteristic of democracy is the ability of every citizen to enjoy rights and freedoms, first of all, to be independent from other members of society, to have freedom of opinion, to participate in public and state life on an equal basis with other citizens; ownership right;
democracy is inseparable from the obligation of the citizen and the system of government as a whole to obey the laws and not violate the rights of other people - members of society;
democracy is incompatible with ochlocracy - the power of the masses, the crowd, which suppresses the individual, who dominates in solving state issues, which ultimately leads to tyranny and terror;
the best form of democratic organization of society is its division into rulers and ruled, who transfer the government to the worthy and under their leadership perform productive functions; at the same time, they retain the right to control the powers that be and early termination of their powers, as well as the possibility local government;
rulers should take care of the welfare of their subjects and the strengthening of the state, reasonably, relying on the law, organize the life of society, ensure the opportunity for every citizen to use his inalienable rights and freedoms.

2. Modern theories democracies: classical liberal democracy, collectivist, pluralistic democracy

The crisis of absolutism, which came as a result of major socio-economic transformations in Europe: the accomplishment of the industrial revolution, the strengthening of trade and economic ties, the growth of cities, the destruction of the medieval system of government, changed ideas about the political structure of society, the role of man in society, his rights and freedoms, possible participation in political life. In the most complete and detailed form, they were formulated at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. in the concepts of democracy of classical liberalism by T. Hobbes, J. Locke and S. Montesquieu. The main ideas expressed by these thinkers can be summarized as follows.

Necessary state stage humanity was in a state of nature, man lived according to natural laws, had a wide range of freedoms and used them at his own discretion. Thus, the initial state of human nature, its essence, is individual freedom. However, its use should not lead to a violation of the rights of other people, otherwise it can cause, according to Hobbes, a “war of all against all”, enmity of people, and disrupt the vital activity of the social organism. Even if the relationship between people in the state of nature, according to J. Locke, implies "mutual goodwill", at a certain stage of social development they require consolidation, settlement in the form of a contract, which is called "social".

The social contract involves an unspoken form of agreement between people on the transfer of the functions of regulating relations between them to the state, which is the guarantor of preventing anarchy and hostility between members of society, ensuring individual rights and freedoms of citizens.

Power should be divided into parliamentary, judicial and military (according to J. Locke) or into legislative, executive and judicial (according to C. Montesquieu). According to the creators of the concept of political pluralism, only the separation of powers prevents abuses on the part of rulers, restrains their ambitions, and prevents any form of despotism, thereby ensuring the freedom of citizens.

Thus, the liberal idea of a social contract as the basis for the creation of a state and the concept of separation of powers as a condition for limiting the power of a sovereign (ruler) determined the principles and conditions for the relationship between a citizen and the state, the permissible boundaries for state intervention in the field of personal rights and freedoms of citizens:

equality of all citizens in the exercise of their natural rights;
autonomy of the individual in relation to the state and society, a person is the only source of power that has granted the state the right to manage the entire society and requires it to guarantee personal rights and freedoms;
a person has the right to defend his position in relation to other members of society, to legally challenge the decisions of public authorities;
separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial, a clear definition of their functions and powers, as well as limiting the scope of the state itself, which does not allow it to interfere in the private life of citizens and the economic sphere of society;
a parliamentary form of representative democracy, which provides for the transfer by citizens, as a result of elections, of the functions of government to those persons who can protect the legitimate rights and freedoms of their voters.

The concept of liberalism first received its legal embodiment in the Bill of Rights (England, 1689) and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (France, 1789), which proclaimed the principles of freedom, property, personal security, the right to resist violence as inalienable natural rights of the individual.

The concept of liberal democracy is criticized primarily for the absolutization of individualism, the focus of a person on solving his personal problems, on achieving personal success, which can lead (and does lead) to his departure from public, political life, selfishness and isolation, unfriendliness towards other people, dulling the feeling of compassion. At the same time, the state, not having the right to interfere in the economic and financial sphere, is limited in its ability to provide social support the poor and the "losers".

Finally, like any form of representative democracy, liberal democracy narrows the rights of voters, does not allow to actively influence politics, control the activities of state bodies, and the very choice of representative bodies of power can be random, formal and incompetent, determined by the mood, emotions of the voter at the time of voting.

One concept that opposes the individualist model of liberal democracy is the theory of collectivist democracy. It appeared in the era of the French Enlightenment, one of its creators is the famous philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), although many of his ideas are consonant with the theoretical constructions of liberalism. He, like many supporters of the liberal type of democracy, proceeds from the idea of the natural state of people in the period before state development society and their conclusion of a social contract on the creation of a state for more favorable development public relations, strengthening private property, affirming the ideas of humanism and spirituality. However, he further disagrees with the position that society consists of individuals, and speaks of the need for the individual to transfer his natural rights to the state after its creation. In the state, a harmony of social interests arises, since the purpose of its creation is that it takes care of its citizens, fulfills the general will of the people, who are “always right”. The government receives only executive power, while legislative power must be exercised by the people themselves through direct discussion and adoption of laws during a plebiscite (referendum).

This concept of democracy removes a number of shortcomings of liberalism (absolute individualization, non-participation in political life, property inequality), however, the absolutization of the “general will” lays the theoretical basis for the practice of suppressing the individual, invading the state into the privacy of a citizen, depriving him of the right to express his own opinion, different from everyone's opinion.

These ideas are reflected in the Marxist theory of the state and democracy and in the practice of functioning political system socialism and socialist democracy.

On the one hand, under the conditions of socialist collectivist democracy, a citizen is actively involved in the political process, participates in mass political actions (demonstrations, meetings, elections), can control the activities of deputies at all levels, give them orders, participate in the activities of self-government bodies at the place of residence and work. . This increases the civic activity of a member of society, a sense of responsibility for its development, patriotism and collectivism. However, collectivist democracy implies strict control over the behavior of every citizen, forced inclusion of him in politics, political-ideological and moral-ethical subordination of a person to the will of the majority, prevention of pluralism of opinions and political opposition to the "leading and guiding force of society" - the communist (socialist) party. As a result, the citizen lost his individuality and could not exercise the political rights and freedoms written in the constitution.

On the other hand, this led to the omnipotence of the Communist Party itself, its apparatus, its substitution of state bodies, and the strengthening of authoritarian, despotic methods of government on the part of the party elite. Thus, collectivist democracy, formally opening up the possibility of direct, active participation of every citizen in political life, making it his duty, in fact limited individual rights and freedoms, leading to strict control of his spiritual and personal life, contributing to the emergence of anti-democratic, totalitarian regimes.

The limitations of both the liberal concept of democracy and its alternative - collectivist democracy - led to the creation and real implementation in many countries of the concept of pluralistic democracy, developed at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Its creators are M. Weber, J. Schumpeter, G. Laski, S. Lipset and others.

Political pluralism (from lat. pluralis - plurality) means the inclusion in the political life of the country of many social movements and parties that have different political goals, ideological concepts and are fighting among themselves for power. The main forms of such a struggle are defending their electoral programs in front of voters, winning as many of their votes as possible in elections and thereby obtaining the maximum number of parliamentary seats or winning the presidential election. The main difference between pluralistic democracy and its liberal type is that during the election campaign and activities in parliament, political parties and movements represent the interests of specific social groups, through which the interests of the individual are realized. By joining a political party or supporting it in elections, a citizen can be more politically active, more persistently influence the activities of the parliament, defending his economic, political, cultural interests as common to a given group, social stratum.

The economic basis of pluralistic democracy is the diversity of forms of ownership, the social division of labor and the corresponding division of society into social groups that have different amounts and types of property and perform numerous professional, social and cultural roles in society. Hence the diversity of economic, socio-political and spiritual interests of the representatives of these groups, the competitiveness in their upholding.

The political basis of pluralistic democracy, its legal form are: a constitutionally fixed system of rights and obligations of citizens and associations formed by them, first of all - freedom of speech and conscience, ensuring equal participation in political life; the principle of separation of powers; parliamentary form of government; the establishment of the rule of law in all spheres of society.

The social basis of pluralistic democracy is to ensure the right of every member of society to participate in all forms of his life, whether it be work and leisure, family life, business, health protection, sports, culture and education. Of course, the degree of such participation in each person is different, which is determined both by his individual characteristics, abilities, and social position, material and financial capabilities and other factors. However, the state in a pluralistic democracy guarantees the very possibility of equal access to social values, as well as a minimum of benefits that provide an opportunity for independent activity, an active principle.

The spiritual and ideological basis of pluralistic democracy are: the creation of an atmosphere of openness in society, the encouragement of diversity of opinions, the development of creativity, the inadmissibility of regulating the spiritual life of a person and imposing on him uniform worldview and political and ideological dogmas. This is also related to the study and accounting in the work of management bodies. public opinion population, ensuring the free operation of the media.

The disadvantage of the concept of pluralistic democracy is that it proceeds from the ideal model of a citizen as an active participant in the political process, supporting the group and the movement that potentially represents his interests through his activities. In fact, behind the political movements and parties is not the mass electorate, but only the most active part of it. The rest of the voters either evade the elections, or do not delve deeply into the content of the election programs and make their choice randomly. Therefore, the votes go to either two or three large political parties, whose programs are not very diverse, or small pre-election associations, that is, they will still be absorbed by larger and more authoritative parties and movements. In addition, it is impossible for ordinary voters to control the activities of parliamentarians.

Thus, an analysis of the three main modern concepts of democracy - liberal, collectivist and pluralistic - shows that for all their shortcomings and limitations, each of them proceeds from a fundamental principle: a citizen has the right to express his political will and defend his socio-economic and political interests.

Supporters of different concepts are unanimous in identifying common features of democracy:

recognition of the people as a source of power (sovereign) in the state: people's sovereignty is expressed in the fact that it is the people who have the constituent, constitutional power in the state, that it is they who choose their representatives and can periodically replace them, has the right to directly participate in the development and adoption of laws through referendums ;
equality of citizens: democracy implies at least equality of voting rights of citizens;
subordination of the minority to the majority in making decisions and their implementation, respect for the rights and interests of the minority;
election of key state bodies.

Any democratic states are built on the basis of these fundamental features. At the same time, modern democracies based on the values of liberalism seek to observe additional principles: human rights, the priority of individual rights over the rights of the state, limiting the power of the majority over the minority, respect for the right of the minority to have their own opinion and defend it, the rule of law, etc. .

In recent years, the theory of “waves of democratization” has spread in political science, the creators of which believe that the establishment of modern institutions of democratic government took place in three stages, each of which this process affected different groups of countries, and that the rise of democratization was followed by its rollback. S. Huntington in his book “The Third Wave. Democratization at the end of the 20th century. (1991) gives the following dating: the first rise - 1828-1926, the first decline - 1922-1942, the second rise - 1943-1962, the second decline - 1958-1975, the beginning of the third rise - 1974.

The concept of the "third wave of democratization" is based on the following main provisions:

the transition to democracy in different countries means that there is much in common between different transition processes and forms of democratization and they should be considered as special cases of the world political movement;
democracy is a value in itself, its establishment is not associated with pragmatic, instrumental goals;
the plurality of possible forms of a democratic structure is recognized (recognition and support for the existence of various, autonomous from each other and from the state, associations pursuing unequal, sometimes conflicting goals);
democratization at the end of the 20th century. the process of political change in the world does not end, the history of democracy does not end - the concept of the "third wave" implies a sinusoidal nature of the development of the democratic process, which can lead to a rollback of some countries back, and to the "fourth wave", but already in the 21st century.

3. Electoral systems and elections

Elections are not only an essential feature, an attribute of democracy, but also its necessary condition. "Democracy can be defined as a regime in which rulers are appointed through free and fair elections," argue the authoritative French scholars P. Lalumière and A. Demichel. And the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, states: “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. The will of the people must be the basis of the authority of the government; this will must find expression in periodic and non-falsified elections, which must be held under universal and equal suffrage, by secret ballot, or by other equivalent forms ensuring freedom of suffrage.

Improving the electoral system is one of the most urgent tasks of the political development of the young Russian democracy.

What is an electoral system?

The electoral system is the procedure for organizing and holding elections to representative institutions or an individual leading representative (for example, the president of a country), enshrined in legal norms, as well as in the established practice of state and public organizations.

The electoral system is component into a political system, but itself, like any system, is divided into structural components, of which two stand out as the most common:

suffrage - theoretical and legal component;
electoral procedure (or electoral process) is a practical and organizational component.

Suffrage is a set of legal norms governing the participation of citizens in elections, the organization and conduct of the latter, the relationship between voters and elected bodies or officials, as well as the procedure for recalling elected representatives who have not justified the trust of voters.

The term "suffrage" can also be used in another, narrower sense, namely as the right of a citizen to participate in elections: either as an elector (active suffrage) or as an elector (passive suffrage).

The classification of elections is based on the principles of electoral law and several criteria: the object of elections (presidential, parliamentary, municipal - to local, usually city, self-government bodies), terms (regular, extraordinary, additional), etc.

Of greatest interest is the classification of elections according to the principle of suffrage, which reflects the degree of legal, democratic development of a particular country, its electoral system. In this case, the classification takes the form of paired opposites:

general - limited (qualification);
equal - unequal;
direct - indirect (multi-degree);
with secret - with open voting.

Signs that characterize the high degree of democracy of the electoral system are the first. Most countries of the modern world have proclaimed in their constitutions or special electoral laws the rights of citizens to universal and equal elections by secret ballot. Let's look at these principles in more detail.

The universality of elections implies the right of all citizens who have reached the age established by law to participate in elections, and this right means both active and passive suffrage. However, both of them in a number of countries are limited by the so-called electoral qualifications: property (possession of property or income certain size), residence qualification (residence in a given territory for at least a period specified by law), educational (for example, knowledge of the state language of the country), age, etc.

The qualifications of the passive suffrage are usually much more rigid than the qualifications of the active right. Thus, in Canada, only a person who owns immovable property can enter the Senate, in the UK, in order to obtain the right to be elected, an electoral deposit in the form of a rather large amount is required. The age limit for deputies of the upper house of parliament - where it is bicameral - is especially high: in the USA and Japan - 30 years, in France - 35, in Belgium and Spain - 40. At the same time, it should be noted that the process of democratization in the world does not bypass qualification restrictions. For example, since the 1970s majority voting age developed countries reduced to 18 years.

Elections are considered equal if a single norm of representation is provided - the number of voters represented by one candidate for an elective place. This principle can be easily violated in a variety of ways. For example, with the help of the so-called "electoral geometry" ("electoral geography"), i.e. such a cutting of the country's territory into electoral districts, that on the side of the dominant party, in whose interests such a cutting was made, there is the largest possible number of districts supporting this party by voters.

Regarding elections to collegiate bodies of power, the following pattern can be noted: elections to local bodies, unicameral parliaments and lower houses of bicameral parliaments are everywhere direct (in a number of countries, elections to the upper house, in particular to the US Senate, are like that); voting is secret, which is now typical for all civilized countries of the world.

A specific form of electoral activity of citizens is a referendum (from Latin referendum - what should be reported), sometimes called (usually when resolving territorial disputes) a plebiscite (from Latin plebs - common people and scitum - decision, decision). The first ever referendum was held in 1439 in Switzerland. A referendum is a popular vote, the object of which is any important question of state, according to which it is necessary to find out the opinion of the entire population of the country. For example, this may be the question of the nationality of a particular territory (plebiscites of 1935 and 1957 on the Saar region of Germany, bordering France) or its independence (1995 referendum in Quebec, a French-speaking province of Canada), the question of the form of state government (referenda in 1946 in Italy and 1974 in Greece on the replacement of the monarchy by a republic), etc.

Like elections, referendums are different types depending on the subject of voting, method of holding and scope. A referendum is called constitutional if it is used to approve the constitution or amendments to it, or legislative if the subject of the referendum is a draft act of the current legislation.

It should be noted the dual political nature of referendums: on the one hand, a referendum is able (and ideally called upon) to most fully reveal the will of the people on a particular issue or set of issues, on the other hand, the organizers of a referendum can make it the subject of an unimportant issue in order to divert attention of the people from the really pressing problems. It also happens that the will of the people, expressed in a referendum, is ignored and trampled upon by those in power.

As already mentioned, the electoral procedure is the practical and organizational part of the electoral system.

It is necessary to distinguish between such often identified concepts as "election procedure" and "election campaign".

The electoral procedure is the state's activities for the organization and conduct of elections. The election campaign (election campaign) is the actions of the direct participants in the elections, the parties competing in the elections (parties, various public organizations, the candidates themselves).

In addition, the electoral procedure as a set of organizational rules can remain relatively unchanged for quite a long time, during which more than one election campaign will take place. The electoral procedure regulates and regulates the election campaign, like a policeman at a street intersection regulating the flow of cars.

The electoral procedure includes: appointment of elections; creation of electoral bodies responsible for their conduct; organization of electoral districts, districts, precincts; registration of candidates for deputies; some financial support for elections; maintaining order during their implementation; determination of voting results.

The election (pre-election) campaign provides for the nomination of candidates by opposing political forces, campaigning for them, etc.

The election campaign officially begins on the day the act of calling elections is proclaimed (usually this is the prerogative of the state) and continues until the date of the election. In fact, it takes its first steps long before the official start, as soon as it becomes known about the intention to hold elections.

The electoral struggle is the main field of activity of a political party in a democratic society as opposed to a totalitarian one. Each party shows concern for expanding its electorate. The electorate (from lat. elector - voter) is a contingent of voters who vote for any party in elections. For example, the electorate of the Social Democratic parties is mainly made up of workers, intellectuals, office workers, and small proprietors; The electorate of the US Democratic Party, as a rule, includes the colored population of the country. The electorate is not a certain strictly defined social group, although some relative stability is inherent in it. From election to election, the electorate of a particular party changes both quantitatively and qualitatively. For example, after the Laborites ousted the Liberals from the two-party system of Great Britain, the electorate of the former was largely replenished at the expense of the electorate of the latter.

Taking into account the fact that in the states of the modern world it continues (and in Russia it is in full swing) social differentiation, accompanied by the emergence of more and more new political parties and social movements, each of which claims to be the spokesman for the interests of the entire people, the question of the formation of electoral blocs and unions becomes very relevant, because not one of the parties is often able to achieve victory alone. Therefore, parties and public organizations during the election campaign often form political blocs and alliances, concluding agreements for joint actions in order to ensure victory for candidates from parties with close positions.

However, this kind of pre-election diplomacy is not enough to win the elections. A number of other factors are needed: financial resources, allowing to widely deploy pre-election campaign; authority, acceptability of the party in the eyes of voters; political novelty, challenging the old way; political and personal attractiveness of the candidates nominated by the party, i.e. their image (from the English image - image); reasonableness of the pre-election program (platform) of a party or political bloc.

The culmination of the election campaign is election day. In contrast to the noisy pre-election struggle, the voting procedure itself is a secret, and therefore we learn the most interesting about this procedure when the secret is either violated or has not yet been legalized. The latter is characteristic of societies with insufficiently developed culture.

It is known, for example, that when Napoleon Bonaparte decided to "legitimize" his dictatorship through a popular plebiscite, the vote was held openly, under the strict supervision of the authorities, and in the army - by regiments, and the soldiers voted in unison.

There are similar examples today. More recently, in Zaire, deputies to parliament were elected in city squares by exclamation of approval for candidates from a list read out by the mayor of the city, in Western Samoa, the oldest votes for all members of his extended family, and in Swaziland, voters "vote with their feet", passing through one of the gates, for which they are waiting for the candidates for the electoral college of deputies of parliament.

However, with the formation of civil society, the growth of its sense of justice and the improvement of legal institutions, such methods of voting acquire the features of an anachronism.

Some countries limit the number of candidates running in each constituency to avoid "election stampede". So, in the UK this number should not exceed five. In addition, each candidate pays a fairly large cash deposit, which will be withheld if the applicant does not win at least 5% of the total votes. A five percent barrier has been set in a number of countries (including Russia) for parties as well. In many countries, the day before the election, pre-election campaigning is prohibited so that the voter can calmly weigh who to vote for after all.

Thus, the majoritarian system contributes to the formation of a majority in government and puts up with a disproportion between the votes received and the mandates received.

The proportional system means that mandates are distributed strictly in proportion to the number of votes cast. This system is common in modern world more widely. In Latin America, for example, elections are held only by proportional system. It is used in Belgium, Sweden and many other countries. The proportional system has two varieties:

proportional electoral system at the national level (voters vote for political parties throughout the country; constituencies are not allocated);
proportional electoral system in multi-member constituencies (deputy mandates are distributed based on the influence of parties in constituencies).

positive characteristics

this system

The electoral system in Russia has a relatively short history - about 90 years, counting from the law on elections to the first State Duma of December 11, 1905. The law that put the curial system at the forefront can hardly be called democratic, since it provided unequal representation to different layers population. Even worse was the law of 1907, which lasted until the very end of the pre-revolutionary Duma.

During the Soviet era, elections became purely formal. Only in 1989 did the situation begin to change radically. But even then, during the elections of people's deputies, some of the seats were reserved in advance for "public organizations" (with an indication of "to whom - how much"), which, in essence, was a modification of the same curial system. This order was rejected a year later as anti-democratic.

On March 17, 1991, the first nationwide referendum in the history of the country took place, and on June 12 of the same year, the first presidential elections in the history of Russia took place.

The current electoral system in Russia is determined by the new Constitution of the Russian Federation, adopted by popular vote on December 12, 1993, and federal laws"About the Presidential Elections Russian Federation"and" On the election of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation "(1995).

The Constitution proclaims: “Citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to elect and be elected to bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, as well as to participate in a referendum.”

Citizens of the Russian Federation receive active voting rights from the age of 18, passive - the right to be elected to the State Duma - from the age of 21 (for the presidency - from the age of 35, subject to 10 years of permanent residence in the territory of the Russian Federation). At the same time, participation in elections is declared to be voluntary, carried out on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

450 deputies are elected to the State Duma, of which 225 - in single-member districts (1 district - 1 deputy) and 225 - in the federal electoral district in proportion to the number of votes cast for federal lists candidates for deputies nominated by electoral associations and blocs. In the first case, a person is elected, in the second - a party, bloc of parties or other public association.

The Russian Federation has a mixed electoral system. In single-mandate constituencies, elections are carried out on the basis of a majoritarian system of relative majority.

In the federal district, the selection is carried out according to the proportional principle, but this proportionality applies only to those parties, blocs, etc., which have crossed the 5% barrier, i.e. received at least 5% of the votes from those participating in the elections. Those who do not reach this figure lose their votes, as well as the right to representation in the Duma.

The current Russian electoral system is based on the experience of a number of states, both those with rich legal traditions and those that have only recently begun to build a state of law. Of course, much of it is subject to verification and correction, perhaps very thorough, but the important thing is that the electoral mechanism in our country has been created and is working.

Political practice(from Greek πρακτικος - active,
active) - material, objective, goal-setting activity
subjects of political life, which characterizes their attitude towards
politics and participation in it - the second component of the structure
political system.

Political practice allows you to evaluate a particular country,
era, behavior (activity) of the subjects of political life.

Political practice is determined by state and legal
institutions, cultural and historical traditions, social
psychological, national, confessional features
people, their economic structure.

Political practice is the state of the most diverse
political forces competing for influence and leadership. She
changeable and dynamic, differentiated on various grounds:

political opinions, culture, level of professionalism,
the breadth of the social base, the degree of legality, etc.

Within the framework of political life, its subjects enter into
political relationship, guided by political norms
rules of the political game: morality, common sense,
sense of proportion, taking into account the balance of power, formal or
unspoken agreements.

Political norms reflect political values.
Political norms are the rules for achieving absolute and
relative, necessary and contingent political values.

Political attitudes- fundamental provisions or
developed by the political elite and proclaimed by the party
leaders.

Political norms are closely related to legal norms (cf.
topic 8), since the Constitution of the country, its constitutional laws
are not only legal but also political documents.

The same connection exists between political and legal relations and processes: "loud" trials have
political significance. Nevertheless, political process has and
independent significance as a form of life of the political system,
evolving in time and space. It differs from
other social processes: economic, ideological and
etc., may have a specific final result(election victory,
the formation of a party, etc.).

The political process has its own content, structure, stages,
subjects and object, resource base, spatial and temporal
characteristics, micro- and macroscales, dynamics, etc., which
studied in special disciplines.

The third structural component of the political system is
political ideology, has an even closer connection with
public - legal, religious, philosophical,
natural science, scientific and technical, etc. consciousness.

Political ideology- system of views and doctrines,
developed by political science, in which the attitude is expressed
to political reality.

Political ideology is one of the effective organizational,
regulatory, controlling instruments that determine
the vital activity of society and man, functionally connected with
law and the state, with others building blocks
political system. On the other hand, political ideology
be institutionalized in appropriate groupings,
unions, parties, movements..

Political ideology has its own subject,
methodological, functional side, interacts with
philosophy, jurisprudence.

Political consciousness consists in the perception by the subject of that
part of the reality surrounding him, which is connected with politics,
in which he himself is included, as well as the actions associated with it and
states. It reflects the degree of familiarity of the subject with politics,
psychological and rational attitude towards it, affects its
political behaviour.

Political relations are defined as the interaction of social groups, individuals, social institutions about the organization and management of society. They arise from the moment when the eternal need for management and power regulation social processes and relations begins to be carried out with the active participation of the state.

The process of realizing political interests is continuous. At the level of everyday awareness, this process takes place in the form of the development of political knowledge, assessments, orientations, which, in turn, determine practical activities, social activity and citizenship.

To realize their fundamental interests through state (political) power, certain social groups create their own political parties.

Society's fundamental political interest lies in the constant development of democracy, in the consolidation and expansion of genuine democracy, the self-government of the people. In the mechanism of action of democracy, taking into account, capturing, and expressing the objectively determined interests of social groups is of particular importance. Here, much depends on the methods of identifying, coordinating and subordinating these interests. In addition, it is necessary to systematically clarify the extent to which general political interests are perceived by citizens as their own, and to what extent they become a source of behavior for specific individuals and groups. The complication of interests, the increase in their versatility in modern conditions, implies the constant improvement of those superstructural structures with the help of which the accounting and implementation of political interests is carried out.

Political participation and political activity as a form of realization of political interests can, with good reason, be considered as criteria for the development of the political organization of society.

A citizen in a democratic political system is distinguished by the manifestation of interest in politics, involvement in political discussions, participation in elections, the presence of certain knowledge of politics, competence, everything that is necessary to influence government activities. In general, these qualities can be summarized as activity, involvement, rationality. At the same time, these qualities are also inherent in a citizen in the system of a one-party dictatorship.

One form of participation is a system of representative democracy, in which representatives of the people exercise power on their behalf. Another form of participation of citizens in the system of power is through referendums, civil initiatives or the recall of deputies.

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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS STUDIES IN RUSSIA: YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW
§1. Development of theoretical foundations and features of the development of legal regulation of public relations in the context of the New Economic Policy

In political science, the transition from one type of political system to another is denoted by the terms "political development" or "political modernization." Political modernization is an increase in the ability of the political system to adapt to new patterns of social goals and create new types of institutions that ensure development social system. Modernization is due to objective (socio-economic and cultural) and subjective (the ability of the political leadership to effectively change the political system) factors. Political modernization is a part of social modernization, when transformations occur in all major areas of the social system: economy, social sphere, culture, education etc. The choice of modernization option begins in the political sphere - with the manifestation of the political will to change. Consistently carried out political modernization serves as a factor, a guarantor of ensuring the consistency of modernization in other areas of public life. The goals of modernization are aimed at achieving such social values as economic growth, equality, democracy, stability, prosperity, justice, and order.

The following goals of political modernization are distinguished:

- the creation of new political institutions to address the ever-expanding range of social and economic problems;

– change in the political orientations of the elite and leaders to an open struggle;

- the formation of a rational bureaucracy.

The main directions of modernization in the modern world:

– processes of industrialization and informatization of society;

- the formation of an ecological society, the introduction of environmentally friendly technologies; - the democratization of society, the expansion of public participation in the management of public affairs, the responsibility of the authorities to society; - the orientation of the social sphere towards improving the welfare of the bulk of the population, overcoming the social gap between members of society; - ensuring the availability of education and its high quality, guaranteeing the possibility of active activity and success in a new, changing system social relations;

- expansion of the sphere of human freedom, the growth of the possibility of choice and independence from the pressure of traditions, environment, place of residence.

There are two historical types of modernization. The first type, the so-called original modernization, is typical for the United States and Western European countries, which made the transition to a rational social internal development. The second type - secondary modernization - was typical for countries that lagged behind in their development and tried to catch up with the advanced ones at an accelerated pace by using the experience of developed countries. This group includes developing countries that have freed themselves from colonial dependence (the countries of South America, Southeast Asia),

a 3 Currently, there are many international organizations in the world that resolve issues in all areas of the sphere of human life; both economic and political. The most acute problems today are war and peace, disarmament and resolution of military conflicts. The concern of states for their security led to the creation of military-political organizations. One of which was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO was created on April 4, 1949. NATO countries decided to join their efforts for collective defense, peace and security.

The main goal of NATO is to ensure the freedom and security of all members by political and military means in accordance with the principles of the UN. The NATO organization is called upon to ensure lasting peace in Europe and maintain a strategic balance throughout Europe. NATO members undertake to resolve all international disputes by peaceful means so as not to jeopardize international security. According to the NATO structure, an armed attack on one of the NATO members is considered an attack on all countries of the North Atlantic Treaty. These are the main provisions of the NATO Charter. Like any international organization NATO has its own structure.

The governing bodies of the bloc are the North Atlantic Council, the Defense Planning Committee, the Nuclear Planning Group, other committees, and the Secretary General. NATO's military structure consists of military committees, a standing military committee and an international military headquarters. NATO headquarters is located in Brussels. Currently, NATO includes 16 states: the USA, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Luxembourg, Canada, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Germany. But Iceland does not have its own military forces and is not part of the military structure of NATO, it has only an observer status in the Defense Planning Committee. France in 1966 also withdrew from the NATO military structure.

21. Political activity as the basis of the political life of society. The political process consists of actions. political action defined as the intervention of an individual or group in the relations of power of a given system in order to adapt it to their interests, ideals and values. The activities of social groups or individuals are associated with the desire to improve or change the socio-economic and political order. Political actions orient the political system towards achieving certain goals that express the interests of various groups. These interests are clothed in a theoretical, ideological form. From what ideology the participants in the political process adhere to, whether their activities are aimed at revolutionary changes in society or at its reform. Political action is always performed "here" and "now", that is, in a specific situation. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the objective state of affairs, specific conditions, before starting to act. It is necessary to identify the specifics of each situation in order to choose the right methods and means of political action. The toolkit with which the situation is assessed is also important. It is reasonable to change our schemes and dogmas if political reality does not fit into them, because it is always richer than any schemes. Persons acting in politics must have a solid store of knowledge and be competent. In addition, they must creatively apply their knowledge in a given situation. Theory in politics makes sense when it can give an adequate answer to a specific problem. In any political system there are certain norms, rules of the game, which the participants in the political process must comply with. As a rule, these norms are violated by those who want to change the political system through violence. However, in the case of gaining power, they establish their own norms of action, their own rules of the game. Yes, different positive political action to do something to achieve a particular goal, and negative , consisting in "stop doing something". The abstinence position is not neutral because it always has certain consequences. Political action can be described as rational and irrational . Rational action means that his agent has a clear idea of the goals, knows methods adequate to these goals, is able to effectively apply them by setting a system of priorities, and is also able to change the strategy if it does not lead to the desired results. As for irrational political action, as a rule, it ends in failure due to the inability of politicians to link goals and means, a blind attitude to reality, which they consider in accordance with their dogmas and schemes. This is the soil of political illusions, which often lead to sad consequences for society. Political action can be seen as inertial and creative . Inertial actions reproduce accepted norms behavior, the existing political system, preserve it. Creative actions bring changes, new moments, dynamics into politics. Political action can be spontaneous or organized . As a rule, the actions of the elites are more organized, which gives them the opportunity to maintain their dominance, develop strategies and tactics, and implement their plans. However, in any political action there may be a share of spontaneity, randomness, inconsistency. Types of political action depend on the type of social transformations, on the attitude of political forces to reality. Revolution, rebellion, uprising, counter-revolution, peasant war have the maximum radius of action. Revolution represents the overthrow of the dominant groups, the transformation of society as a whole. counterrevolution is a political movement led by groups removed from power, their representatives, those who broke with the revolution. Riot- the result of the indignation of the masses by the actions of local authorities, which develops into disorder, pogroms. reforms lead to social change without undermining the foundations of the existing order and the power of the ruling class. Political upheavals lead to changes in the sphere of power, primarily personal, through the use of physical violence. Rallies, demonstrations, strikes, meetings, picketing, processions, etc. are examples of specific political actions. Elections and election campaigns, referendums, official visits of state and party delegations to other countries, diplomatic negotiations are special types of political actions.

22. In political science, the term "political participation" used to denote forms of political behavior of citizens. Political participation is considered as the involvement of members of a given community on an individual, class-group, national-ethnic, religious or other basis in the process of political and power relations. The participation of people in politics is one of the means of expressing and achieving their interests. Political participation makes it possible to reveal the real role of a citizen, individual strata, groups, classes, both at the local level and in the political system of society. If citizens take an active part in the formation of the elite, in determining the main goals of the policy, monitoring its implementation, then such a political system can be considered based on participation. Political participation is expressed in two main forms: straight(immediate) and indirect(representative). Direct participation takes place within the framework of small political communities, where the masses at meetings make decisions by majority vote. It is characteristic of local government and self-government, carried out by citizens through local councils deputies, bodies of territorial public self-government, local referendums, meetings and other forms of direct participation in state and public affairs. At indirect participation the masses elect their representatives to exercise political power. How larger society the less opportunity for self-management. Indirect participation gives more opportunities to distort the will of the masses, since elected representatives, deputies can pursue their own interests that do not coincide with the interests of those they represent. The masses may lose control over their representatives, and the degree of their political participation is reduced. One of the most The developed schemes of political participation include the following elements:

Reaction (positive or negative) to impulses emanating from the political system, not related to the need to participate in any action; - participation in delegation of powers (elections). This is electoral behavior; - participation in the activities of political and other organizations; - performance of political functions within the framework of state and other political institutions (including in parties, etc.). This function is implemented by professional politicians, officials, deputies, leaders and party functionaries; - direct actions (participation in rallies, demonstrations, etc.).

The types of participation are highly unequal. Some of them occupy a modest place in political life, others are highly developed, which makes it possible to judge the political culture of a particular society. Political participation can be directed against the actions and decisions of the authorities, expressing protest, indignation, rejection of this political line. political protest- this is a type of negative reaction of an individual (group) to the political situation that has developed in society or a specific action of individual state bodies and political opponents. Forms of political protest include actions such as political and civil disobedience, petitions, boycotts, property damage, sabotage, assassinations, kidnappings, terror, partisan actions, revolutions, wars. The level of political participation is influenced by such social factors like education, socioeconomic status, age, gender, place of residence, profession, access to political information, socio-economic situation.

The institution of political and managerial decision-making at various levels in public authorities is a key node in management critical areas public life. Moreover, politics in the proper sense of the word cannot be imagined without mechanisms for the preparation, adoption and implementation of decisions. Politics itself is, to varying degrees, the result of mechanisms and decision-making processes.

Essence and main components of a political decision

The nature and content of political and administrative decisions taken by power structures indicate the goals, mechanisms and means of implementing state administration. With the help of the institution of making and implementing decisions from everyday to vital for a given society, the interaction of the governed and the managers, the reproduction of the political system itself, as well as control over various types resources at the disposal of society and the state. Political decisions play an indispensable role as a tool for preventing or resolving various kinds of internal and external conflicts.

A political decision is a collective or individual process of defining the tasks of public authorities. It can be argued that political activity of any level and any scale begins with a decision. And because how thoughtful, reasonable and consistent with the real state of things this decision is, depends on the success or failure, as well as the reputation and authority of a political figure, political institutions and organizations, the political regime itself.

The whole variety of decisions, depending on their significance and status, can be divided into strategic ones, taken by the country's top political leadership, various kinds of administrative and managerial bodies of the central and regional levels, local governments, as well as higher and lower bodies of political parties and public organizations, etc. Decisions can be divided into political and administrative, vital for the whole society, concerning certain categories of the population, any particular regions, certain spheres of public life, etc.

A decisive role in the development and adoption of long-term and strategic decisions, which determine the main directions and priorities of the country's socio-economic and political development, belongs to the country's top political leadership, the highest state authorities represented by the legislative assembly, the head of state and his apparatus, the government and the judiciary. It's about about the political management of the affairs of the whole society. In this context, the state is called upon to ensure the functioning and development of the main areas of people's lives, to create and maintain the infrastructure on which all the life of society, including the economic system, is based.

These are decisions of national importance, binding on all organs and links of the state apparatus and citizens without exception. The most important function of the state in this context is to ensure the integrity and unity of institutions and bodies that perform various management functions.

Here, the political priorities facing the state are of decisive importance. Under the political priorities are meant especially highlighted installations and guidelines, which are of paramount importance and which are put at the forefront in the development of the main directions of the socio-economic, technological and cultural development of the country. It is on the basis of them that the strategic interests of the state in the international arena are determined. Decisions made in various state-administrative structures must fully comply with the general strategic line of the state.

A political decision is one of essential tools management of society, and in this regard, it should meet the interests of the whole society and become a real embodiment of the key principle of politics as the art of the possible. Among the many political decisions made in the state, one can single out various kinds of laws, resolutions, decrees, orders of executive bodies, the results of popular votes in parliamentary, presidential and other elections, etc.

The core of political activity is activity. Political activity

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Essence and main components of a political decision

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