Politics plays a very important role in the life of a modern person. Whether this is good or not is up to each individual. However, a person who wants to be the master of his life and be competent in any situation must know, and more importantly, understand basic political concepts.
Today we will get acquainted with the simplest of them - a 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 the acquisition and use of power.
In Latin, the word "party" means "group" or "part". It was first used in the ancient world. For example, Aristotle talked about the parties of the inhabitants of the mountainous regions, the plains or the coast. In addition, he called this term a group of politicians who are part of the immediate environment of the ruler.
This conceptalso used to describe a group of people in whose hands the government is. And in the form in which political parties are accustomed to seeing a simple man in the street, they began to appear in the XVIII-XIX centuries, during the formation of parliamentarism.
Interpretation of Weber
In modern political science, the evolution of political parties, which was proposed by M. Weber, is accepted. According to his developments, the first stage in the formation of the party is the "aristocratic circle". As it develops, it develops into a "political club" and then into a "mass party".
According to Weber, the essential features of any political party were:
- The desire to use power in accordance with the vision of solving problems (political and other), which is unique to this party.
- Ideological and political orientation.
- Voluntary beginnings and amateur activities.
Different approaches
Getting acquainted with political science, one can stumble upon at least several approaches to the definition of a political party. From the point of view of the liberal approach, it is an ideological association. And the institutional approach sees the party as an organization functioning in the state system.
Meanwhile, the traditional approach links the definition of a party to the electoral process, the promotion of candidates, the election race, and the pursuit of legislative and executive power.
And, finally, the Marxist approach looks at such a thing as politicalparty, 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 is worth considering separately. The legal approach regulates:
- Political status of the party and its functions.
- Continuous nature of activity.
- Compulsory participation in elections.
- The level of participation in the political life of the state.
- Degree of organization.
- Possibility of comparison with other political institutions.
- Number of members.
- Name.
From the point of view of the legal approach, unions of voters, all kinds of associations and other non-permanent organizations are not political parties.
He also suggests that the registration of the party in the executive authorities is the most important procedure, which is nothing more than official recognition of the party and provides it with state protection.
Only by going through the formal registration process can an organization run for election, secure government funding and other opportunities that legal political parties have. A table with the classification of parties will be given below.
Signs of the Party
Today, in political science, you can find the following signs of these organizations:
- Any party carries a certain ideology, or at leastorientation, picture of the world.
- A party is an organization or association of people that is sustainable over time.
- The purpose of the party is to gain power. It is worth noting here that under a multi-party system, a separate party cannot gain full power, but only participates in the implementation of power functions.
- Any party strives to enlist the support of voters, up to accepting the most active of them into its ranks.
Organizational structure of political parties
Any party has an internal and external structure. So, the internal structure includes the rank-and-file members and the leadership. The latter, in turn, is divided into functionaries and senior management. Political parties structured differently are almost non-existent.
Functionaries are called party activists who work at all levels, in local and central bodies of the association. They organize the work of various sections of the Party and spread its ideology. Top management includes leaders, ideologists, the most experienced and authoritative figures who determine the direction of the organization's development, goals and ways to achieve them. Well, ordinary party members are those who work in primary organizations and carry out the tasks of the leadership.
The external structure includes the electorate, that is, people who are close to the ideas of the party and who are ready to give their vote for these ideas in the elections. Almost all political parties are based on this. The structure of each organization may have slight differences, but in general it looks exactly the same.this way.
Funding
The most important aspect of the development of any party is its financing. As a rule, the sources of material support are:
- Contributions from party members.
- Sponsor funds.
- Proceeds from own activities.
- Budget funds (during the election campaign).
- Foreign funding (prohibited in some 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:
- Shaping public opinion.
- Expression of citizenship.
- Political education and education of the people.
- Nomination (introduction) of their representatives to 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:
- Struggle for power.
- Recruiting leaders and ruling elites.
Social:
- Socialization of citizens.
- Social representation.
Ideological:
- Creating an ideology.
- Propaganda.
The functions of political parties make it possible to define the tasks they solve. First, the party is a kind of linkbetween the people and government agencies. Thus, it levels the spontaneous forms of political activity of citizens.
Secondly, the party is a very effective form of overcoming civil passivity and apathy towards politics. Thirdly, the party provides a peaceful way to distribute or redistribute political power and avoid social upheaval.
Classification
Now consider what political parties are. A classification table will help us with this:
| Sign | Views |
| Ideals and program settings | Monarchist, fascist, liberal, confessional, social democratic, nationalist, communist. |
| Social Activity Environment | Mono-medium, universal (universal), intermediate. |
| Attitude towards social reality | Conservative, revolutionary, reformist, reactionary. |
| Social Entity | 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 are subject is the charter of the party. Heincludes information about:
- Goals and tasks of the party.
- Attributes of the party.
- Terms of membership.
- The structure of the party.
- Order of personnel operations.
- Sources of funding and so on.
Conclusion
Today we have learned what political parties are in the political system. Summarizing the above, we can conclude that the party is an organization aimed at gaining power in order to promote the interests of a particular class of the population. Political parties, whose structure differs slightly if at all, are highly dependent on support from both the electorate and sponsors.
