Functions of political parties in a state-organized society. Political parties

26.07.2019

The success of any political party in society depends on many factors. Among them, it is necessary to note such as the form of government (presidential or parliamentary republic) and the type of national-territorial structure of the state (unitary or federal) within which it operates, the specifics of electoral legislation, the regime of government, etc. All this has an impact on the program, pre-election activity, and daily activities of parties after the election results are summed up.

The nature of a political party is most clearly manifested through its functions:

1) Struggle for power (peaceful redistribution of power between various social forces avoids social upheavals when the balance of political forces changes). Winning an election makes it possible to form a government and begin to implement the interests represented through public policy.

2) Social representation. Each party strives to unite the widest possible strata of society and represent various social groups, since success in elections can only be ensured by a party that expresses not narrow group, but national interests.

3) Social integration. Achieving agreement with the existing system, social conformism, reconciliation of conflicting interests social groups.

4) Political socialization of citizens. Inclusion of a person in the world of politics through the formation of value orientations, social and political attitudes, social skills political activity, formation public opinion in order to ensure ideological support for the party and discredit its political opponents.

5) Political recruitment, formation ruling elite. Training and promotion of personnel and coordination of their work in bodies state power, public organizations and movements.

6) Development and implementation political course(it is necessary to formulate disagreements with other political forces on basic issues social development).

In order to effectively implement these functions, political parties need material resources. Sources of financing political parties can be grouped into the following three groups:

Own party funds. They are formed from entrance and membership fees, deductions from the salaries of leading party members, income from property and business activities. There are some restrictions here. For example, in Slovakia, political parties are prohibited from having property abroad; in Egypt and Ethiopia, they are prohibited from engaging in entrepreneurial activity. In addition, this aspect of the activities of political parties can lead to the fact that when engaged in entrepreneurial activities, parties merge with financial and industrial capital.

Private financing. This includes voluntary donations from individuals and legal entities. Majority democracies legislatively limit or completely prohibit financial support of political parties from charitable and religious organizations, state enterprises, anonymous sponsors, from abroad. Thus, in the USA and Israel it is prohibited to accept help from private legal entities (societies, organizations, firms, etc.). Sometimes both the amount of donations and the specific activities to be financed are determined by law.

Government funding. The state provides direct financial support to those parties that have passed the electoral threshold. There is a practice of distributing finances depending on the number of votes received by a party in elections (Germany, Sweden). In Denmark, Finland, and Italy, the amount of financial assistance is determined by the number of parliamentary mandates received. In addition, there is also an indirect governmental support political parties. Parties are provided with free airtime, space for publications and statements in the media, etc.

The leadership of a political party must publish reports on the sources of financial income, expenditure of funds, and property of the party. Almost all countries have restrictions on spending on election campaigns.

The place and role of the party in political system determined largely by its functions. The functions reflect the main tasks and directions of activity of a political party, its purpose in society. The most common functions of political parties include:

Representation of social interests;

Development of program guidelines, political line of the party;

Formation of public opinion, political education and political socialization of citizens;

Participation in the struggle for power and its implementation, in the formation of the political system of society;

Training and promotion of personnel.

Within the framework of these functions, it is possible to identify more specific, specific tasks. The content, forms and methods of implementing the same functions may differ among parties of different types. There are also specific functions performed by certain parties due to the peculiarities of their development and position.

An important place in the activities of the party is occupied by representation of interests classes, social groups and strata. The content of this function is the identification, formulation and justification of the interests of social forces, their integration and activation.

The interests of various social groups are aggregated and expressed in the process of developing a political program and implementing the political course of the party. The following function of the party is connected with this - development of program settings , socio-economic and political strategy. The party, as a rule, has a long-term political program based on certain ideological principles. Even if a party is not based on any strictly defined ideological system, a certain ideological commitment is manifested in its specific activities and the values it defends.

Parties strive not only for the development and renewal of various political doctrines, but also to their wide distribution in society. This is served by the publication of party materials, speeches by party leaders on radio and television, in the press, at rallies and meetings. The party is interested in recognition and support of its political line by public opinion. Ideological function political party also involves political education of its members and supporters, education of members of society in the spirit of certain values and traditions, familiarization of citizens with political life and ultimately contributes to their political socialization.

Function of exercising power political party includes:

Participation in the preparation and conduct of elections to government and administrative bodies;

The parliamentary activities of the party, its work in party factions of parliament and local authorities authorities;

Participation in the process of preparation and adoption of political decisions by government bodies;

Political recruitment, etc.

The exercise of power by the ruling party is expressed not only in the initiating and advisory role in parliament, but also in the formation and subordination executive bodies. Political parties participate in the formation of the ruling elite, selection and placement management personnel. They are the institutions within which political leaders and statesmen are trained.

A political party acts as an intermediary between the state and civil society. Parties ensure the connection of the masses with government structures, the institutionalization of the political participation of citizens and the replacement of spontaneous forms of socio-political activity of the population with organized, controllable forms. Through political parties, citizens put forward their group demands to the state and at the same time receive requests from it for support in resolving certain political issues. Thus, parties develop both direct and feedbacks people and state.

This mediating role of parties is most fully manifested in democratic society. In countries with totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, the role of ruling parties goes far beyond the scope of such mediation. Due to the absence of real competitors in the struggle for power, a political monopoly of the ruling party develops, which usurps power and political functions. Ruling party becomes over the state, establishes control over it, and through it over civil society. A party going beyond its functional purpose and attempting to replace state bodies destroys the socio-political nature of the party. Such an organization ceases to be a political party in the proper sense of the word, but retains only the external signs of such.

Functions of political parties in modern society

What role do parties play in modern society? To answer this question, we should consider the functions of parties, i.e. those types of activities of parties that are necessary for society as a system for normal functioning and development.

The first function parties is participation in election campaigns. The significance of this function is determined by the very logic of the emergence of modern political parties as unique “electoral machines.” Even in totalitarian societies, where there are no free elections, the ruling party leads the electoral process, nominates candidates, conducts campaigning and propaganda.

Second function political parties is the development of ideological concepts, programs, bringing into mass consciousness political values. Party Commitment specific system political values, on the one hand, constitutes it essential characteristic, and on the other hand, is an important direction of its activities. In an effort to expand its influence, the party actively promotes a system of values that forms the core of its ideological and political platform. For this purpose, various communication channels are used: from direct communication at meetings, meetings, rallies to replication of statements and declarations through means mass media, printed publications. The significance of this function of the party for society is determined by the special place of value orientations in the motivational structure of the individual. By developing and promoting ideological concepts, the party helps unite people around certain goals.

The ideological function of a party often comes into conflict with its electoral function. Adherence to certain ideological principles does not allow the party to target broad sections of voters and requires it to either change its principles or give up chances to get its candidates into parliament.

The dominance of the electoral function over the ideological one leads to the emergence of “catch-all” parties, which are distinguished by the pragmatism of their position and focus on the immediate interests of the population. In countries where such parties become the main subjects of political life, the ideological differences between them are blurred.

Third function political parties can be called articulation and aggregation of interests of various social groups. Unlike interest groups, parties do not simply formulate and articulate interests separate groups, but strive for their aggregation, i.e. to generalization, prioritization, creation of comprehensive programs that take into account and connect the aspirations of different layers society. The function of interest aggregation allows the party to rely in its activities on a fairly broad social base, which becomes especially important when the party participates in public administration, requiring a certain degree of mass consent on key issues development of the country. The aggregation function allows you to streamline the requirements put forward by various groups, highlight priorities, smooth out contradictions, and minimize possible conflicts claims.

Fourth function political parties - formation and recruitment of the political elite and political leaders. With the decomposition of class society, belonging to political elite no longer conditioned noble birth. In modern society, every person gets a chance to rise to the top of the political hierarchy. However, the performance of the functions of state and political management always requires certain skills and abilities from a person, and parties take upon themselves the task of developing them in those wishing to engage in political activity. By joining a party, a person demonstrates a desire to actively participate in political life, moving up the levels of the party hierarchy, he masters the skills of organizational and propaganda work, the ability to defend his point of view in discussions, and becomes familiar with the vicissitudes political struggle. Almost everything modern politicians in one form or another went through the school of party work.

Fifth function political parties - mobilizing, it lies in the ability of parties to organize the masses to solve certain problems in society. Possessing organizational structure, the possibilities of propaganda influence, parties have a significant impact on large social groups. Depending on their place in the political system, they are able to organize rallies and marches in support of the authorities or protests and campaigns civil disobedience. In an effort to attract new supporters to their side, parties are struggling with the political apathy characteristic of some segments of the population.

The listed functions make it possible to quite clearly determine the place of parties in society. Parties are a kind of connecting link between government structures and the population.

On the one hand, they accumulate the interests of various social groups, translate the demands of the masses into government agencies, strive to implement them when their representatives enter the legislative and executive authorities.

On the other hand, parties have a direct impact on the population through the dissemination of ideological concepts, political values, views, beliefs and preferences. They can organize the masses to achieve a specific goal. How more party integrated into government structures, so more likely that it will introduce into the mass consciousness those ideas in which it is interested existing system state power. Thus, through the parties, the state receives additional leverage over the population.

Thanks to parties, a special mechanism of interaction between the state and the population is emerging in modern societies, bringing certainty and orderliness to this interaction. This orderliness is achieved due to the fact that, firstly, the state is opposed not by an amorphous and unpredictable mass, but by citizens organized according to the principle of party preferences with clearly expressed demands. And, secondly, having the ability to influence the masses, parties can ensure a loyal attitude of the population towards various management decisions government agencies.

However, such stability of relations can be achieved only if the parties perform the functions listed above, without going beyond the framework of the normative order established in society, beyond the framework of the law.

The place and role of a party in the political system is determined largely by its functions. The functions reflect the main tasks and directions of activity of a political party, its purpose in society. The most common functions of political parties include:

Representation of social interests;

Development of program guidelines, political line of the party;

Formation of public opinion, political education and political socialization of citizens;

Participation in the struggle for power and its implementation, in the formation of the political system of society;

Training and promotion of personnel.

As mentioned above, the formation of parties is genetically determined by the differentiation of society into classes and other social formations with different interests. XIX – early XX centuries. - This is a time of sharp demarcation of social and class positions. This does not mean that the party system of society is an exact copy of the social class structure of society. It has always turned out that there are different options for class politics: social democratic and communist for the working class, liberal and conservative for the bourgeoisie. The formation of national and religious parties that go beyond class boundaries speaks to the multidimensionality of the social structure of society, the presence of various layers laying claim to Active participation in political life as its subjects.

Recent decades have brought significant changes in the content of the representation function. Western political scientists believe that class parties have replaced class parties since the mid-20th century. the so-called “national parties”, or “parties for everyone”, began to arrive. Such a party strives to avoid identifying itself with the interests of any one class or layer, but appears as a spokesman for the general interest. In order to achieve success, especially in elections, the party today must take into account the interests of an entire bloc of forces. Parties strive to win a majority of votes and, in accordance with this, build their strategy and tactics, striving to harmonize various interests. The image of the party is now shaped not so much by class orientation as by a certain type of policy.

This concept reflects objective changes in the life of society, however, the term “party for all,” as we see it, cannot be taken literally: not a single party, since it represents one of possible options policies cannot satisfy everyone. Despite the expansion social base parties, differences remain between them both in terms of the forces they primarily focus on, and in terms of their general ideological and political orientation.

The interests of various social groups are aggregated and expressed in the process of developing a political program and implementing the political course of the party. Related to this next function parties - development of program settings , socio-economic and political strategy. The party, as a rule, has a long-term political program based on certain ideological principles. Even if a party is not based on any strictly defined ideological system, a certain ideological commitment is manifested in its specific activities and the values it defends.

There are pragmatic and ideological styles of party activity. Pragmatic parties are focused on the practical expediency of actions, on the search for any opportunities to achieve specific goals. Parties of the pragmatic type avoid accepting dogmatized programs that claim to be strictly scientific and the ultimate truth. The program of such a party is often an election platform. Pragmatic parties do not make strict ideological demands on their members. Ideological restrictions do not play a significant role for them, and they are sometimes sacrificed when concluding various types of agreements, forming coalitions, etc.

Ideological(or ideological, doctrinal) parties are based on a strictly defined ideological doctrine. They are characterized by upholding relevant ideals and principles, the desire to model a society with certain ideological guidelines and put them into practice.

Recognition by party members of its program guidelines - necessary condition strength of intra-party ties. However, the existence of various political factions in the party and the struggle between them cannot be ruled out. Ideological and programmatic differences have their limits, and violation of them can lead to organizational splits and the emergence of new parties. At the same time, some parties (communist, for example) prohibit factional struggle as incompatible with the statutory goals and objectives. Experience shows that prohibiting factional struggle is ineffective and leads to the ideological and political ossification of the party.

Parties strive not only to develop and update various political doctrines, but also to disseminate them widely in society. This is served by the publication of party materials, speeches by party leaders on radio and television, in the press, at rallies and meetings. The party is interested in recognition and support of its political line by public opinion.

Ideological function a political party also involves the political education of its members and supporters, the education of members of society in the spirit of certain values and traditions, the introduction of citizens to political life and ultimately contributes to their political socialization.

Function of exercising power political party includes:

Participation in the preparation and conduct of elections to government and administrative bodies;

Parliamentary activities of the party, its work in party factions of parliament and local authorities;

Participation in the preparation and adoption process government agencies political decisions;

Political recruitment, etc.

In a modern democratic society, political parties in the struggle for power reject violent methods and focus on the electoral process. Elections are the main arena for party competition. In competition, success is achieved by the party whose political course appeals to the majority of voters. Therefore, one of the main tasks of the party is to ensure support from voters, create and expand its electorate.

As a result of changes in the social structure of society, the educational level of the population, and the influence of the media, parties lose their stable influence on voters. There is an “erosion of party support,” as defined by American sociologists W. Crott and G. Jacobson. Many voters change their party allegiances from election to election, or support candidates different parties in elections of various levels depending on how the latter promise to solve certain problems.

Parties that have won parliamentary mandates form parliamentary factions or party groups. Factions submit various proposals to parliament for consideration, prepare bills, make requests to the government, participate in drawing up the agenda, and have other powers. Taking into account the number of parliamentary factions from different parties, the governing and working bodies of parliament (commissions, committees, bureaus, etc.) are formed.

In Western countries, the principle of autonomy of party factions in parliaments and municipalities operates, according to which factions are not directly subordinate to party bodies, including party congresses and conferences. They implement party programs and guidelines in accordance with specific conditions. But since the effective work of the parliamentary faction presupposes the presence of a certain internal discipline, party factions often adopt rather strict rules of conduct and even sanctions for violating them. For example, at a plenary meeting of a faction, a decision may be made obliging members of the faction to vote accordingly (a decision on “factional coercion” and “voting discipline”). Along with official coercion and other measures, the most effective are the prospects of not being included in the number of party candidates in the next elections.

The exercise of power by the ruling party is expressed not only in its initiating and advisory role in parliament, but also in the formation and subordination of executive bodies. Political parties participate in the formation of the ruling elite, selection and placement of management personnel. They are the institutions within which political leaders and statesmen are trained.

The ruling party, through its parliamentary faction, through its representatives in the state apparatus, participates in making political decisions that correspond to the interests of those it represents. community groups. Party bodies and forums define the goals and objectives of the party in such a way that their specific implementation in the form of bills and other government acts remains the prerogative of the parliamentarians themselves, as well as administrative bodies, the economic apparatus, etc. The general practice in a democracy is that parties do not intervene directly V state system. Ruling parties strive to avoid directly linking their policies with the actions of the government and local executive bodies, and sometimes distance themselves from them in order to relieve themselves of responsibility for certain unpopular measures. Thus, the party and its bodies are, as it were, “alienated” from the state and influence it only indirectly. As a result, party bodies and organizations retain a purely public character and perform their functions on a non-state basis.

This mediating role of parties is most fully manifested in a democratic society. In countries with totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, the role of ruling parties goes far beyond the scope of such mediation. Due to the absence of real competitors in the struggle for power, a political monopoly of the ruling party develops, which usurps power and political functions. The ruling party becomes over the state, establishes control over it, and through it over civil society. A party going beyond its functional purpose and attempting to replace state bodies destroys the socio-political nature of the party. Such an organization ceases to be a political party in the proper sense of the word, but retains only external signs such.

The place and role of parties in the political system is largely determined by their functions. The functions reflect the main tasks and activities of political parties, their purpose in society.

The most common functions of political parties include:

Representation of social interests;

Development of program guidelines, political line of the party;

Formation of public opinion, political education and political socialization of citizens;

Participation in the struggle for power and its implementation,

Training and promotion of personnel.

Social function political parties are associated with the representation of the interests of classes, social groups and strata. As a mediator between civil society and the state, the party is called upon to ensure articulation, public expression, formulation of the interests of various groups, their aggregation, highlighting the most socially significant demands and presenting them on the political agenda. The social function also involves the integration and mobilization of group members, their unification and organization around common goals.

Changes in social structure society for last decades led to increased instability and uncertainty in the social base of political parties and a weakening of party identification among voters. However, despite the expansion of the social base of the parties, differences remain between them both in terms of the forces to which they primarily focus, and in terms of ideological and political orientation.

Ideological function political parties is associated with the development of program guidelines, political courses, strategies and tactics of parties. The party, as a rule, has a long-term political program based on certain ideological principles. Ideology acts as theoretical basis party activities, guidelines for action.

The degree of adherence of parties to ideology may vary. There are ideological and pragmatic styles of party activity. Worldview (ideological, doctrinal) parties are based on a strictly defined ideological doctrine, defend corresponding ideals and values, and strive to put them into practice. Pragmatic parties are focused on the practical expediency of actions, on solving specific problems and do not make strict ideological demands on their members.

Parties strive not only to develop and update their political doctrines, but also to disseminate them widely in society. Any party is interested in recognition and support of its political line. An integral part The ideological function is political propaganda and agitation. Publications of party materials, speeches by party leaders on radio and television, at rallies and meetings contribute to the formation of public opinion on topical issues public life and politics.

Educational function political party involves political enlightenment and education of its members and supporters, educating them in the spirit of certain values and traditions, and introducing them to political life. By participating in party work and various party activities, citizens receive socio-political information, assimilate political norms and values, and gain experience and skills in political activity. Thus, parties contribute to the political socialization of the individual.

The most important task political party is the struggle to conquer and use state power in the interests of the population groups supporting it, i.e. political function. This feature includes:

Participation in the preparation and conduct of elections to government and administrative bodies;

Parliamentary activities of the party;

Participation in the process of preparation and adoption of political decisions by government bodies;

In a democratic society, political parties act as an important, and sometimes the main subject electoral process. Elections are the main arena for party competition and a legitimate way to achieve power. Organization and holding election campaign requires the party to know the basics of political marketing, mastery electoral technologies. Participation in elections allows parties to declare themselves as political force, use the opportunities of the election campaign to explain their ideas and program goals and, most importantly, to introduce party candidates to government bodies.

Parties that have won parliamentary mandates are formed in representative institutions their party factions. Factions participate in drawing up the agenda, direct the course of debates and debates, submit various proposals to parliament for consideration, make requests to the government, and have other powers. Taking into account the number of parliamentary factions from different parties, the governing and working bodies of parliament (commissions, committees, bureaus, etc.) are formed.

In Western countries, as a rule, the principle of autonomy of party factions in parliament operates, according to which factions are not directly subordinate to party bodies, including party congresses and conferences. They implement party programs and guidelines in accordance with specific conditions. But since effective work parliamentary faction presupposes the presence internal discipline, party factions often adopt rather strict rules of behavior and impose sanctions for their violation. For example, at a plenary meeting of a faction, a decision may be made obliging members of the faction to vote in a certain way (a decision on “factional coercion” and “voting discipline”). This rather rigid model of relations within the faction and strict party discipline are characteristic of parliamentarians in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, etc. The American model of relations between deputies within the faction is different more freedom actions and weak party discipline.

The ruling party exercises power not only through its initiating role in parliament, but also by influencing the formation and work of the government and other executive bodies. Political parties carry out the selection and placement of management personnel, participate in the formation of the ruling elite, i.e. perform a function political recruitment. They are institutions within which they are brought up political leaders and government officials.

An analysis of the functions of political parties allows us to conclude that in a democratic society, parties act as an intermediary between civil society and the state. On the one hand, they represent the interests of various groups of the population in government bodies, on the other hand, they explain (or criticize, if this opposition party) government policy. Through political parties, citizens put forward their group demands to the state and at the same time receive from it requests for support in solving certain problems. political issues. Thus, parties are a link between government bodies and citizens.

Modern stage social development is characterized by significant renewal and reform of parties. In the development of political parties, such trends have emerged as the erosion of the social base, their loss of social identity; “erosion” of party support; gradual de-ideologization of parties, increasing pragmatism in their activities; decentralization, weakening of party discipline; transfer of certain functions of parties to the media and other institutions. In this regard, some researchers have declared the crisis of the party as political institution, its loss of its role and influence in society, and even about the “end of parties” (D. Broder, J. Barber, etc.).

However, these claims have not received widespread support in scientific literature. In conditions of transition to post-industrial society functional and organizational characteristics classical parties are indeed undergoing significant changes, a new generation of “postmodern” parties is being formed (universal, cartel, media parties, movement parties, etc.). But, despite some modification of parties and party systems, party rule remains the dominant institutional form of modern democracy.