Fig. 12.3. Functions of political parties

Function of the coordination and generalisation of diverse interests and requirements of various groups and individuals is represented to the most important. Then these generalised interests are formulated in programs, requirements, slogans and lead up to power structures.

It is function of representation of interests. Besides, parties can carry out and "the governmental" functions, participating in working out, application and introduction of rules of interaction of political institutes, subordinating or supervising authorities.

Representing and expressing interests of social groups, leading up them to imperious bodies, parties carry out communications function, that is provide interrelation of the power and a society. Cultivating by means of propaganda and propagation means certain values and behaviour stereotypes, political parties realise function of political socialisation, that is function of transfer of political experience, traditions, cultures to the subsequent generations. At last, selecting the best candidates on supervising posts, parties promote improvement of qualitative structure of elite, осуществляяфункцию political рекрутирования. However in totalitarian systems political parties can directly carry out function of realisation of the power. Usually it is exclusively dominating parties which concentrate all volume of imperious functions in the hands.

VII. Partysystems represent set of stable relations and relations of parties of various type with each other, and also with the state and other institutes of the power. To number of the factors, making the greatest impact on formation of party systems, concern: character of social structure of a society; the current legislation, социокультурные traditions. Depending on character of an interparty competition the maintenance of party systems is formed under influence:

- смычек this or that type, that is short-term associations of parties for the decision of strictly certain problems when the leading role is incurred by party elite, and opinion of rank-and-file members are not considered;

Blocks, that is the hierarchical unions in which four kinds of partners co-operate:

The predominant forces imposing all rest base interests;

The parties of the second plan entering into blocks on the terms of predominant forces;

The parties-relays even more dependent on the basic players in the block;

Supernumeraries, to whose interests in the block practically do not pay attention;

- Coalitions, that is the long-term associations generated on the basis of rational representations about possibilities of partners to provide a prize and assuming equal relations of all participants.

It is necessary to underline that on number of parties operating in the countries political scientists allocate following party systems:

One-party in their despotic and democratic versions. Absence in such system of political rivalry has given Z.Nojmannu's grounds to consider that in a society it is impossible to consider one party as party in true sense of this term as etymology of a word "party" demands its correlation with other "parts";

полуторапартийные, that is in them the coalition consisting of dominating party and close it on sights, but less popular and influential organisation operates;

Two-party - with two rather equal on popularity and влиятельности competing parties, each of which is capable to win on elections the majority of places in Legislative Assemblies or to receive a majority of votes on executive power elections;

Two and a half party in which presence of two authoritative parties is combined with activity intermediary, but simultaneously the alternative organisation playing a role of the "third" force;

Multi-party systems with number more than three parties struggling for the power, each of which, nevertheless, is not capable to win support of the majority of voters. They are typical for the parliamentary forms of government and in most cases have the result the coalition governments or the cabinets.

VIII. For Russia essential features of party building are characteristic: the parties creation has begun considerably later, than in countries of Western Europe; their formation has begun with working class associations while parties of tops of ruling estates began to be created only in the course of the first Russian revolution, after the edition of the imperial Manifesto on October, 17th, 1905 Russian multi-party system developed not for long, approximately till summer of 1918, then has interrupted almost for 70 years.

Development of modern party system has passed some stages in Russia:

- Occurrence of informal public organisations (1986 - 1988);

- A stage of action of popular fronts and party structures (1988 - 1989);

- The first wave of formation of parties (in 1990 has arisen LDPR, a democratic platform in the CPSU, in 1991 the People party of free Russia has been founded);

- The second wave of party building (in 1991 - 1993 have arisen Party of economic freedom, consolidation Party, the Peasants party, etc.);

- ломка systems of protoparties and formation of new political parties - ПРЕС, the block “Choice of Russia”, "Apple" (1993 - 1995);

- The period of extensive development of the multi-party system which subjects compete not for a power gain, and for deputy mandates in parliament (1995 - 2000);

- The period of purposeful efforts of power structures on creation of this or that updating of system of several large parties (2000 - on the present).

Present multi-party system in the Russian Federation is rather original. As neither the parliamentary majority, nor a parliamentary coalition do not possess the right of formation of the government, struggle of parties on elections and elections lose the basic sense by which they are allocated in modern representative democracies. Elections in the State Duma of the fourth convocation in December, 2003 have brought a victory of party “United Russia“ which has provided to itself under party lists idle time, and for the account одномандатников - and the constitutional majority. 5 % - ный a boundary were overcome by two more parties - the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and LDPR, and also block "Native land". Out of parliament there were both applying for participation in liberalism of party - "Apple" and “the Union of the right forces”.

Control questions to a theme

1. What versions of political forces exist? For what and by whom they are created?

2. When political parties start to arise? How their shape in comparison with the past has changed?

3. What relation to parties in public consciousness in their occurrence was?

4. What was at the bottom of occurrence of modern parties?

5. Why the first parties have arisen in England?

6. Name party signs.

7. How and how much essentially parties have changed the policy world?

8. What nature of modern political parties?

9. Compare personnel and mass parties to following signs: structure of parties; activity principles; character of membership; functions of parties.

10. In what of distinction oppositional and parties in power?

11. Why vanguard parties cannot be carried to opposition parties? Result concrete examples.

12. In what of distinction revolutionary, conservative and centrist parties?

13. What functions carry out parties in a society?

14. What of functions of parties, in your opinion, are most important?

15. What is the party system?

16. To what signs party systems in modern societies differ?

17. Formulate merits and demerits of one-party, two-party and multi-party systems.

18. The choice of this or that party system depends on what factors in a society?

19. What is «political weight» parties?

20. What of party systems, in your opinion, allows to reach the consent and stability in a society?

21. Than backlog in formation of political parties in Russia in comparison with the western countries is caused?

22. What parties were in pre-revolutionary Russia what interests of social groups they represented?

23. Than existence of such variety of parties and movements in modern Russia is caused?

24. What features of process of formation of modern party system in our country?

25. By what criteria modern Russian political parties differ?

26. What reasons cause growth of influence of parties of national-patriotic orientation?

27. Why in Russia there are no centrist parties?

28. What, except specified, variants of party system, in your opinion, are most probable in Russia?

Logic tasks and problem questions

I. What of the resulted definitions of party is closer, in your opinion, to true:

1) «That such party? It is group of people, which achieves the power to have possibility to execute the program. The party which does not want the power, is unworthy to be called as party» (L.Trotsky);

2) «the Party is an association of the people professing the same political doctrine» (B.Konstan);

3) «the Political party is the union of people единомыслящих, putting to itself the same purposes and agreed soedi -

Thread the forces for the co-ordinated activity in the state life »(J.Martov)? What essential signs of party are absent in the definitions resulted above?

2. The known political thinker R.Mihels has formulated law of regeneration of democratic parties in the oligarchical: «the Party is created as means of achievement of the purpose. However, becoming the purpose in itself, anxious by own problems, interests, it is alienated from that class which represents». How you think, why so occurs?

3. Political parties in pre-election struggle use the diversified means for processing of mass consciousness. What of propagation principles (under the theory of American researchers А and E.Li) used political parties and movements of Russia on the past parliamentary and presidential election:

1) a principle of "gluing of labels»: investment of any person or idea an offensive epithet for blasting of their authority;

2) a principle of "recommendations": use with a view of strengthening of effect of suggestion of popularity of the known actors, sportsmen;

3) a principle of "simple people»: an identification of interests of the informant with interests of "simple people», the majority of voters;

4) a principle of "a juggling of cards»: frank falsification of actual facts by means of the receptions not appreciable for weights;

5) a principle of "the general car»: stimulation of certain reaction at the population by thought suggestion about it общепринятости (type «all so think»)?