Political parties: structure and functions. Political Parties in the Political System

Politics plays a very important role in the life of modern man. Whether it is good or not is up to everyone individually. However, a person who wants to be the master of his life and in any situation to be competent must know, and more importantly, understand the basic political concepts.

Today we will get acquainted with the simplest of them - the political party. So, political parties, structure and functions, as well as other important characteristics.

Definition

A political party is considered to be a specialized public organization, which includes the most active adherents of a particular idea aimed at the struggle for obtaining and using power.

Translated from the Latin language, the word "party" means "group" or "part". It was first used in the ancient world. For example, Aristotle spoke about the parties of the inhabitants of mountainous regions, plains or coasts. In addition, he called this term a group of politicians who are part of the immediate circle of the ruler.

This concept was also used to describe the group of people in whose hands is the government. And in the form in which political parties are accustomed to seeing a simple layman, they began to appear in the 18th-19th centuries, during the formation of parliamentarism.

Interpretation of Weber

In modern political science, the evolution of political parties is accepted, which was proposed by M. Weber. According to his achievements, the first stage in the formation of the party is the "aristocratic circle". As it develops, it grows into a “political club”, and then into a “mass party”.

According to Weber, the essential features of any political party were:

1. The desire to use power in accordance with the vision of solving problems (political and others), which is inherent only to this party.

2. Ideological and political orientation.

3. Voluntary beginnings and initiative.

Different approaches

Getting acquainted with political science, one can stumble upon at least several approaches to define a political party. From the point of view of the liberal approach, it is an ideological union. And the institutional approach sees the party as an organization that operates in the state system.

Meanwhile, the traditional approach connects the definition of the party with the electoral process, the promotion of candidates, the election race, as well as the desire to get legislative and executive power.

And finally, the Marxist approach looks at such a concept as a political party from the point of view of class positions. The party, in this interpretation, is the most conscious and active part of the class whose interests it defends.

Legal approach

It should be considered separately. The legal approach governs:

1. The political status of the party, and its functions.

2. The continuous nature of the activity.

3. Mandatory participation in the elections.

4. The level of participation in the political life of the state.

5. Degree of organization.

6. The possibility of comparison with other political institutions.

7. The number of members.

8. Title.

From the point of view of the legal approach, voter unions, all kinds of associations and other unstable organizations, are not political parties.

He also suggests that registering a party with the executive branch is the most important procedure, which is only an official recognition of the party and provides it with state protection.

Only after going through the official registration procedure, an organization can nominate itself for elections, get public funding and get other opportunities that legitimate political parties have. The table with the classification of parties will be given a little lower.

Party signs

Today in political science you can meet such signs of these organizations:

1. Any party carries a certain ideology, or at least orientation, a picture of the world.

2. A party is an organization or an association of people that is sustainable over time.

3. The purpose of the party is to gain power. It is worth noting here that under a multi-party system, an individual party cannot receive full power, but only participates in the implementation of power functions.

4. Any party striving to enlist the support of voters, up to the adoption of the most active of them in their ranks.

Organizational structure of political parties

Any party has an internal and external structure. So, the internal structure includes ordinary members and leadership. The latter, in turn, is divided into functionaries and senior management. Political parties, the structure of which is constructed in a different way, practically do not occur.

Functionaries are called party activists who work at all levels, in local and central bodies of the association. They organize the work of various parts of the party and disseminate its ideology. Top management includes leaders, ideologists, the most experienced and respected figures who determine the organization's development vector, goals and ways to achieve them. Well, the rank and file members of the party are those who work in primary organizations and carry out the task of leadership.

The external structure includes the electorate, that is, people who are close to the ideas of the party and who are ready to cast their ballots in these elections. Almost all political parties are based on this. The structure of each organization may have slight differences, but in general it looks that way.

Financing

The most important aspect of the development of any party is its financing. As a rule, the sources of material support are:

1. Contributions of party members.

2. Sponsorship funds.

3. Funds earned from own activities.

4. Budgetary funds (during the election campaign).

5. Foreign financing (prohibited in a number of countries).

Goals

As a rule, political parties, the structure and essence of which we are already familiar with, pursue the following goals in their activities:

1. The formation of public opinion.

2. Expression of citizenship.

3. Political education and education of the people.

4. Nomination (implementation) of their representatives in state authorities and local self-government.

Party Functions

To more specifically understand what place political parties occupy in the political system, it is worth considering their functions. They are: political, social and ideological.

Political:

1. The struggle for power.

2. Recruiting leaders and the ruling elite.

Social:

1. Socialization of citizens.

2. Social representation.

Ideological:

1. Creation of ideology.

2. Propaganda.

The functions of political parties make it possible to determine the tasks that they solve. Firstly, the party is a kind of connecting link between the people and government bodies. Thus, it eliminates the spontaneous forms of political activity of citizens.

Secondly, the party is a very effective form of overcoming civic passivity and apathy for politics. Thirdly, the party provides a peaceful way of distribution or redistribution of political power and avoids public upheaval.

Classification

Now we will consider what political parties are. The classification table will help us with this:

Sign	Kinds
Ideals and software installations	Monarchist, fascist, liberal, confessional, social democratic, nationalist, communist.
Social environment	Monochromatic, universal (universal), intermediate.
Attitude to social reality	Conservative, revolutionary, reformist, reactionary.
Social essence	Bourgeois, petty-bourgeois, proletarian, peasant.
Internal structure	Democratic, totalitarian, mass, personnel, open, closed.

Party charter

The main document to which all branches of an organization obey is the party’s charter. It includes information on:

1. The goals and objectives of the party.

2. Party Attributes.

3. Membership Terms.

4. Party structure.

5. The order of personnel operations.

6. Sources of financing and so on.