The state is a special organization of political power in society. Rule of law State is an organization of political power that manages society and protects its economic and social structure.

As a social phenomenon and manager

Subsystems of society

1. The state as a social phenomenon:

1.1. Form of government;

1.2. Form of political and administrative structure;

1.3. Political regime.

2. State mechanism: concept and structure, basic principles

its organization and activities

3. Social mechanism for the implementation of public administration

4. Social functions of the state and types of state

management

State- organization of political power of society, covering -

covering a certain territory, acting at the same time as a means

ensuring the interests of the entire society and as a special mechanism for managing and

coercion.

Russian Federation – democratic federal legal

a state with a republican form of government (Article 1 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

A federal state is a state with a federal structure,

representing an association (union) of its constituent territories

(subjects of the Federation) having the status of administrative-state

ny formations.

The signs of the state are:

Public power;

Legal system;

State sovereignty;

Citizenship;

Territory of the state;

Special coercive apparatus (army, police, etc.);

Taxes and fees, etc.

Public power is a special mechanism for regulating society

military relations in the state, the implementation of support functions

compliance by all members of society (citizens) with the accepted rules

generally binding and other norms of behavior (legal, moral, etc.),

implemented by the combined activities of a special management apparatus and

coercive apparatus.

Legal system- a set of generally binding, officially

established by the state (legal) and shared by the majority

population of other norms (rules) of behavior (moral norms, religious

norms, customs, etc.), as well as ensuring their implementation

state institutions(ships).

State sovereignty– independence of power of this

state from any other authority.

State territory- space, territory inhabited by citizens of a state, over which its jurisdiction extends. The territory usually has a special division called administrative-territorial. This is done to streamline (convenience) government administration.

Citizenship– a stable legal connection of persons living on the territory of a state with this state, expressed in the presence of their mutual rights, duties and responsibilities.

Taxes and fees– the material basis for the functioning of any state and its bodies (state apparatus) – cash, collected from physical and legal entities to ensure the activities of public authorities, social support for the poor, etc.

At the same time, it is necessary to clearly understand relationship between society and state.

Society is a stable association of people who live in the same territory, have a common language, culture and a similar way of life.

Society is:

A large body of people (usually constituting a population

states)

People living in the same territory for a long time;
- people who have a common history;

People united a large number various connections

(economic, related, cultural, etc.).

Society preceded the emergence of the state and often persists after the collapse of the state (for example: “post-Soviet society” after the collapse of the USSR).

The state is the organization of the political power of society.

In this case:

The state is separated from society;

Institutionalized;

Relies on law and coercive force;

Extends its power to the entire society;

Acts as a mechanism for coordinating various interests in

society, the carriers of which are various social

Thus, state– a most complex socio-political system, the most important elements (components) of which are: people, territory, legal system, system of power and management.

Summarizing the essential features of a state, we can define the state as a way and form of organization of society, a mechanism of interrelation and interaction of people living in a single territory, united by the institution of citizenship, the system of state power and law.

The state is a form whose content is the people.

At the same time, the form of the state is not an abstract concept, not a political scheme, indifferent to the life of the people.

State is a way of life and a living organization of the people, a way of organizing and exercising state power.

The form of the state is characterized by three important features:

1. Form of government;

2. Form of political and administrative structure;

3. Political regime.

Form of government- this is the organization of the highest bodies of the state, the order of formation and relationships, the degree of participation of citizens in their formation.

Forms of government modern states:

Monarchy;

Republic.

Their fundamental difference is in the ways of forming institutions of supreme power.

Monarchy– power is hereditary, sole and unlimited (lifelong).

Monarchies are ¼ of the states of the Earth, which indicates the preservation of monarchical consciousness and respect for traditions.

Saudi Arabia – absolute monarchy;

Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy.

Republic(from the Latin Respublika - a public matter) - is a form of government in which all the highest bodies of state power are either elected directly by the people or formed by national representative institutions (parliament).

TO characteristic features Republican forms of government include:

1) wide participation of the population in the formation of state power, holding elections;

2) participation of citizens in managing the affairs of the state, holding referendums - national polls that reveal the opinion of the people by voting when discussing special important issues public and state life;

3) separation of powers, the mandatory presence of a parliament with legislative, representative and control functions;

4) election of senior officials for a certain period of time, their exercise of power on behalf (by guarantee, mandate) of the people;

5) the presence of a constitution and laws that establish the foundations (principles) of the state and social structure, the mutual rights and obligations of authorities and citizens.

Modern government studies distinguishes the following types of republican form of government:

Parliamentary;

Presidential;

Mixed parliamentary-presidential.

(Germany, Austria – parliamentary republic;

Italy is a parliamentary republic;

The USA is a presidential republic;

France is a presidential republic.)

Executive (administrative) power- this is the apparatus of public administration, the institutions of executive power in their totality at all hierarchical levels of management, the competence of government bodies and civil servants, and their practical activities.

Executive branch concentrates the actual power of the country.

She characterized by the fact that:

1) carries out all organizational daily work to manage various processes of society, establish and maintain order;

2) has a universal character in time and space, i.e. carried out continuously and wherever human groups function;

3) has a substantive nature: it is based on specific territories, contingents of people, information, financial and other resources, uses tools for career advancement, awards, distribution of material and spiritual benefits, etc.;

4) uses not only organizational, legal, administrative and political methods of influence, but also has the right to legitimate coercion.

At the same time, the activities of the executive branch must be carried out in accordance with the powers that are vested in its corresponding bodies in the prescribed manner.

Executive branch, due to its enormous influence on the life of society, has the status of subordinate legislation, i.e. acts on the basis and within the framework of laws adopted by representative authorities.

Thus, The executive power acts as a secondary power, which is manifested in the following:

*) The government in its composition (cabinet of ministers, council of ministers or other name governing body executive power), the structure and powers of executive bodies are determined either by the head of state - the president, the monarch, or parliament, or with their joint participation.

*) The government periodically reports and bears political responsibility either to the head of state or to parliament, or “double responsibility” and can be dismissed by the relevant institution.

From these positions, each of the three types of republican form of government can be considered.

I. Parliamentary republic provides for the priority role of parliament in constitutional and legal terms:

*) Parliament forms the government and at any time can recall it with a vote of no confidence.

The confidence of parliament is a prerequisite for government activity. The government bears political responsibility only to parliament.

*) The head of government is appointed by parliament (as a rule, this is the leader of the party that won the parliamentary elections and became the ruling party).

*) The government is formed on the basis of agreements between parliamentary political factions and, as a result, is controlled not only and not so much by parliament as by political parties.

If there are few influential political parties, then the executive branch acquires a high degree of stability and the ability to make management decisions.

A multi-party system can contribute to destabilization, frequent changes of government, and ministerial leapfrog.

There is a dualism of executive power: along with the government, the post of prime minister, the post of the head of state - the president or monarch - remains.

*) The president in a parliamentary republic is a “weak” president, i.e. elected by parliament, not popularly.

We can admit that he is adopting the functions of a monarch: he reigns, but does not rule.

*) Parliament is the only body directly legitimized by the people.

*) In order to prevent overconcentration of the power of parliament, the constitution provides for a mechanism for restraining and controlling it by the head of state (president or monarch), his right to dissolve parliament (or one of its chambers) in order to hold new elections.

IN developed countries– 13 parliamentary republics, mainly in Western Europe and in the territories of the former British Empire– Austria, Germany, Italy, etc.

Interaction in the system of public power in a parliamentary republic is as follows:

II. Presidential Republic has the following distinctive features:

The president is “strong”, elected by the people and can be appealed to in the event of a conflict with parliament.

*) The President is simultaneously the head of state and head of government. Consequently, there is no dualism of executive power.

*) The President needs the consent of Parliament to form a government.

However, in choosing his “team” he is free and independent of the political support of parliament, and is not guided by the principle of party affiliation when selecting ministers.

*) Parliament cannot remove the government through a vote of no confidence.

*) To prevent over-concentration of power by the president, the constitution provides for a mechanism of checks and balances on his power: the president does not have the right to dissolve parliament, and parliament can initiate impeachment of the president.

The presidential republic arose in the United States based on the experience of British parliamentarism and was legally enshrined in the Constitution of 1787.

Political scientists count about 70 presidential states.

This form of government has become widespread in Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, etc.).

Interaction in the system of public authorities in presidential republic characterized as follows:

PPpresident

People

Sh. Mixed form The presidential and parliamentary methods of government provide for the weakening of the position of the executive branch of the government and the balancing of the powers of the president and parliament.

Used both in countries with sustainable democracy(France) and in republics creating a new statehood and striving to take into account the shortcomings and adapt the advantages of one and another form of government.

The following distinctive features are characteristic of a mixed form of government:

*) The President and Parliament are equally legitimized by the people.

*) Both institutions participate in both the formation and removal of the government.

The government thus has a “double” responsibility.

*) Parliament can express no confidence in the government (its head, who continues to serve until the president’s decision).

*) Obviously great value political background for government stability.

The multi-party system and disagreements between factions in parliament complicate the work of the government and force it to turn to the president for support.

*) A mechanism of mutual checks and control of the highest institutions of state power is provided: the president has the right to veto laws adopted by the representative chamber and the right to dissolve the chambers, and the parliament can initiate and remove the president from office in cases provided for by the constitution.

Interaction in the system of public power in a republic with a mixed form of government is characterized as follows:

Researchers count at least 20 states with a mixed form of government in the territory Eastern Europe and the former USSR.

The choice of one form of government or another is made by the people by adopting a constitution or approving it fundamental principles at constitutional referendums or constituent (constitutional) assemblies and congresses.

At the same time, cultural, legal, political traditions, specific historical conditions, and often purely subjective factors have a decisive influence on the decision of the people.

1.2. The form of the political and administrative structure of the state.

The political-administrative (political-territorial) structure of the state characterizes the method of political and territorial organization of the state, the system of relationships between people living in the center and various regions, and the distribution of power on the territory of the state between central and local government bodies.

The need for a political-territorial structure of the state is due to the fact that the state unites heterogeneous in ethical, religious, linguistic, cultural relations social communities, resulting in the need to ensure the interaction of these communities and the integrity of the state.

Moreover, governing a large state with a large territory and a large population from one center is extremely difficult, if not impossible.

There are three main forms of territorial structure:

Unitary State;

Federation;

Confederation.

Each of these forms has its own principles of territory organization and relationships between the center and places (regions).

1. The principle of unitarianism(from Latin unitas - unity) means that the state does not include other state entities with the rights of its subjects.

Unitary state- unified, it can only be divided into administrative-territorial parts that do not have sovereignty (the right to have their own political power and pursue independent policies).

State bodies and officials subordinate to central authorities operate locally.

Most modern states are unitary– France, Italy, Spain, Norway, Denmark, etc.

At the same time, there is a tendency that the use of the principle of federalism will continue to expand in the state-territorial structure of the countries of the world.

2. The principle of federalism(from Latin Foederatio - federation, association, union: French Federalisme) is a system of basic features and principles of a certain form of government, a set of structures, norms and methods of public administration that establish interaction between the center and regions, ensuring the rational and effective functioning of the federal state in the interests of both the federation as a whole and its subjects.

The essence of federalism is to ensure such a connection of various groups that would allow the implementation of common goals and at the same time maintain the independence of the parts.

The essential features of federalism include:

State character united in single state territorial units - subjects of the federation;

Constitutional delimitation of competencies between them and the center;

It is inadmissible to change boundaries without their consent.

The basic principles of federalism include:

1) voluntariness of the unification of states and similar formations into a single state;

2) adoption of the federal constitution and constitutions of the constituent entities of the federation;

3) single-order (symmetrical) constitutional status of the subjects of the federation and their equality;

4) constitutional and legal distinctions between the sovereignty of the federation and the sovereignty of its subjects;

5) general territory and citizenship;

6) a unified monetary and customs system, a federal army and other state institutions that ensure its safe existence and functioning.

Federal state, federation- one of the main forms of state organization, the complex structure of which consists of several states or state-like entities (states, provinces, lands, subjects) that have constitutionally enshrined political independence outside the limits and powers of the general state as a whole.

Signs of a federation:

1). The territory of the federation consists of the territories of the constituent entities of the federation (states, republics, lands, etc.) and in political and administrative terms they do not represent a single whole.

At the same time, there is a unified system of borders and its protection.

2). Subjects of the federation do not have full sovereignty and do not have the right to unilateral secession from the federation (secession);

3). Along with the system of federal government bodies, the subjects of the federation have their own system of legislative, executive and judiciary authorities.

However, in relation to federal system they are subsystems, the limits of their jurisdiction are determined by the federal constitution and constitutional laws.

4). Along with the federal constitution and legislation, the subjects of the federation develop their own constitution (charter), a system of laws, observing priority and compliance with the federal constitution and legal system.

5). There is no single state budget in the federation, but there is a federal budget and the budgets of the constituent entities of the federation.

6). Citizenship in a federation is usually dual: each citizen is considered a citizen of the federation and a citizen of the corresponding subject of the federation.

It is regulated by law and guarantees the equality of all citizens on the territory of the federation.

7). The federal parliament is usually bicameral.

The upper house consists of representatives of the constituent entities of the federation, the lower house is a body of national representation and is popularly elected.

The fundamentally uniform essence of federalism in different conditions place and time naturally receives diverse forms of its manifestation.

At the same time, any individual federation combines:

A). common (universal) for all federations, expressing the essence of federalism;

b). inherent only in this group of federations, reflecting the originality of the form of manifestation of the unified essence of federalism in this particular variety - classical, dualistic, monarchical, republican, cooperative (with an emphasis on cooperation of efforts and integration in the conduct of national affairs as the meaning of the federation), etc.

The concept of “federation model” expresses precisely the group characteristics of a given type of federation within the framework of its single essence.

V). individual, individual-specific, characteristic only of this particular federation.

The theoretical basis of federalism is the concept of people's sovereignty, expressed in state sovereignty.

Sovereignty(German Souveranitat, French Souverainete - supreme power, supreme rights) - political and legal justification and determination of the priority of a particular subject (monarch, people, state and its components), independence and independence in resolving its internal affairs and in external relations.

Since the advent of the federal form of government, discussions about sovereignty have been conducted on the question of whether it belongs to the federation and its subjects.

The concept of the indivisibility of state sovereignty as a qualitative category expressing the status of the federation as a whole and its multinational people seems well-reasoned.

In the theory of sovereignty stands out general system interacting principles (regardless of the subject of sovereignty), concentratedly reflecting its most essential features:

Inalienability;

Unlimited;

Supremacy of power;

Indivisibility;

Non-absolute power;

Legal equality is actually in many cases unequal social subjects;

The priority of popular sovereignty.

At the present stage of development of the international community, interstate and interethnic relations, the problem of sovereignty is becoming increasingly relevant.

IN modern world Of more than 180 state entities, the vast majority of which are multinational, the federal form is enshrined in the constitutions of 25 states, covering 50% of the planet's territory and in which 1/3 of the population lives.

The dynamics of globalization of problems occurring in the world and the integration of various spheres of life of peoples determines the development of confederal political and legal forms in organizing the management of world processes.

III. The principle of confederalism unites independent states to solve common problems current problems(military, energy, financial, etc.).

A confederation, strictly speaking, cannot be called a form of government. This is a temporary interstate union formed on the basis international treaty, whose members fully retain their state sovereignty.

The main features of the confederation:

1) lack of a unified theory;

2) unlimited right to withdraw from the union;

3) the central government depends on independent governments

states, since it is maintained at their expense;

4) financial resources for common goals, a unified policy is formed -

from contributions from members of the union;

5) the armed forces of the confederation are under a common command-

6) a generally agreed upon international policy does not exclude self-

standing position of the members of the confederation in specific issues;

7) legally all members have equal rights, but in reality a priority role

the confederation is played by the state with a higher military-economic

mic potential.

Confederations usually don't last long– they either disintegrate or transform into a federation.

Switzerland, for example, is officially called the Swiss Confederation, although it has actually turned into a federation.

However, the principle of confederation can become a stimulating factor in modern integration processes (in the development European Union, CIS countries, etc.).

1.3. Political regime.

The political regime (from the Latin Regimen - management) is a form of state implementation, which determines the balance of the division of power, politics, public service, the real participation of each of the subjects of this process of relations as an independent prerogative and as dependence on other subjects;

This is a characteristic of the ways, methods, and means of exercising state power, its actual distribution and interaction with the population and various institutions of civil society.

This is the political climate in the country, an indicator of how a citizen lives in his state.

There are three types of political regimes:

Totalitarian.

Main criterion such division - the presence in the country of choice (lifestyle, occupation, power, choice of property, educational institution, medical institution, etc.) and pluralism (plurality): political - multi-party system, presence of opposition; economic - existence various forms property, competition; ideological – the existence of different ideologies, worldviews, religions, etc.).

1). A democratic regime is manifested in the following features:

a) recognition and guarantee in the constitutional and legislative

level of equality of citizens (regardless of national, social

nogo, religious characteristics(;

b) a wide list of constitutional rights and freedoms of the individual;

c) real participation of the population in the organization of state power;

d) recognition and guarantee in the constitutional and legislative

level of equality of all types of property, religious denominations,

political ideologies and programs.

a) restriction of political pluralism. State power concentrating

honed by the political and administrative elite, does not control

by the people; political opposition (parties, movements) exists, but in

conditions of pressure and prohibitions;

b) public administration is strictly centralized, bureaucratic,

is implemented with the predominant use of administrative

methods of influence, feedback mechanism in the system “power -

society" is blocked, the population is not involved in the management of affairs

states;

c) there is ideological control and pressure from government and administrative bodies;

funds mass media(media), other political institutions

tic system and civil society;

d) constitutional and legislative norms approve economic

pluralism, development of various forms of entrepreneurship and property

ness; however, the principle of equal rights and opportunities is not guaranteed in the

3.Totalitarian regime reproduces political, ideological and economic monopoly.

Its main features:

a) state power is concentrated in a small group of people and

power structures. Elections and other institutions of democracy, if they exist,

exist, then formally, as a decorative decoration of government;

b) public administration is over-centralized, government officials

they are not engaged in competitive selection, but by appointment from above, people

removed from participation in management;

c) complete nationalization of society - statism;

d) total ideological control; dominated, as a rule, by one official

social ideology, one ruling party, one religion;

e) terror is allowed against its own population, a regime of fear and suppression.

There are several types of totalitarianism: fascism,

socialism of the “cult of personality” period, etc.

Life is richer than any scheme, and there are numerous varieties of modes; To characterize them, the following variants in names are used:

Military-bureaucratic;

Dictatorial (dictatorship is a regime based on violence);

Despotic (a regime of unlimited dictatorship of one person, the absence of legal and moral principles in relations between government and society; the extreme form of despotism is tyranny).

It should be noted that the political regime is not directly dependent on the forms of government and state-territorial structure.

The monarchy, for example, does not oppose itself to a democratic regime, but a republic (of the Soviets, for example) allows a totalitarian regime.

The political regime depends primarily on the actual functioning of power structures and officials, the degree of publicity and openness in their work, the procedure for selecting ruling groups, the actual political role of various social groups, the state of legality, features of political and legal culture, traditions.

The concept and characteristics of the state

The state is a product of the development of society, a product of irreconcilable class contradictions. The state appears where, when and insofar as class contradictions cannot be objectively reconciled, when society is divided into exploiters and exploited. Everywhere and always, along with the growth and strengthening of this division, there arises and develops special institute- a state that in no way represents a force imposed on society from the outside. The state is a product of society at a certain stage of development; the state is a recognition that this society is entangled in insoluble contradictions, split into irreconcilable opposites, from which it is powerless to get rid of. A force was needed that would moderate clashes and keep society within the boundaries of “order.” And this force, originating from society, placing itself above it, alienating itself more and more from it, is the state.

The emergence of the state is the adaptation of society to new conditions, which does not eliminate what happened in production (i.e. in the economy), but, on the contrary, serves to ensure that new economic relations of private property are preserved, supported, and developed. Economic relations are the basis, the cause of all transformations taking place in the superstructure, which includes the state.

The state is different from the tribal organization the following signs. Firstly, public authority not coinciding with the entire population, isolated from it. The peculiarity of public power in the state is that it belongs only to the economically dominant class and is political, class power. This public power is based on special detachments of armed people - initially on the squads of the monarch, and later on - the army, police, prisons and other coercive institutions; finally, on officials specially engaged in managing people, subordinating them to the will of the economically dominant class.

Secondly, division of subjects not by consanguinity, but on a territorial basis. Around the fortified castles of monarchs (kings, princes, etc.), under the protection of their walls, the trade and craft population settled, and cities grew. Rich hereditary nobility also settled here. It was in the cities that people were primarily connected not by blood, but by neighborly relations. With the flow

over time, consanguineous ties are replaced by neighboring ones and in rural areas.

The reasons and basic patterns of state formation were the same for all peoples of our planet. However, in different regions of the world, among different peoples, the process of state formation had its own characteristics, sometimes very significant. They were associated with the geographical environment, the specific historical conditions in which certain states were created.

The classical form is the emergence of a state due to the action of only internal factors of development of a given society, stratification into antagonistic classes. This form can be considered using the example of the Athenian state. Subsequently, state formation among other peoples, for example the Slavs, followed this path. The emergence of a state among the Athenians is a highly typical example of the formation of a state in general, because, on the one hand, it occurs in pure form, without any violent intervention, external or internal, on the other hand, because in this case a very highly developed form of state - democratic republic- arises directly from the clan system, and, finally, because we know quite well all the essential details of the formation of this state. In Rome, clan society turns into a closed aristocracy, surrounded by a numerous plebs standing outside this society, powerless, but bearing responsibilities; the victory of the plebs explodes the old clan system and erects a state on its ruins, in which both the clan aristocracy and the plebs will soon completely dissolve. Among the German victors of the Roman Empire, the state arises as a direct result of the conquest of vast foreign territories, for domination over which the clan system does not provide any means. Consequently, the process of state formation is often “pushed” and accelerated by factors external to a given society, for example, a war with neighboring tribes or already existing states. As a result of the conquest of vast territories of the slaveholding Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, the tribal organization of the victors, which was at the stage of military democracy, quickly degenerated into a feudal state.

1.5. The essence of the state

In order to more deeply understand what a state-organized society is, it is necessary to consider the essence of the state.

The essence of any phenomenon is the main, fundamental, defining thing in this phenomenon, it is the totality of internal characteristic features and properties, without which a phenomenon loses its peculiarity and originality. What is the essence of the state? There are several approaches to studying this issue.

Class approach consists in the fact that the state is considered as a machine for maintaining the dominance of one class over another, and minorities over the majority, and the essence of such a state lies in the dictatorship of the economically and politically dominant class. This concept of the state reflects the idea of the state in the proper sense of the word, which is an instrument of the dictatorship of this class. Thus, certain ruling classes exercised the dictatorship of slave owners, feudal lords, and the bourgeoisie. The dictatorship of the class determines the main goals, objectives and functions of these states;

A socialist state at the stage of the dictatorship of the proletariat already implements it in the interests of the gigantic majority of the population, thereby it is not a state in the proper sense of the word. This is already a semi-state. With the destruction of the bourgeois state apparatus, designed to carry out primarily the functions of suppression, creative goals and functions are put in first place, the social base of the new state is expanded, the essence of which is the expression of the will and interests of the working people through the state. Unfortunately, many theoretical provisions in socialist states remained only in theory, but in practice, power in society turned out to be usurped by the bureaucracy; the state apparatus served not the broad strata of the working people, but the party and state elite.

Another approach is to consider the essence of the state from universal, general social principles. Changes took place in both socialist and bourgeois Western states: Contrary to the predictions of political scientists, capitalist society survived and managed to successfully overcome crisis phenomena and a decline in production, largely using the experience of the development of socialist-oriented states. The state, as an active force, intervening in the economy, brought society out of depression, thereby confirming the idea that any state is called upon to solve common affairs in the interests of the whole society. However, as a result of the struggle of the masses for their civil and political rights, social guarantees were introduced for various segments of the population, and material incentives were expanded. There was a combination of the ideas of socialism with the practice of civilized civil society, which gave Western scientists reason to believe modern society already “non-capitalist in the proper sense of the word.” And indeed, modern Western society sometimes more oriented towards socialism than countries that called themselves socialist.

The state mechanism has turned from an instrument primarily of suppression into a means of primarily implementing common affairs, an instrument for achieving agreement and finding compromises.

In the essence of the state, depending on historical conditions, either the class principle (violence) can come to the fore, which is typical for exploitative states V, or general social (compromise), which is increasingly manifested in modern

post-capitalist and post-socialist societies. These two principles are combined in the essence of the state and characterize it in its entirety. If you refuse any of them, then the characterization of the essence of the state will be flawed. The whole point is what kind of state is being considered and in what historical conditions.

Therefore, any modern democratic state, from the point of view of its essence, can be characterized as an instrument and means of social compromise in content and as legal in form. The essence of the state as a political organization is especially clearly manifested in its comparison with civil society, which includes all the wealth public relations outside political state. The state and civil society appear as a unity of form and content, where the form is represented by the rule of law, and its content by civil society.

Modern theory comes from the multidimensionality of the actual existence of the state: it can be considered from the standpoint of national, religious, geographical and other approaches.

In addition to the fact that the state is a public authority, separated from the population, having a management apparatus and material appendages, it can also be considered as a political organization-association, imbued with a variety of systems of power relations and institutions. I. Kant wrote that the state is an association of people subject to legal laws. K. Marx proceeded from the fact that the state should be considered as a certain association in which its members are united into a single whole by public power structures and relations.

Thus, the state in the proper sense of the word (class approach) is a political organization that maintains the dominance of one class over another, and minorities over the majority; the essence of such a state lies in the dictatorship of the economically and politically dominant class.

From the point of view of the general social approach, the state is a political organization-association, the members of which are united into a single whole by public power relations and structures, and is an instrument and means of achieving a compromise between them.

1.6. Theories of the origin of the state

The most famous and widespread theory of the origin of the state is the class one, developed by the founders of Marxism-Leninism (see question 1.3 for details). However, the question of the essence of the state, its emergence and patterns of development attracted the attention of many scientists and thinkers long before Marx. They developed various original theories of the emergence of the state, which enriched world science who have made a certain contribution to the process of human cognition of the surrounding world.

1. Theological theory quite multifaceted, which is undoubtedly explained by the special historical and material conditions of existence of various states as Ancient East, and the Ancient West (Greece, Rome).

Among ancient peoples, political and legal thought goes back to mythological origins and develops the idea that earthly orders are part of global, cosmic orders of divine origin. In line with this understanding, the themes of the earthly life of people, the social and state system, their relationships with each other, rights and responsibilities are illuminated in myths.

The main idea of theological theory is the divine primary source of the origin and essence of the state: all power comes from God. This gave her unconditional obligation and holiness.

2. According to patriarchal theory the state grows out of the family, in which the power of the monarch is personified with the power of the father over the members of his family, where there is a correspondence between the cosmos as a whole, the state and the individual human soul; the state is a hoop that binds its members together on the basis of mutual respect and paternal love. Proponents of this theory (Plato, Aristotle) definitely speak out in favor of the city-polis, talking about the division of labor between townspeople, which represents the Athenian idealization of the Egyptian caste system. Life in the state is based on the principles of justice, community, equality, and collectivism. “No one should have any private property unless absolutely necessary, and there should be no dwelling or storeroom where anyone would not have access.” Plato is an opponent of the extremes of wealth and poverty. He subtly notices the political significance of the property stratification of society, which leads to a state of the poor and the rich. His ideal is an aristocratic government.

3. Contract theory the origin of the state became widespread at a later time - during the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th - 18th centuries. According to this theory, the state arises as a result of the conclusion of a social contract between people in a “natural” state, turning them into a single whole, into a people. On the basis of this primary agreement, civil society and its political form - the state - are created. The latter ensures the protection of private property and the safety of individuals entering into an agreement. Subsequently, a secondary agreement is concluded on their subordination to a certain person, to whom power over them is transferred, obliged to exercise it in the interests of the people. Otherwise, the people have the right to revolt.

4. Theory of violence. One of the founders and leading representative of the sociological direction of the bourgeois theory of state and law of the second half of the 19th century was L. Gumplowicz (1838 - 1909), professor of public law in Austria, vice-president of the International Institute of Sociology in Paris. One of the supporters of this theory was K. Kautsky.

They saw the reason for the origin and basis of political power and the state not in economic relations, but in conquest, violence, enslavement of some tribes by others. It was argued that as a result of such violence, a unity of opposing elements of the state is formed: the rulers and the dominated, the rulers and the ruled, masters and slaves, the winners and the vanquished. It is not divine providence, the social contract or the idea of freedom, but the clash of hostile tribes, the brute superiority of force, war, struggle, devastation, in a word, violence, that leads to the formation of a state. The winning tribe subjugates the defeated tribe, appropriates all their land and then forces the defeated tribe to systematically work for itself, pay tribute or taxes. In any case of such conquest, classes arise, but not as a result of the split of the community into various divisions, but as a result of the union of two communities, of which one becomes the dominant, the other - the oppressed and exploited class, while the coercive apparatus, which is created by the victors to control the vanquished, turns into state.

Thus, according to this concept, the state is a “naturally” (that is, through violence) organization of the rule of one tribe over another. And this violence and subjugation of the ruled by the ruled are the basis for the emergence of economic domination. As a result of wars, tribes turn into castes, estates and classes. The conquerors turned the conquered into slaves, turning them into “living tools.” However, proponents of the theory of violence are unable to explain why private property, classes and the state appear only at a certain stage of conquest. It is well known that violence only influences the process of state formation (ancient Germans), but violence itself, without appropriate economic prerequisites, cannot be the cause of its emergence.

5. Organic theory origin of the state, the largest representative of which was G. Spencer, considers the state to be the result of organic evolution, a variety of which is social evolution. Just as in living nature, G. Spencer believed, the fittest survive, so in society in the process external wars and conquest, natural selection occurs, which determines the emergence of governments and the further functioning of the state in accordance with the laws of organic evolution.

6. Psychological the theory explains the reasons for the emergence of the state by the properties of the human psyche, his biopsychic instincts, etc. The famous Russian scientist L.I. Petrazhitsky proceeded from the supposedly inherent need for obedience and subordination to “outstanding personalities” in the individual’s psyche. S. Freud, the founder of the psychoanalytic trend in bourgeois sociology, derived the need to create a state from the human psyche. From the originally existing patriarchal horde, a state emerges to suppress the further aggressive impulses of man.

E. Durkheim, in contrast to the individual psychological theory, developed a view of man as primarily a social and not a biopsychological being. Society is understood as a product not of individual, but of collective consciousness of people, in which the idea of social solidarity is formed, and corresponding state and legal institutions are created to ensure it.

State - an organization of political power that governs society and ensures order and stability in it.

Main signs of the state are: availability certain territory, sovereignty, broad social base, monopoly on legitimate violence, the right to collect taxes, the public nature of power, the presence of state symbols.

The state fulfills internal functions, among which are economic, stabilization, coordination, social, etc. There are also external functions, the most important of which are ensuring defense and establishing international cooperation.

By form of government states are divided into monarchies (constitutional and absolute) and republics (parliamentary, presidential and mixed). Depending on forms of government There are unitary states, federations and confederations.

State

State - this is a special organization of political power that has a special apparatus (mechanism) for managing society to ensure its normal functioning.

IN historical In terms of plan, the state can be defined as a social organization that has ultimate power over all people living within the boundaries of a certain territory, and has as its main goal the solution common problems and ensuring the common good while maintaining, above all, order.

IN structural In terms of plan, the state appears as an extensive network of institutions and organizations representing three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial.

State power is sovereign, i.e. supreme, in relation to all organizations and individuals within the country, as well as independent, independent in relation to other states. The state is the official representative of the entire society, all its members, called citizens.

Loans collected from the population and received from them are used to maintain the state apparatus of power.

The state is a universal organization, distinguished by a number of unparalleled attributes and characteristics.

Signs of the state

Coercion - state coercion is primary and has priority over the right to coerce other entities within a given state and is carried out by specialized bodies in situations determined by law.
Sovereignty - the state has the highest and unlimited power in relation to all individuals and organizations operating within its historical boundaries.
Universality - the state acts on behalf of the entire society and extends its power to the entire territory.

Signs of the state are the territorial organization of the population, state sovereignty, tax collection, lawmaking. The state subjugates the entire population living in a certain territory, regardless of administrative-territorial division.

Attributes of the state

Territory is defined by the boundaries separating the spheres of sovereignty of individual states.
The population is the subjects of the state, over whom its power extends and under whose protection they are.
The apparatus is a system of organs and the presence of a special “class of officials” through which the state functions and develops. The publication of laws and regulations that are binding on the entire population of a given state is carried out by the state legislative body.

Concept of state

The state appears at a certain stage of development of society as a political organization, as an institution of power and management of society. There are two main concepts of the emergence of the state. In accordance with the first concept, the state arises in the course of the natural development of society and the conclusion of an agreement between citizens and rulers (T. Hobbes, J. Locke). The second concept goes back to the ideas of Plato. She rejects the first and insists that the state arises as a result of conquest (conquest) by a relatively small group of warlike and organized people(tribe, race) of a significantly larger but less organized population (D. Hume, F. Nietzsche). Obviously, in the history of mankind, both the first and second methods of the emergence of the state took place.

As already mentioned, at first the state was the only political organization in society. Later, during the development political system society, other political organizations (parties, movements, blocs, etc.) arise.

The term "state" is usually used in a broad and narrow sense.

In a broad sense the state is identified with society, with a certain country. For example, we say: “states that are members of the UN”, “states that are members of NATO”, “the state of India”. In the examples given, the state refers to entire countries along with their peoples living in a certain territory. This idea of the state dominated in antiquity and the Middle Ages.

In a narrow sense the state is understood as one of the institutions of the political system that has supreme power in society. This understanding of the role and place of the state is justified during the formation of civil society institutions (XVIII - XIX centuries), when the political system became more complex and social structure society, there is a need to separate state institutions and institutions from society and other non-state institutions of the political system.

The state is the main socio-political institution of society, the core of the political system. Possessing sovereign power in society, it controls the lives of people, regulates relations between various social strata and classes, and is responsible for the stability of society and the safety of its citizens.

The state has a complex organizational structure, which includes the following elements: legislative institutions, executive and administrative bodies, judicial system, public order and state security bodies, armed forces, etc. All this allows the state to perform not only the functions of managing society, but also the functions of coercion (institutionalized violence) in relation to both individual citizens and large social communities (classes, estates, nations ). Thus, during the years of Soviet power in the USSR, many classes and estates were virtually destroyed (bourgeoisie, merchant class, wealthy peasantry, etc.), entire peoples were subjected to political repression (Chechens, Ingush, Crimean Tatars, Germans, etc.).

Signs of the state

Main subject political activity recognized by the state. WITH functional point of view, the state is the leading political institution that manages society and ensures order and stability in it. WITH organizational point of view, the state is an organization of political power that enters into relations with other subjects of political activity (for example, citizens). In this understanding, the state is seen as a set of political institutions (courts, social security system, army, bureaucracy, local authorities, etc.) responsible for organizing social life and publicly funded.

Signs that distinguish the state from other subjects of political activity are as follows:

Availability of a certain territory— the jurisdiction of a state (the right to hold court and resolve legal issues) is determined by its territorial borders. Within these boundaries, the power of the state extends to all members of society (both those who have citizenship of the country and those who do not);

Sovereignty- the state is completely independent in internal affairs and in charge foreign policy;

Variety of resources used— the state accumulates the main power resources (economic, social, spiritual, etc.) to exercise its powers;

Striving to represent the interests of the entire society - the state acts on behalf of the whole society, and not individuals or social groups;

Monopoly on legitimate violence- the state has the right to use force to enforce laws and punish their violators;

Right to collect taxes— the state establishes and collects various taxes and fees from the population, which are used to finance government bodies and solve various management problems;

Public nature of power— the state ensures the protection of public interests, not private ones. When implementing public policy, there are usually no personal relationships between the authorities and citizens;

Availability of symbols- the state has its own signs of statehood - a flag, coat of arms, anthem, special symbols and attributes of power (for example, a crown, a scepter and an orb in some monarchies), etc.

In a number of contexts, the concept of “state” is perceived as close in meaning to the concepts of “country”, “society”, “government”, but this is not so.

Country— the concept is primarily cultural and geographical. This term is usually used when talking about area, climate, natural areas, population, nationalities, religions, etc. The state is a political concept and denotes the political organization of that other country - its form of government and structure, political regime, etc.

Society- a concept broader than the state. For example, a society can be above the state (society as all of humanity) or pre-state (these are the tribe and primitive race). At the present stage, the concepts of society and state also do not coincide: public power (say, a layer of professional managers) is relatively independent and isolated from the rest of society.

Government - only part of the state, its highest administrative and executive body, an instrument for the exercise of political power. The state is a stable institution, while governments come and go.

General characteristics of the state

Despite all the diversity of types and forms of state formations that arose earlier and currently exist, it is possible to identify common features that are, to one degree or another, characteristic of any state. In our opinion, these signs were presented most fully and convincingly by V.P. Pugachev.

These signs include the following:

public power, separated from society and not coinciding with social organization; the presence of a special layer of people who carry out political administration society;
a certain territory (political space), delineated by borders, to which the laws and powers of the state apply;
sovereignty - supreme power over all citizens living in a certain territory, their institutions and organizations;
monopoly on the legal use of force. Only the state has “legal” grounds for limiting the rights and freedoms of citizens and even depriving them of their lives. For these purposes, it has special power structures: army, police, courts, prisons, etc. p.;
the right to collect taxes and fees from the population that are necessary for the maintenance of government bodies and material support of state policy: defense, economic, social, etc.;
mandatory membership in the state. A person acquires citizenship from the moment of birth. Unlike membership in a party or other organizations, citizenship is a necessary attribute of any person;
a claim to represent the entire society as a whole and to protect common interests and goals. In reality, no state or other organization is able to fully reflect the interests of all social groups, classes and individual citizens of society.

All functions of the state can be divided into two main types: internal and external.

When executing internal functions The activities of the state are aimed at managing society, at coordinating the interests of various social strata and classes, and at preserving their powers of power. Carrying out external functions, the state acts as a subject international relations, representing a specific people, territory and sovereign power.

The general theory of state and law is a general theoretical legal science. The state and law are inextricably linked. Law is a set of rules of conduct that are beneficial to the state and approved by it through the adoption of legislation. The state cannot do without law, which serves its state and ensures its interests. In turn, law cannot arise outside of the state, since only state legislative bodies can adopt generally binding rules of conduct requiring their enforcement. The state introduces enforcement measures to comply with the rules of law.

The study of state and law should begin with the concept and origin of the state.

The state is a special organization of political power that has a special apparatus (mechanism) for managing society to ensure its normal functioning. The main features of the state are the territorial organization of the population, state sovereignty, tax collection, and lawmaking. The state subjugates the entire population living in a certain territory, regardless of administrative-territorial division.

State power is sovereign, i.e. supreme in relation to all organizations and individuals within the country, as well as independent and independent in relation to other states. The state acts as the official representative of the entire society, all its members, called citizens.

Taxes collected from the population and loans received from them are used to maintain the state apparatus of power. The publication of laws and regulations binding on the population of a given state is carried out by the state legislative body.

The emergence of the state was preceded by a primitive communal system, in which the basis of production relations was public ownership of the means of production. The transition from self-government of primitive society to state government lasted centuries. In different historical regions, the collapse of the primitive communal system and the emergence of the state occurred in different ways depending on historical conditions.

The first states were slaveholding. Along with the state, law also arose as an expression of the will of the ruling class.

There are several historical types of states and law - slave, feudal, bourgeois. A state of the same type can have different forms of government, government structure, and political regime.

Under form of government refers to the organization of the highest bodies of state power (the order of their formation, relationships, the degree of participation of the masses in their formation and activities).

Main features states are: the presence of a certain territory, sovereignty, a broad social base, a monopoly on legitimate violence, the right to collect taxes, the public nature of power, the presence of state symbols.

The state performs internal functions, including economic, stabilization, coordination, social, etc. There are also external functions, the most important of which are ensuring defense and establishing international cooperation.

According to the form of government, states are divided into monarchies (constitutional and absolute) and republics (parliamentary, presidential and mixed). Depending on the form of government, unitary states, federations and confederations are distinguished.

State

The concept and characteristics of the state

The state is a special organization of political power that has a special apparatus (mechanism) for managing society to ensure its normal functioning.

In historical terms, the state can be defined as a social organization that has ultimate power over all people living within the boundaries of a certain territory, and whose main goal is to solve common problems and ensure the common good while maintaining, above all, order.

Structurally, the state appears as an extensive network of institutions and organizations representing three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial.

State power is sovereign, i.e. supreme, in relation to all organizations and individuals within the country, as well as independent, independent in relation to other states. The state is the official representative of the entire society, all its members, called citizens.

Taxes collected from the population and loans received from them are used to maintain the state apparatus of power.

The state is a universal organization, distinguished by a number of unparalleled attributes and characteristics.

Signs of the state

Coercion - state coercion is primary and has priority over the right to coerce other entities within a given state and is carried out by specialized bodies in situations determined by law.

Sovereignty - the state has the highest and unlimited power in relation to all individuals and organizations operating within historically established boundaries.

Universality - the state acts on behalf of the entire society and extends its power to the entire territory.

The characteristics of a state are the territorial organization of the population, state sovereignty, tax collection, and lawmaking. The state subjugates the entire population living in a certain territory, regardless of administrative-territorial division.

Attributes of the state

Territory is defined by the boundaries separating the spheres of sovereignty of individual states.

The population is the subjects of the state, over whom its power extends and under whose protection they are.

The apparatus is a system of organs and the presence of a special “class of officials” through which the state functions and develops. The publication of laws and regulations that are binding on the entire population of a given state is carried out by the state legislative body.

Concept of state

The state appears at a certain stage of development of society as a political organization, as an institution of power and management of society. There are two main concepts of the emergence of the state. In accordance with the first concept, the state arises in the course of the natural development of society and the conclusion of an agreement between citizens and rulers (T. Hobbes, J. Locke). The second concept goes back to the ideas of Plato. She rejects the first and insists that the state arises as a result of the conquest (conquest) by a relatively small group of warlike and organized people (tribe, race) of a significantly larger but less organized population (D. Hume, F. Nietzsche). Obviously, in the history of mankind, both the first and second methods of the emergence of the state took place.

As already mentioned, at first the state was the only political organization in society. Subsequently, during the development of the political system of society, other political organizations (parties, movements, blocs, etc.) arise.

The term "state" is usually used in a broad and narrow sense.

In a broad sense, the state is identified with society, with a specific country. For example, we say: “states that are members of the UN”, “states that are members of NATO”, “the state of India”. In the examples given, the state refers to entire countries along with their peoples living in a certain territory. This idea of the state dominated in antiquity and the Middle Ages.

In a narrow sense, the state is understood as one of the institutions of the political system that has supreme power in society. This understanding of the role and place of the state is justified during the period of formation of the institutions of civil society (XVIII - XIX centuries), when the political system and social structure of society become more complex, there is a need to separate the actual state institutions and institutions from society and other non-state institutions of the political system.

The state has a complex organizational structure, which includes the following elements: legislative institutions, executive and administrative bodies, the judicial system, public order and state security bodies, armed forces, etc. All this allows the state to perform not only the functions of managing society, but also the functions of coercion (institutionalized violence) in relation to both individual citizens and large social communities (classes, estates, nations). Thus, during the years of Soviet power in the USSR, many classes and estates were virtually destroyed (bourgeoisie, merchant class, wealthy peasantry, etc.), entire peoples were subjected to political repression (Chechens, Ingush, Crimean Tatars, Germans, etc.).

Signs of the state

The state is recognized as the main subject of political activity. From a functional point of view, the state is the leading political institution that manages society and ensures order and stability in it. From an organizational point of view, the state is an organization of political power that enters into relations with other subjects of political activity (for example, citizens). In this understanding, the state is seen as a set of political institutions (courts, social security system, army, bureaucracy, local authorities, etc.) responsible for organizing social life and financed by society.

The features that distinguish the state from other subjects of political activity are as follows:

The presence of a certain territory - the jurisdiction of a state (the right to hold court and resolve legal issues) is determined by its territorial borders. Within these boundaries, the power of the state extends to all members of society (both those who have citizenship of the country and those who do not);

Sovereignty - the state is completely independent in internal affairs and in the conduct of foreign policy;

Variety of resources used - the state accumulates the main power resources (economic, social, spiritual, etc.) to exercise its powers;

The desire to represent the interests of the entire society - the state acts on behalf of the entire society, and not individuals or social groups;

Monopoly on legitimate violence - the state has the right to use force to enforce laws and punish their violators;

The right to collect taxes - the state establishes and collects various taxes and fees from the population, which are used to finance government bodies and solve various management problems;

The public nature of power - the state ensures the protection of public interests, not private ones. When implementing public policy, there are usually no personal relationships between the authorities and citizens;

The presence of symbols - the state has its own signs of statehood - a flag, coat of arms, anthem, special symbols and attributes of power (for example, a crown, a scepter and an orb in some monarchies), etc.

In a number of contexts, the concept of “state” is perceived as close in meaning to the concepts of “country”, “society”, “government”, but this is not so.

Country is primarily a cultural and geographical concept. This term is usually used when talking about area, climate, natural areas, population, nationalities, religions, etc. The state is a political concept and denotes the political organization of that other country - its form of government and structure, political regime, etc.

Society is a broader concept than the state. For example, a society can be above the state (society as all of humanity) or pre-state (such as a tribe and a primitive clan). At the present stage, the concepts of society and state also do not coincide: public power (say, a layer of professional managers) is relatively independent and isolated from the rest of society.

The government is only a part of the state, its highest administrative and executive body, an instrument for the exercise of political power. The state is a stable institution, while governments come and go.

General characteristics of the state

These signs include the following:

public power, separated from society and not coinciding with social organization; the presence of a special layer of people exercising political control of society;

a certain territory (political space), delineated by borders, to which the laws and powers of the state apply;

sovereignty - supreme power over all citizens living in a certain territory, their institutions and organizations;

monopoly on the legal use of force. Only the state has “legal” grounds for limiting the rights and freedoms of citizens and even depriving them of their lives. For these purposes, it has special power structures: army, police, courts, prisons, etc. p.;

the right to collect taxes and fees from the population that are necessary for the maintenance of government bodies and material support of state policy: defense, economic, social, etc.;

mandatory membership in the state. A person acquires citizenship from the moment of birth. Unlike membership in a party or other organizations, citizenship is a necessary attribute of any person;

a claim to represent the entire society as a whole and to protect common interests and goals. In reality, no state or other organization is able to fully reflect the interests of all social groups, classes and individual citizens of society.

All functions of the state can be divided into two main types: internal and external.

When performing internal functions, the activities of the state are aimed at managing society, at coordinating the interests of various social strata and classes, and at preserving its powers of power. Carrying out external functions, the state acts as a subject of international relations, representing a certain people, territory and sovereign power.