States differ from each other not only in area, population, and welfare of citizens. Their internal organization can also be very different. What are the main features of the political structure of the country? What forms and regimes of them stand out in the modern theory of the state? This will be discussed in this article.
What is a state?
The state is a voluminous multifaceted category, the study of which is carried out by a number of scientific disciplines: from geography to sociology. Unlike a specific territory or geographical country, this formation is difficult to empirically perceive, being more abstract than a real object of study.
The phenomenon of the state, its political structure, form of government - these issues worried the minds of many philosophers and scientists in various historical eras. So, such thinkers as Aristotle and Plato, Thomas Aquinas and Confucius, John Locke and Herbert Spencer were engaged in the study of various aspects of the state.
The ancient Greek philosopher Plato devoted this problem to one of his works (dialogues) under the same name "State". In this work, you can find several interesting ideas that have not lost their relevance in our days. So, he said that wise philosophers should be at the head of the state, because only they are able to take good care of citizens. Plato also did not really like the political system of a democratic type. He called democracy a fair and at the same time unjust power of the majority.
Signs and functions of the state
The state is a very complex social structure, an idea of which can be compiled through the main features of this entity. There are seven of them:
- territory strictly defined in geographic space;
- specific population;
- the presence of public authorities and laws (standards of conduct);
- the presence of a system of law enforcement and judicial bodies that monitor the implementation of established laws;
- the presence of an army;
- the functioning of the system of taxation of citizens;
- the presence of state sovereignty (independence).
Based on these signs, the state is obliged to perform several functions, namely:
- political;
- economic;
- social;
- defensive;
- law enforcement;
- cultural and educational and some others.
In this article, we will dwell in more detail on the first of these functions, examining in detail the forms and regimes of the country's political structure. Which of them are the most popular today?
The political structure of the state and its main forms
Different scientists, philosophers and thinkers differently evaluated the role of the state. Sometimes these estimates were polar in relation to each other. So, Vladimir Lenin argued that "the state is an apparatus of violence in the hands of the ruling class." But the famous Russian existentialist Nikolai Berdyaev was sure that it was the state that allowed earthly human life not to turn into the ultimate hell.
Both that, and another statement equally have the right to life. The effectiveness of the education considered in this article largely depends on the specific form of the political structure of the state. Indeed, in some countries of the planet we see how rulers really try to work for their people. In other states, the apparatus of power only oppresses and uses its citizens.
The socio-political structure is a process and at the same time the result of the organization of power in a particular country. It includes both the type of state structure and the political regime.
The form of political structure is a way of national as well as territorial organization of the state. It provides for the establishment of certain relationships between central and regional (local) authorities.
Political structure can take three main forms. This is a unitary state, federation, as well as confederation.
Unitary state: characteristics and signs
A unitary state is understood to mean a political structure of a country in which its individual administrative-territorial units do not have sovereignty. Among the main features of this form, the following can be distinguished:
- common citizenship and law-making system;
- leadership of the country from a single center (capital);
- unified financial and tax system;
- united army;
- Common state symbols - flag, coat of arms and anthem.
In modern political science, several types of unitary states are distinguished. It:
- strictly centralized;
- decentralized.
Unitary states may include one (examples: Tajikistan, Ukraine) or several autonomies (examples: Moldova, Spain).
In a quantitative aspect, in the modern world, it is precisely unitary states that prevail. This is clearly visible on the map, where they are all marked in blue. As a rule, these are small countries with a predominance of one nation. Although there are some exceptions among them. One of them is China, which incorporates several different levels of autonomy.
Federal state: characteristics and signs
The Federation is a special political system in which certain parts of the state have some sovereignty, which is legally enshrined. The word itself has Latin roots and translates as "union" or "association".
One of the distinguishing features of a federal state is the so-called dual legislation. What does it mean? Laws can be created by both central authorities and regional ones. At the same time, bills adopted at the level of individual subjects of the federation should not contradict federal legislation.
In federations, as a rule, there is a single monetary unit, however, the tax system can be two-channel. This means that a particular subject of the federation has the right to form its own regional budget and distribute its funds.
Symmetric and asymmetric federations are distinguished in the world . In the first, territorial entities have equal rights, but in the second, their legal status is not the same.
Federations on the modern political map of the planet are evenly distributed (there are 28 in total). Among them are almost all the largest countries in the world: Russia, the USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, India.
Confederation: essence and historical examples
By confederation is meant the union of several states created to achieve any goal: military, economic or other. The countries that make up the confederation, as a rule, retain their sovereignty both in domestic politics and in the global arena.
The main features of confederations are the absence of:
- common borders;
- unified lawmaking system;
- unified financial system;
- a single constitution;
- single citizenship.
All decisions in the confederation are taken by consensus. Moreover, each of its participants reserves the right to a free exit from such a union.
Confederations were distributed throughout the 18th-19th centuries in Europe. In the last century, several classical confederations still existed: the United Arab Republic, as well as Senegambia. However, they existed for a rather short time. Today, the features of the confederation can be seen on the example of the European Union or the organization of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States).
The main forms of state law
The powers that be in each of the countries of the world can exercise their powers in different ways. The combination of methods and means of exercising power - this is the state-legal regime. It acts as an important element, a criterion for determining the essence of a state.
There are several types (forms) of the state legal regime. It can be democratic or undemocratic (authoritarian, totalitarian, fascist, etc.).
It is very difficult to distinguish a democratic regime from a totalitarian one. So, for example, the leadership of the Soviet Union positioned itself before the whole world as "an island of democratic rights and freedoms." And many peoples of the planet sincerely believed in this lie.
Authoritarianism and its signs
"The power of the founder" - this is approximately how you can translate this term from Latin. Under this political regime, absolutely all power is in the hands of one person (or group of people).
The main features of authoritarianism include the following:
- powerful centralization of power;
- command-and-plan way to lead the country;
- strict control of various aspects of public life by the state;
- lack of a real separation of power into separate branches (legislative, executive, judicial);
Under authoritarianism, the country's constitution is purely declarative, and popular elections are demonstrative and fictitious.
Political repressions in this regime are selective, they are directed against only the most active opponents of the government. Pluralism of thought, in general, is allowed, but only if it does not significantly harm the system. These two features distinguish authoritarianism from totalitarianism.
Totalitarianism and its signs
Few people know that this term was introduced into use by the dictator Mussolini in the 1920s. By totalitarianism is meant the complete (total) control of the state of all spheres of public life. Despotism, tyranny, repression and mass denunciations are all typical features of this political regime.
Society as a whole and each person individually under totalitarianism are completely absorbed by the state. Pluralism of opinions is not permissible in any of the spheres of life. Another distinctive feature of totalitarianism is the rigid vertical of power.
In world history, examples of both “left” and “right” totalitarianism are known. The first was characteristic of the Soviet Union, the second - for fascist Germany or the dictatorial regime of B. Mussolini.
Democracy and its main features
Democracy is the power of the people (literal translation from the ancient Greek language). Under this regime, the people, or rather, its majority, are the bearers of power in the state.
It should be noted that the outstanding thinker Plato did not like democracy. He considered it one of the worst forms of government. But the famous politician Winston Churchill once described it as follows: "Democracy is the worst form of government, not counting all the others that are known to history." So the British prime minister subtly emphasized the lack of alternativeness of this political regime.
The most important features of democracy are:
- universal suffrage, as a result of which power is formed;
- recognition of the supreme power of the people at the legal level;
- absolute equality of rights of all citizens, regardless of gender, age or nationality;
- minority subordination to the majority;
- public control over the actions of the executive branch.
The political structure of Russia
Modern Russia is a federal state. This is a presidential-parliamentary republic in which the president is endowed with fairly broad powers. The main institutions of power in the country were formed in the early 1990s, immediately after the collapse of the USSR. At the beginning of this century, small changes were made to their functioning.
Russia has a complex administrative-territorial structure. The state includes 85 subjects of the federation, which are endowed with equal rights and powers. Each of them has its own legislative body, as well as its own regional government. In addition, Russia is divided into nine federal districts.
The modern political system of Russia has the features of both a territorial and a national federation. National type entities in the Russian Federation are represented by republics. Territorial entities are oblasts, territories, autonomies, as well as cities of federal significance. Such a mixed nature of the political system requires a rather flexible and well-thought-out policy on the part of the authorities.
Finally…
Under the form of the political structure of the state is meant a way to govern the country. In the modern theory of the state, it is customary to distinguish three such forms: this is a unitary state, a federation, and a confederation. Each of them is distinguished by its features and characteristics.
Unitary states predominate on the political map of the planet of the 21st century. Federations are much smaller, but the confederations, in fact, did not remain at all.