Political activity and society. Political activity as the most important element of politics Public political activity

Political activity and society. Politics is a special kind of activity associated with the participation of social groups, parties, movements, individuals in the affairs of society and the state, their leadership or influence on this leadership. Conclusion: politics is the achievement of power. Science offers different definitions of political activity: Politics is the activity of government agencies, political parties, social movements in the sphere of relations between large social groups, primarily classes, nations and states, aimed at integrating their efforts in order to strengthen political power or win it by specific methods.

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Activity is a specifically human form of active attitude to the surrounding world, associated with its purposeful change. The active activity of a person can be directed to his own inner world and personal qualities (self-education, self-education).

Political activity is a systematic conscious intervention of individuals or groups in the system of socio-political relations in order to adapt it to their interests, ideals and values. Any action is political if it is aimed at the formation, support or change of political institutions.

The elements of political activity are the subject with its goals, motives, needs, interests, values, knowledge and skills, object, subject, goal, means and result (product).

The subject (from the Latin subjectum - being at the base) is the carrier of subject-practical activity, the active side of the process of cognition and transformation of the political life of society.

Object (from Latin objicio - I throw forward, I oppose) - that which opposes the subject in his political activity and with which the subject interacts: society, the state and its bodies, groups, political parties and public organizations, social and legal norms, other subjects and the relationship between them.

The object is what the action is directed at. This is the integrity allocated by the subject from the objective world. The subject in the broad sense of the word is identical to the object.

The purpose of the activity is its anticipated result, its ideal model created by the subject in his mind (for example, the acquisition of certain powers, changes in legislation, the right to vote for certain categories of citizens, etc.).

Means - this is what transforms the subject of activity into its product (result) or what is being created. For each type of activity, the corresponding means are characteristic. For politics, this is, first of all, communication in its various organizational and legal forms, such as, for example, political parties and public associations. Even politics itself as a type of activity and its scope can be considered as a means to achieve certain goals.

The result (product) of an activity is what a person receives through his activity. The result of activity arises in the mind before it actually exists.

Political activity is a sequence of political actions built into a system. If the actions of people in politics are inconsistent, then this indicates either a change in the purpose of the activity, or its absence. Such a sequence of actions can be described through the category "political behavior".

Activities of political parties

1. Theoretical function:

Analysis of the state and theoretical assessment of the prospects for the development of society;
identification of the interests of different social groups of society;
development of strategies and tactics for the struggle for the renewal of society;

2. Ideological function:

Distribution among the masses and upholding their worldview and moral values;
promoting their goals and policies;
attracting citizens to the side and into the ranks of the party;

3. Political function:
power struggle;
participation in domestic and foreign policy (development, formation, implementation);
implementation of election programs;

4. Organizing function:
implementation of software installations and solutions;
conducting election campaigns;
selection of candidates for elective positions, personnel for promotion to the government, central and local leadership.

The function of social representation. As noted above, any political party is a spokesman for certain social interests, relies in its activities on specific social strata and groups, and is their representative in the political arena. In this regard, it has as one of the central tasks of identifying, shaping and substantiating their joint political interest from the whole variety of the most diverse interests of these groups (economic, ethnic, religious, etc.), as well as clearly articulating it in the political power sphere. In theoretical and ideological terms, the function of social representation and articulation of the total political interest of social strata and groups united in certain parties finds its expression in party programs and doctrines. The latter are nothing more than a kind of "party declaration of intent", in which they openly declare what and for whom they are created, what goals they pursue and what means they are going to use to achieve them.

The function of the political socialization of citizens, i.e. their political enlightenment and learning, the formation of properties and skills of participation in political and power processes, as well as influence on them with the help of certain conventional (constitutionally stipulated and legislatively fixed) actions and procedures.

The function of social integration - due to the fact that any party in a democratically organized society can come to power only after gaining a majority in elections, it necessarily seeks to unite the most diverse segments of the population around its program.

A pragmatic function associated not so much with the struggle for power, but, first of all, with its administration and retention. We are talking about the art of skillfully using and disposing of power in order to preserve it beyond the constitutional period of acquisition, i.e. not to lose in the new elections.

The function of reproduction and recruitment of the political elite for all levels of the system of organization of state power. Due to the fact that the change of the “power guard” in a democracy occurs only after the results of the elections, the party claiming power must be ready to “put” its team into the power “armchairs” in case of victory in these elections, i.e. . senior leaders of the system of state leadership and government of the country.

Socio-political activity

The freedom of the individual in its various manifestations is today the most important value of civilized mankind. The value of freedom for the self-realization of man was comprehended in ancient times. The desire for freedom, liberation from the fetters of despotism and arbitrariness permeates the entire history of mankind. This manifested itself with particular force in the Modern and Modern times. All revolutions wrote the word "freedom" on their banners. Few political leaders and revolutionary leaders swore to lead the masses they led to real freedom. But although the overwhelming majority declared themselves as unconditional supporters and defenders of individual freedom, the meaning given to this concept was different.

The category of freedom is one of the central ones in the philosophical searches of mankind. And just as politicians paint this concept in different colors, often subordinating it to their specific political goals, so philosophers approach its comprehension from different positions.

Let's try to understand the variety of these interpretations.

No matter how people strive for freedom, they understand that there can be no absolute, unlimited freedom. First of all, because the complete freedom of one would mean arbitrariness in relation to the other. For example, someone at night wanted to listen to loud music. Turning on the tape recorder at full power, the person fulfilled his desire, acted as she wanted. But his freedom in this case limited the right of many others to get a good night's sleep.

That is why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, where all articles are devoted to human rights and freedoms, the last, containing the memory of duties, states that in the exercise of his rights and freedoms, each person should be subjected only to such restrictions that are intended to ensure recognition and respect the rights of others.

Arguing about the impossibility of absolute freedom, let's pay attention to one more side of the issue. Such freedom would mean for a person unlimited choice, which would put her in an extremely difficult position in making a decision. The well-known expression is "Buridan's donkey". The French philosopher Buridan spoke about a donkey who was placed between two identical and equidistant from him armfuls of hay. Not deciding which armful to prefer, the donkey starved to death. I have described a similar situation before. Give, but he was not talking about donkeys, but about people: "Putted between two equally attractive dishes, a person would rather die than, having absolute freedom, take one of them in his mouth."

Man cannot have absolute freedom. And one of the restrictions here is the rights and freedoms of other people.

These words belong to the German philosopher Hegel. What is behind this formula, which has become almost an aphorism? Everything in the world is subject to forces that act immutably, inevitably. These forces also subjugate human activity. If this need is not comprehended, not realized by a person, he is its slave, if it is known, then a person acquires "the ability to make decisions with knowledge of the matter." This is the expression of his free will. But what are these forces, the nature of necessity? There are different answers to this question. Some see God's work here. They define everything. What then is the freedom of man? she is not. "The prediction and omnipotence of God are diametrically opposed to our freedom. Everyone will be forced to accept the inevitable consequence: we do nothing of our own free will, but everything happens out of necessity. Thus, we do nothing by will, but everything depends on God's foresight", - claimed the religious reformer Luther. This position is advocated by the supporters of absolute predestination. In contrast to this view, other religious figures suggest the following interpretation of the relationship between divine predestination and human freedom: “God designed the Universe in such a way that all creation should have a great gift - freedom. Freedom primarily means the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and the choice given independently, the basis of his own decision. Of course, God can destroy evil and death in an instant. But at the same time, He would deprive the world and freedom at the same time. The world itself must return to God, since it has departed from Him."

The concept of "necessity" can have another meaning. Necessity, according to a number of philosophers, exists in nature and society in the form of objective, that is, laws independent of human consciousness. In other words, necessity is an expression of a natural, objectively determined course of development of events. Supporters of this position, in contrast to the fatalist, of course, do not believe that everything in the world, especially in public life, is rigidly and unambiguously defined, they do not deny the existence of cases. But the general regular line of development deviating by chance in one direction or another will still make its way. Let's turn to examples. Earthquakes are known to occur periodically in seismically hazardous areas. People who do not know this circumstance or ignore it, bringing their homes in this area, may become victims of a dangerous element. In the same case, when this fact is taken into account in the construction of, for example, earthquake-resistant houses, the risk probability will decrease sharply.

In a generalized form, the presented position can be expressed in the words of F. Engels: “Freedom lies not in the imaginary independence from the laws of nature, but in the knowledge of these laws and in the possibility based on this knowledge to systematically force the laws of nature to act for certain goals.

Political activity of the state

Each state conducts its own domestic and foreign policy. Politics is a field of activity associated with relations between social groups, the core of which is the problem of gaining, retaining and using state power. Any problem acquires a political character if its solution is connected with class interests, the problem of power.

Politics has a large degree of independence and has a strong influence on the economy and other spheres of society. Society is an integral system consisting of interconnected, interdependent subsystems. These are the material production systems of the spiritual, ideological, legal political system. They are characterized by their own structure. Production subsystems provide the basis for the life of society. Social and spiritual ensures the production and reproduction of man as a full member of society. The political system is designed to create favorable conditions for the functioning of all parts of the social system.

The sphere of politics is a particularly prominent side of public life, but this appearance is deceptive, because many factors influence politics:

Socio-economic;
socio-cultural;
scientific;
national-religious, spiritual.

Politics as an activity is, firstly, the activity of people to defend their interests and satisfy their needs with the help of power. Secondly, it is the activity of conquering and reforming power. Thirdly, activities to harmonize, harmonize, combine the conflicting interests of various social groups and organizations with the help of the authorities. Political activity is one of the forms social activities.

But this is a special, specific area of ​​activity. It is a set of actions of public groups and individuals, as well as parties to realize their political interests and, above all, about the conquest, use and retention of power. Forms of political activity within political parties are different: disputes, disputes, a wide exchange of opinions, both in the audience and in the media; The purpose of the dialogue is to clarify points of view, to reach agreement on the issues under discussion, and most importantly, to carry out agreed actions. Political activity, like any other, is divided into theoretical and practical. Theoretical activity is characterized by the following types: cognitive, prognostic, value-oriented.

For practical activities: a wide range of types, depending on the specific sphere of political life where political actions are carried out: these are foreign policy and international relations, the development and implementation of the internal policy of the state, participation in the life of parties, military policy, etc.

Activities of a political organization

Political organizations play a special role in the public life and system of any state. They perform many functions, uniting people, ensuring that their interests are taken into account by the authorities. Political organizations are a special form of activity of the population that arose at the dawn of the birth of democracy. Today they are the main structural element of the social system. Let's look at the forms of political organization of the population and the features of their activities.

The state lives and functions according to its own rules. Today the planet is moving towards the unification of processes, developing democracy. And in any system there are organizations. Political goals differ from others. They participate in the formation of the power structure, they fight for it. The emergence of organizations is preceded by the emergence in society of some activity that unites a large number of people. They interact on the basis of common interest, gradually coming to the idea of ​​forming a structure, developing goals. For example, parties strive for power. They unite certain segments of the population and express their interests.

This group seeks to influence the political structure of the state in order to bring about the declared changes in society. Workers' parties strove for power in the nineteenth century to enforce social standards. Liberals want to reduce the role of the state in society, establish other rules in the economy, politics, culture, and bring their values ​​into people's lives. Any organization, political or not, has a certain structure. It arises for the purpose of planning, organizing and directing the common work of its members.

Not all associations take part in the struggle for power. And this is the main criterion by which political organizations are singled out. They must have enough influence in society, the support of a certain percentage of the population, so that their activities influence the state system.

According to the law, they set themselves the following goals:

Formation of the opinion of large masses of the population;
- participation in political education and education of citizens;
- collection and reporting to the authorities of people's opinions;
- nomination of candidates for elected bodies.

That is, any political organization is trying to attract attention. It needs the support of the masses to make its stated goals a reality.

Let's look at the criteria by which the considered associations of citizens are distinguished. In order to influence or come to power, organizations must operate in a legitimate political field. This requires them to comply with a number of normative norms prescribed in the legislation.

Political organizations are characterized by the following features:

Formality and reality of existence;
- form of ownership - public;
- non-commercial purposes;
- social significance;
- national importance.

In addition, the association must operate openly. People enter them on various grounds of consolidation, from an idea to a creed that holds them together. Let's take an example. The All-Russian People's Front brings together experts fighting corruption in power, striving to improve the state system.

Human political activity

Political activity is one of the forms of social activity. But this is a special, specific area of ​​activity. It is a set of actions of public groups and individuals, as well as parties to realize their political interests and, above all, about the conquest, use and retention of power.

Forms of political activity within political parties are different: Disputes, disputes, a wide exchange of opinions both in the audience and in the media; The purpose of the dialogue is to clarify points of view, to reach agreement on the issues under discussion, and most importantly, to carry out agreed actions. Political activity, like any other, is divided into theoretical and practical.

Theoretical activity is characterized by the following types: cognitive, prognostic, value-oriented.

For practical activities: a wide range of types, depending on the specific area of ​​​​political life where political actions are carried out: these are foreign policy and international relations, the development and implementation of the internal policy of the state, participation in the life of parties, military policy, etc.

Basically, political activity is the management and management of social relations with the help of institutions of power. Its essence is the management of people, human communities. Political activity is the struggle for power between individuals and social groups in defense of their own in society, in every type and form of state. A special place is occupied by political activity, which is the main content of the political sphere of life.

To define the content of the concept of political activity is to give an essential definition of politics. Political activity is a set of organized actions of subjects both within the political system and outside it, subordinated to the implementation of common social interests and goals. Basically, political activity is the management and management of social relations with the help of institutions of power. Its essence is the management of people, human communities.

The specific content of political activity is: participation in the affairs of the state, determining the forms, tasks and directions of the state, the distribution of power, control over its activities, as well as other impact on political institutions. Each of the moments noted generalizes diverse types of activity: for example, the direct performance of political functions by people within the framework of government institutions and political parties and indirect participation associated with the delegation of powers to certain institutions; professional and non-professional activities; leading and executive activities aimed at strengthening a given political system or, on the contrary, at its destruction; institutionalized or non-institutionalized activities (for example, extremism); systemic or non-systemic, etc.

M. Weber, speaking about the composition of political activity, emphasized, first of all, the activity of maintaining order in the country, that is, "existing relations of domination."

If we talk about the institutions that make up the political system, then the activity of each of them has its own essential features and, above all, different goals and means to achieve them.

The essence of political activity

Political activity is the main content of the political sphere of life. Two conceptual approaches are possible when considering the problem of political activity, arising from an ambiguous understanding of the political system. According to the first of them, activity is understood, first of all, as self-regulation of the political system within itself, which is an independent organism. The subjects of activity are organizational groups of persons: parliamentary, party factions, ruling groups (elites), the government, other authorities, leaders that function directly in the political system. Another approach (Marxist) is based on the understanding of the political system in the form of an organization controlled by external, in relation to political institutions, social class forces. The concept of political activity in this case includes a generalized expression of the impact on the system of social groups and public associations, people, i.e. subjects of civil society.

Political activity is a set of organizational actions of subjects both within the political system and outside it, subordinated to the implementation of common social interests and goals. Basically, political activity is the management and management of social relations with the help of institutions of power. Its essence is the management of people, human communities.

The specific content of political activity is: participation in state affairs, determining the forms, tasks and directions of state activity, distribution of power, control over its activities, as well as other impact on political institutions.

M. Weber, speaking about the composition of political activity, emphasized, first of all, the activity of maintaining order in the country, i.e. "existing relations of domination". If we talk about the institutions that make up the political system, then the activity of each of them has its own essential features and, above all, different goals and means to achieve them. Thus, the state is called upon to regulate, control the activities and behavior of its citizens and social groups within the framework of the implementation of generally binding norms, direct them to satisfy public interests and achieve common goals. The political activity of the party - with the generalization, substantiation and protection of the interests of certain social groups, their implementation in a specific policy of state power. The activity of public organizations is a form of participation of certain groups of citizens in the management of the community in which they live. On the whole, each political and social institution essentially represents a certain system of activities.

The essence of political activity is revealed in the specifics of its object and structural elements: the subject, goals, means, conditions, knowledge, motivation and norms, and finally, the activity process itself.

The direct object of political activity is political values, institutions, the political system as a whole and the social groups, parties, elites, and leaders behind them.

The sphere of political activity does not include society as a whole, not social class relations in all possible aspects, but only the relations of society, social groups, classes, strata, elites to the institutions of political power and the latter to society. Through these relationships, there are signals of activity to all other spheres of public life. Thus, political activity, as it were, is built on top of other types of social activity and serves as a means of managing them.

Political activity is always correlated with the action of other, moreover collective, subjects and is oriented towards them, regardless of the fact that each political action or opposition bears the stamp of individuality.

Unlike other subjects of social action, the subject of political activity is characterized primarily by the fact that it always acts as an organized social force (organized social groups, classes, strata, national communities, etc.). The highest form of organization of political activity are political institutions, including the state, political parties.

The specific subjects of political activity are diverse. We note, in particular, two types of them: group (class, national, territorial or regional, corporate, elite) and individual (any politically active person acting in unity with the group) subjects.

An analysis of the political structure of society makes it possible to identify varieties of group subjects (political groups) that have developed in a given socio-political situation.

The nature of the subject of political action sheds light on its direction, allows you to somehow predict its effectiveness and consequences.

An essential feature of political activity is its rationality, i.e. conscious focus on political interests, goals and values; interrelation of motives for choosing goals and means of practical actions, cognitive and evaluative activities. The rational moment, of course, is decisive in the subjective semantic content of political action, expressing the attitude of the subject to the institutions of power. However, political action is not limited to rationality. It leaves room for the irrational as a deviation from purposefulness.

The motivational base of political action is a complex system in which, along with the rational side (focus on goals and values), there are psychological and emotional elements (thirst for power, fear, envy, etc.). Consequently, the possibility of explaining political action at the intellectual level does not at all exclude the need to decipher its psycho-emotional aspect, and first of all - when analyzing mass actions, but not least - when explaining the unpredictability of the behavior of political figures.

Continuing the characterization of the specifics of political activity, one cannot ignore such a feature as its focus on legitimacy. This property of activity acts as its social condition, and at the same time - a delimiting criterion for systemic and extra-systemic activity. The latter is most often illegitimate in the sense that it is not legitimized by the ruling system, and at the same time it can be legitimate in terms of recognition by the general public of conformity to tradition or illuminated charisma.

The legitimacy of political activity presupposes compliance with the established order. This is one more of its specific features. Order means the orientation of the subject of activity to the mandatory norms that are generally significant for a given political society. The order is guaranteed by the possibility of legal coercion carried out by special groups of people, or by the application of sanctions of a political and social nature emanating from political groups and institutions of civil society (public condemnation, political assessment, exclusion from the elite, etc.).

The foregoing leads to an awareness of the variety of means of political activity: from direct physical violence, the use of which has a monopoly on the state power, to the use of public opinion. The fundamental importance of the correlation of ends and means in politics is well known. The setting “the end justifies the means” is typical for dictatorial regimes and their political carriers. The demands that the means correspond to the democratic, humane goals of politics are the norm of truly popular forces and those expressing their interests. political structures. Policy as a whole can be oriented towards ends or means, depending on the nature of the subject and the specific situation.

Political activity differs from other types of social activity also in that for a subject of any level it is somehow connected with contradictions between the general and private interests of social groups and is ultimately subordinate to the resolution of these contradictions. Objective contradictions of interests, conflicts that arise on this basis are a deep source and stimulus for political activity in all its forms and types, the main determinant. Without understanding these contradictions, it is impossible to understand the force of political processes.

The process of resolving these contradictions cannot be reduced to only standardized actions regulated by previously established norms, but includes an innovative, creative aspect. Thus, the need for innovation in functional activities to legitimize power is obvious. After all, we are talking about the acquisition of legitimacy by the authorities in various ways: with the help of clearly demonstrated efficiency, through increasing national prestige, through the development of new norms, through charisma, and so on. World practice has proven that the optimal condition for creative and progressive political activity and its true effectiveness is the system of values ​​and regulatory norms that forms democracy and provides the greatest likelihood of achieving public goals by government institutions.

Finally, another specific aspect of political activity, no less significant than those noted earlier, is the ratio of the objective and subjective factors that determine it. In this issue, without denying the objective social determination, I would like to emphasize the significant influence of subjective, purely individual qualities on political activity. The public will embodied in political actions, the ideology that turns into a real practical social force through these actions, the political culture that transforms knowledge and values, various individual socio-psychological features of acting political subjects - all these elements of subjectivity together form the level of determination that under more or less identical social circumstances determines, if not the essence, then the components of the content of political activity.

Goals of political activity

The goal of political activity is either to strengthen existing social relations, or to transform them, or to completely destroy and create a different socio-political system. The conquest and retention of political power is also considered as a goal. A specific political action may provide for a narrower task: the creation of a party or public organization, victory in elections, the development and adoption of various decisions, etc. Sometimes the goal is to create an ideal socio-political device. In science, such a goal is called a political utopia.

There are absolute and relative utopias. The former include those whose goals are fundamentally unrealizable, while the latter include those that are feasible in principle, but not under the given historical conditions. Objectively, utopias are a powerful stimulus for socio-political activity. But they also have a negative impact on the historical process. Needs and interests are the main motive for political activity, the motivating cause of people's social activity. G. Hegel noted that the actions of people follow from their needs, passions and interests. It is extremely important for social actors to realize their interests. Political activity is based on a system of views and ideas called ideology, i.e. awareness by social groups, society of their interests and place in the system of social relations. Knowledge affects the behavior of a social subject. Its source is general scientific, ideological-political, philosophical theories that reflect social experience. Political activity is influenced by social norms and values: moral, ethical, aesthetic, economic, ideological, national, etc. An important component of the motivational mechanism of political activity is emotional and psychological experiences, since politics is one of the most emotional spheres of human activity, causes a high intensity passions. Motivational factors of political activity are public opinion, including political myths.

Means and methods of political activity, i.e. its techniques and methods are very diverse. These include rallies, demonstrations, elections, referendums, speeches and appeals, meetings, meetings, negotiations, consultations, decrees, reforms, uprisings, revolutions, wars, etc. The choice of means and methods of political action depends on the characteristics of the political culture of society. Their use is usually prescribed by law. Often, opposing subjects use violent means and methods, leading, under certain conditions, to civil wars. Distinguish between legal and illegal political violence. Only the state has the legal right to act violently. But this right is regulated by purpose, morality, legal norms, situational requirements. The violent actions of oppressed social groups are sometimes judged as just and legitimate. The typology of political actions is a very complex phenomenon, involving many approaches. Three types of actions are distinguished depending on the changes caused in political-power relations: revolutions, uprisings, counter-revolutions; reforms and counter-reforms; political upheavals. Taking into account the peculiarities of subjective interaction, political actions are singled out within the framework of the mechanism of power (the formation of power structures, the development of programs, the selection of personnel); political and administrative decisions carried out by the ruling group; actions in relation to power structures (formation of political representation, control, etc.). The activity of the ruling group, i.e. domestic and foreign policy of the state.

Political action can be positive or negative. Abstentionism (lat. abstentio - abstinence, refusal), expressed in inaction, is considered as negative. Political actions can be rational and irrational, spontaneous and organized. An indicator of their organization is the political strategy and tactics. The strategy implies a clear plan of action at a long, defining stage; tactics is the selection and implementation of various actions, operations, etc. There are also simple and complex political actions, institutionalized (regulated by law, norms and customs, etc.) and non-institutionalized, i.e. related to solving problems that are not officially foreseen. Finally, political action can be positive interaction, competition, rivalry, struggle. The results of political activity are expressed in changes both in political situations and in the socio-political structure.

In politics, many social actors interact, setting diverse, often opposite goals. Some of them are more successful than others. But political efforts are often accompanied by unforeseen and undesirable consequences.

Types of political activity

Political activity is a characteristic not only of the internal mechanism - motives, forms of expression, reactions, direction of actions and the level of their organization, but of the entire dynamic aspect of politics.

Its most important features are:

Focusing efforts on common problems, the needs of the existence of a social community, according to the prominent Russian jurist and philosopher I. A. Ilyin, “political activity is precisely solidary activity in the name of a common goal”;
- consideration of the state, political institutions as the main tools for solving these problems;

Political activity is heterogeneous; several distinct states can be distinguished here.

political alienation. It is expressed in the concentration of a person's efforts on solving the problems of personal life when they are separated and opposed to public, political life.

Political passivity is a type of political activity in which the subject does not realize his own interests, does not act as an independent political force, but is under the political influence of another social group. A form of political passivity is conformism.

Political activity. Its criterion is the desire and opportunity, influencing or directly using political power, to realize their interests. A form of politically active activity is, for example, a political movement, i.e. such a purposeful and long-term social action of a certain social group, which has as its goal the transformation political system or a conscious defense of it.

The nature of politically active activity varies significantly depending on the specifics of the problems that caused and stimulate it, the time of occurrence, the tasks it is aimed at, and the composition of participants.

In modern conditions, the following most general trends in its change are noted:

The growing desire of citizens to act outside the traditional forms of political activity and participation, the preference for rigidly formalized political parties over political movements without a clearly fixed organizational structure;
- the association is increasingly carried out not around any party, but around the problem, about its solution;
- the number of citizens interested in politics is growing, but at the same time the number of parties is falling;
- more and more people are inclined towards independent politicization; they do not associate their participation in politics with belonging to one or another political force, structure, they strive to act independently.

Many types of political activity are not associated with active change, renewal of social systems, but with ensuring the achieved state, the normal functioning of the state apparatus, the economic mechanism.

Political activity can also be aimed at recreating what has become obsolete, reconstructing past social and political relations and structures. On the other hand, a positive attitude towards change can be not only active, but also passive, when they are seen as necessary and desirable, but occurring as if by themselves.

Subjects of political activity

The political system includes subjects directly political and indirectly political. The former include: the state represented by some of its bodies and officials (head of state, parliament, government, institutions and persons under state bodies engaged in public relations, election commissions, etc.), political parties, socio-political movements, politically oriented public associations. The second group includes some state bodies that in themselves are not entitled to participate in the political struggle for power, but are included in the implementation of general state policy (courts, law enforcement and control bodies).

In addition, they also include non-political public associations, trade unions, religious associations and confessions, associations of entrepreneurs, the media, which in a democracy play a significant role in representing interests, protecting the rights of members and groups of society and, thus, have an indirect influence on politics. . A special place among such entities is occupied by local self-government. Being a kind of public authority, local self-government exercises power. At the same time, local self-government is primarily the activity of the population in solving their own current issues of life. Because of this, according to some researchers, one can speak of local self-government as an institution of civil society that is capable of exerting a significant influence on politics.

The subjects (characters) of political activity are those who are more or less constantly involved in the political life of society, cause changes by their actions and influence the main process in politics - the process of making political decisions. In socio-political science, several categories of subjects of political activity are usually distinguished. These are individual politicians, and social communities, which include a social group, social stratum, ethnos or ethnic group, as a whole people, and finally, political institutions that regulate the relationship of social communities and individuals. The subjects of political activity are also commonly called actors of the political process, i.e. players who act in the political field depending on the availability of certain resources to carry out their strategy of behavior in a particular political situation.

The main character of politics, of course, remains a man. No wonder our manual is entirely devoted to this problem: personality in politics. Nevertheless, we briefly characterize other political subjects.

A social community is a group of people united according to certain social characteristics (gender, age, place of residence, religion, ownership of property, national ethnicity, etc.), having common interests and occupying a specific place in society. We usually refer to social communities as a social group, stratum, ethnic group, people.

A social community becomes a full-fledged subject of politics if:

There is a more or less strong connection between the members of this community;
they are aware of their common interests and feel a common solidarity;
at least minimal coordination of their actions is carried out.

Social communities - from the smallest social groups to the people - constitute, we recall, the second category of political characters. By taking part in it, they, as a rule, create political institutions.

Political institutions are called stable, historically established forms of political activity of people.

A political institution is a kind of institution that has an organizational structure and centralized management. Political institutions include the state, political parties and social movements.

At first glance, it may seem that political institutions play the first roles in the political theater. Their participation is more noticeable than the participation of social communities. Let's take an example. If any social group, for example, students, wants to become a prominent character in politics, it must create a party, a movement, at worst, an association of students, i.e. political institution.

One gets the impression that politics is made by political institutions, and social communities are just a background for them. But this conclusion is too superficial. After all, both categories of political characters - both social communities and political institutions - unite the same people. In the example we have just given, the student is a representative of both the social community and the corresponding political institution (if, of course, he wishes to be one).

The prerequisites for the emergence of political institutions are created by social communities. Realizing their special place in society, social communities need an organization that would be able to express its position in a clear and concentrated form, tell others about it and, if necessary, protect it. On the other hand, it is with the help of political institutions that people quickly realize that they are not just disparate units, but also a people, a nation, a stratum, a group.

Thus, political institutions are not an indifferent mirror that passively reflects the interests of the social community, and not just a "mouthpiece" for the loud repetition of its demands. These institutions are active characters in politics, influencing both social communities and individuals. This is the essential meaning of the subjects of political activity.

Forms of political activity

Political activity is the interaction of individuals and groups organized and exercising power functions.

When referring to the study of political activity, attention is focused on the dynamic aspect of politics - a variety of actions aimed at realizing political goals.

Characteristic features of political activity:

Concentration of efforts on common problems, the needs of the existence of social integrity;
- consideration of the state, its institutions as the main means of solving these problems;
- the use of political power as the main means of achieving goals.

The main states of political activity:

Political alienation is a state of relations between a person and political power, which is characterized by the concentration of a person's efforts on solving the problems of personal life when they are separated and opposed to political life. Politics is considered in the sphere of alienation as a kind of activity that does not concern real problems, human interests, and contact with political power is considered extremely undesirable. Here a purely forced contact is established with the authorities, the state through a system of duties, taxes, taxes, etc.;
- political passivity - a type of political activity in which the subject, and it can be both an individual and a social group, does not realize its own interests, but is under the political influence of another social group. Passivity in politics is not inactive; it is a specific form of activity and a form of politics when a social group realizes not its own, but political interests alien to it. A type of political passivity is conformism, expressed in the acceptance by a social group of the values ​​of the political system as their own, although they do not correspond to its vital interests.

The criterion for the political activity of an individual or a social group is the desire and ability, influencing political power or directly using it, to realize their interests.

The nature of political activity varies significantly depending on the specifics of the problems that cause it, the time of occurrence of the tasks it is aimed at, and the composition of participants.

In modern conditions, political activity has the following characteristic features:

The growing desire of citizens to act outside the traditional forms of political activity and participation, instead of rigidly defined political parties, preference is given to political movements without a clearly defined organized structure;
- association is increasingly being made not around any party, but around a problem, about its solution;
- the number of citizens interested in politics is growing, but at the same time the number of parties is falling;
- more and more people are inclined to independent politicization, they do not associate their participation in politics with belonging to one or another active political force, structure, but strive to act independently.

Political activity is realized in practical actions aimed at the implementation of political goals, the implementation of political programs. These actions are carried out in certain forms.

Usually, two forms of political action are distinguished - peaceful (non-violent) and violent. To implement them in the practice of political life, a whole set of various methods and means are used.

The most important peaceful political action is reform, which refers to the change, transformation, reorganization of aspects of public life while maintaining the foundations of the existing system.

Reforms, unlike revolutions, do not provide for the transfer of power from one class to another and contribute to economic and social progress. It should be noted that in the West, reformist political parties and trade unions closely associated with them have played and are playing a huge role in raising living standards and improving the social situation of workers. , for which they enjoy their mass support.

Conformity (from Latin con formis - similar, similar) adjoins peaceful methods of political action, i.e. opportunism, passive acceptance of the existing order, the prevailing opinion, etc. Conformists have weak or no positions of their own. They dutifully follow any political course, submit to a more powerful political entity or authority. In our society, for many people, a conformist position is manifested in the formulas "I am a small person", "my hut is on the edge", etc.

A peaceful, non-violent form of political action can include parliamentary ways and methods of solving political problems, for example, by amending the constitution, passing laws, concluding agreements, holding elections, as well as inter-party, inter-state and inter-group negotiations.

The most typical acts of violence are war, revolution, counter-revolution, dictatorship, terrorism.

War is an armed struggle between states, classes or ethnic communities. It can be interstate, civil, or international (interethnic). War, as noted by the German military theorist K. von Clausewitz, is the continuation of state policy, political relations by other (violent) means.

Wars are especially dangerous in our time, the time of nuclear and chemical weapons, when any local war can lead to a global military conflagration.

A revolution is a qualitative change in the development of nature, society and knowledge (for example, geological, scientific and technical, cultural, social). A social revolution presupposes a radical change in the socio-economic and political structure of society. The first act that marks the transition from one socio-economic formation to another is a political revolution, i.e. the conquest of political power by the revolutionary class. It can be performed in peaceful and non-peaceful forms. The question of the conquest of power is the main question of any revolution.

The counter-revolution is the reaction of the overthrown or overthrown class to the social revolution, the struggle for the suppression of the new government and the restoration of the old order. Since the ruling (or ruling) classes do not voluntarily give up power, counter-revolutionary resistance in one form or another accompanies every revolution. Sometimes the counter-revolution gains the upper hand and the revolution is defeated (the revolution of 1848 in Germany, the Paris Commune of 1871, the democratic revolution in the 1930s in Spain).

American sociologists L. Edwards, D. Pitti, K. Brinton argue that there is a certain "fatal law of Thermidor", according to which every revolution inevitably develops into a counter-revolution and ends with the restoration of the old order. The name of the law formulated by them comes from the Thermidorian coup of July 27 - 28, 1794 (9 Thermidor according to the republican calendar), which overthrew the Jacobin dictatorship and put an end to the French Revolution. As a result of this coup, revolutionary gains were liquidated and counter-revolutionary terror began.

Dictatorship - a system of political domination, unlimited power of the group, the individual. Dictatorship is also a special way of exercising power with the use of violent methods, repressions, and armed force. It most often occurs during periods of extreme exacerbation of the class struggle, the narrowing of the social support of the existing power by individual groups or individuals, and also when one political system is replaced by another in the course of a revolution or counter-revolution.

One of the extremist (extreme) methods of political action is terror. Terror (from Latin terror - fear) - reprisal against political opponents by violent means (murder, severe mutilation), the use of various means to cause fear among political opponents, the population to destabilize the situation in the country or in a certain territory. In addition to murders, blackmail, hostage-taking, explosions of vehicles, buildings, etc. are used.

Recently, international terrorism has become widespread, used in interstate relations, as well as between various political forces consolidating on an international scale ( different kind leftist organizations, religious, nationalist). In a number of republics of the former USSR, terrorist methods have become quite widely used by extremists of a nationalist persuasion. Especially often they began to manifest themselves in the Transcaucasus.

In the process of democratization of Soviet society in a number of regions, spontaneous forms of mass political action are used: rallies, processions, strikes. Together with these civilized forms of manifestation political views and various requirements, there are many cases and aggressive actions of the crowd, leading to human casualties.

Spontaneous behavior is most often a mass reaction of people to economic and political crises, to a worsening social situation. Often, spontaneous mass actions are irrational (unreasonable) in nature. They are used by forces seeking to divert people's anger from themselves and direct it against the "image of the enemy" they form. They are often used by unscrupulous politicians in order to amass political capital.

The most pliable for mass political action are the so-called marginal layers, or lumpen. In ancient times they were called "ohlos" (black) in contrast to the "demos" (people). Hence the concepts of "ochlocracy" - the power of the crowd and "democracy" - the power of the people. Quite often, the crowd involves people with a higher social status, including representatives of the intelligentsia, in their actions.

Along with the crowd come "leaders" who promise an easy way to solve economic and political problems, while using racial, national, religious and other prejudices. The "leaders" need power, which they want to get with the help of the crowd in conditions of fear or dissatisfaction of the masses with the existing situation.

The problem of studying the psychology of crowd behavior has attracted the attention of sociologists and political scientists for a long time, while in our country they are just beginning to spread. G.Tard, G.Lebon, V.Trotter, W.Makdougal tried to figure it out in the middle of the last century. Subsequently, Z. Freud also studied it.

Due to the anonymity of the crowd and its irresponsibility, a person is capable of actions (even murder) that he would never do if he were alone. In a crowd, a person easily sacrifices his personal interests to collectivism. In it, he is easily amenable to suggestion, mass hypnosis (for example, the influence on the crowd of Hitler, Kashpirovsky, musical ensembles, singers, football).

Directions of political activity

Political activity is a kind of activity, directions for changing or maintaining existing political relations. In the structure of political activity, the following are distinguished: the subject (acting person or social group), the object (the object to which the activity of the acting subject is directed and in which the change results) and the action itself. In addition, they talk about the goal, means and result of political activity.

In modern Russia, the most influential subjects of political activity are political parties and movements (especially in the person of their leaders), all kinds of power structures and bodies, public associations, the population (at the time of referendums and election campaigns).

There are two main directions in the political activity of the ruling elite: the development of a political line (decision) and its implementation. This requires knowledge of the current political reality and the presence of certain value orientations. In accordance with this, political activity is formed by its three components: cognitive-analytical, value-based and practical. The stages of the implementation of practical political activities are as follows: assessment of the state of the object (society) and forecast (what various powerful analytical centers and services do), adaptation of the proposed measures to the specific conditions of society (the so-called trial balloons policy) and their adjustment after the implementation of the decision (the role of the channel " feedback” is performed particularly effectively by the media).

The activities of the legislative branch of government exist in the following forms: the adoption of new laws and the abolition of old ones; ratification of state acts and treaties; implementation of the relationship between state and public interests; influencing and influencing the executive power in terms of changing or adjusting its policy, exercising the function of control over it.

The activities of Russian political parties, especially pre-election blocs, come down to serving interest groups and lobbying strata, propaganda and agitation during elections. Opposition movements direct their activities to a greater extent on the articulation of protest statements and permanent criticism of the theory and practice of executive power measures, as well as on winning a wider electoral base.

The main direction of the political activity of the broad masses of the population or its large social groups is reduced to influencing the subjects of power with the help of a whole range of measures and means: strikes with political demands, demonstrations, approval or protest actions, boycott of government events (for example, elections), etc. P. These actions may be spontaneous or organized by other subjects of political activity (opposition parties and movements, etc.).

In Russia, the right of the people is constitutionally enshrined in a directly democratic form of political activity in the form of referendums on the most important issues of public life, as well as elections at various levels.

Political activity groups

Political activity is a form of social being of politics. Politics in the proper sense of the word is a field of activity associated with the realization of the needs and interests of various groups of people, the core of which is the conquest, retention and use of state power.

Each sphere of society's life: economic, social, spiritual, etc., is characterized by a combination of its inherent forms and types of activities and social relations. A special place is occupied by political activity, which is the main content of politics, political life. To define the content of political activity means to give an essential definition of politics. And, apparently, this should begin with the definition of the concept of "activity". In the scientific literature, activity in the broad sense of the word is understood as a specific form of active attitude to the world around, the content of which is its expedient change and transformation in the interests of people. The activity of a person or a group of people appears as an ordered process, consisting of a number of interrelated elements: the object and the subject, the purpose of the activity, the means of the activity, the result of the activity. The above provisions can be fully attributed to politics, which is one of the most common types of human activity.

Political activity, therefore, can be defined as the systematic conscious intervention of individuals and groups of people in the system of political relations in order to adapt it to their interests. In turn, political activity appears as a continuous series of specific political actions, which can be called certain actions, actions of intention or spontaneously undertaken by an individual or a group of people in order to cause certain political results, consequences.

The essence of political activity is revealed when characterizing its structural elements:

The subjects of political activity are the direct participants in political actions - social groups and their organizations;
- the objects of political activity are the existing social and political structure, which the subjects of political activity seek to change, transform. Political structure there is a unity of the social class structure of society, the totality of social relations and the constitutional mechanism of politics, that is, the political system;
- the goal of political activity in the broad sense of the word is either to strengthen the existing type of political relations, or to partially transform, or to destroy them and create a different socio-political system. The discrepancy between the goals of various social actors gives rise to the sharpness of their political confrontation. Determining the goals of political activity is a complex scientific task and, at the same time, an art. Absolutely and relatively unrealizable goals are called political utopias. However, in politics, the possible is often achieved only because its participants strived for the impossible behind it. The French poet and publicist Lamartine called utopias "prematurely spoken truths";
- the motive of political activity is what encourages people to be active, what they begin to act for (from the French motif - I move). Of paramount importance among the motives belongs to the interests of society as a whole: ensuring security, public order. Then the class interests follow, and those of those social groups close the scale of interests, the interests of small social groups and individual individuals. For political action to take place, importance has an awareness by the social subject of his needs and interests. Theoretically expressed awareness of interests is called ideology;
- means of political action in dictionaries are defined as techniques, methods, objects, devices used to achieve goals. As for the methods, in politics as means (methods) one can consider any actions, actions performed individually or collectively and aimed at maintaining or changing the existing political reality. It is impossible to give a fairly complete list of means in politics, but some of them are: rallies, demonstrations, manifestations, elections, referendums, political speeches, manifestos, meetings, negotiations, consultations, decrees, reforms, uprisings, negotiations, putsches, revolutions, counter-revolutions, terror, war;
- the results of political action are expressed in those changes in the socio-political structure that were the result of the actions taken, both on a general and local scale. Specifically, they can be expressed depending on the type of existing political actions - revolution, reform or coup - their results can be varying degrees of change in the system of power organization: replacement of the subject of power (revolution); changes in the strength of power (reform); increase in the amount of power, personal changes in power (coup).

Depending on the changes that political actions cause, three main types of actions can be distinguished:

Revolutions, uprisings, counter-revolutions as political actions differ: in the sphere of relations of domination and subordination - by the change of the ruling social class; in the sphere of power - the change of the ruling group by means of violence against the former groups;
- reform and counter-reform as political actions do not lead to the destruction of the foundations of the existing power of the ruling groups, but only fix concessions on their part, they are carried out "from above" using legal means;
- political coups - a state or "palace" coup, putsch, conspiracy as political actions lead to changes only within the existing government, primarily to personal changes in the center that makes political decisions.

All three named types of political actions are important for the organization of political life, but even more significant are the actions carried out by the ruling elite, the entire system of social institutions controlled by it and, above all, the state, and called domestic and foreign policy.

Another structuring of political activity is also possible, when such main blocks are distinguished in it as:

Professional political activity, which in turn is realized as a political functioning (the activity of the political bureaucracy, officials, apparatuses) and political leadership, is the core of the management of social processes in society. However, it is wrong to identify political leadership with any kind of social management. The main content of political leadership: the development, adoption and implementation of decisions that regulate the activities of political and civil society;
- political participation refers to various types of individual and group non-professional activities related to politics. Forms of political participation can be very diverse in direction, significance, and effectiveness. Distinguish between active, proactive, passive, supportive participation. The most significant types of political participation can be: activities in political organizations, movements, parties; attending political meetings; electoral activity. The literature distinguishes: direct and indirect participation; autonomous and mobilized. The most important function of political participation is the formation of policy and control over its implementation, the formation and establishment of political culture, control over the behavior of political elites.

The political activity of people is inextricably linked with their behavior.

There is no unambiguous understanding of the category "political behavior" in the literature; there are three points of view on this issue:

1. Behavior is the outward manifestation of political action;
2. Political behavior and political action are identical concepts;
3. Political behavior is a specific form of political activity.

The specifics of political behavior is as follows:

This is primarily a subject-subject relationship, while political activity is primarily a subject-object relationship;
- political behavior - a type of activity that is directed at the subject himself and expresses his state in the process of action.

G.P. The Eternal considers behavior as a kind of activity aimed at changing the state of the subject, and not at changing what is outside the subject.

The foregoing allows us to note that the concept of "behavior" refers to any political actions that characterize the state of the subject during the activity. This interpretation of this concept corresponds to its definition from a psychological point of view. The specificity of political behavior, in contrast to activity, is manifested in specific varieties of its subjects. These are individuals, groups, masses, crowds. Accordingly, the types of behavior are distinguished: individual, group, mass. In addition, behavior can be classified: based on motives - conscious, unconscious, arbitrary, spontaneous; according to situational features - stable, unstable, crisis, unexpected; by means of manifestation - rebellion, protest, mass discontent; by duration - long-term, short-term; by direction - conscious, controlled, uncontrolled (impulsive, pathological).

Thus, despite the fact that political behavior is inseparable from political activity, its analysis does not duplicate the explanation of political activity, but allows revealing the state of subjects of various levels and modifications in various processes of this activity.

Principles of political activity

There are many principles of political activity. Let us name only a number of them: the unity and inconsistency of national, regional and local interests, goals and means of achieving a collective result; the principle of checks and balances of the authorities; the principle of relativity of any institution of political power; principles of pluralism, tolerance, compromise and others.

Pluralism means the recognition of the legitimacy of the existence and implementation of diverse, multiple interests of political actors using different means to achieve a common goal. Tolerance is a tolerant attitude of one political subject to another in case of possible disagreements on certain political issues. The most common principle in politics is the principle of compromise. A compromise in politics is a consciously concluded political agreement between opposing political forces, expressing the interests of various strata and groups of society and the state.

Political relations

The interaction of social groups, individuals, social institutions about the structure and management of society is called political relations.

They arise from the moment when the age-old need for management and imperious regulation of social processes and relations is carried out with the active participation of the state. Their roots are ultimately in the economy of society, in those relationships that arise in the course of satisfying the primary, most fundamental needs of people. Such activity contains factors that promote both unification (cooperation, interdependence of individuals and social groups from each other) and separation of people (competition, rivalry over sources and means of subsistence, etc.). But after all, there are problems and needs that in one way or another affect all people belonging to a particular nation, social group, class, living in a certain territory, and requiring joint, united efforts.

The main characteristics of political relations:

Arising with the active participation of consciousness, political relations are expressed in actions, actions, processes, relationships between social groups, states, parties; to change them, a word is by no means enough, but a corresponding action is required;
- influence on many external and internal parameters of people's existence due to the active, active nature of political relations. Such an impact can be exerted on the economic life of society through the establishment of priorities for economic development; with the help of political measures, the actions of the state mechanism can support or hinder the development of culture, science, religion, support some mores and suppress others;
- the main, policy-specific instrument of influence on various aspects of social life - power, coercion, authoritative influence using the power of the organization, which can be parties, and unions, and states, and movements, and institutions that arise on the basis of a combination of will and the actions of many people on the basis of certain principles.

There are two sides, forms of existence of political relations: political activity - it expresses the dynamism of political relations, their dependence on the social efforts of people; and a political organization expressing the structuring of political relations, their formation on the basis of certain norms and rules. This aspect of politics is also called institutional (an institution is a relationship organized on the basis of a certain norm, a sanctioned rule of conduct).

Political organizations have some essential features: firstly, they serve as the most important means of determining and expressing the existing interests of social groups, forming and embodying the will of political subjects; secondly, they are associated with the implementation of authoritative decisions, with the activities of the apparatus of power, and thirdly, they are aimed at overcoming contradictions within the subject of political activity.

Forms of political participation

Political participation - actions taken by individuals or groups of citizens with the aim of influencing state or public policy, the management of public affairs or the choice of political leadership, leaders at any level of political power. The term "political participation" is used to refer to various forms of non-professional political activity, when politically active people who are not directly related to the functioning of the state or government apparatus seek to influence its work.

Distinguish political participation:

- individual and collective;
- voluntary and compulsory;
– active and passive;
– traditional and innovative;
- legitimate and illegitimate.

In terms of scale, political participation is manifested at the local, regional and national (federal), global levels.

Forms of political participation can be very diverse in direction, meaning and effectiveness:

1) the actions of people in politics, serving as a response to external influences emanating from other people and institutions;
2) regular participation in all kinds of elections, political campaigns, associated with the delegation of authority; in the selection of political leaders and control over their activities;
3) participation in the activities of political organizations, movements, parties;
4) fulfillment of political duties within state bodies, assistance to the public in the implementation of their functions (for example, in law enforcement), involvement of the public in monitoring the activities of political institutions;
5) visiting political meetings, development and transmission of political information, participation in political discussions;
6) direct action - direct influence on the functioning and change of political institutions through such forms of political participation as:
- rallies;
- demonstrations;
- strikes;
- hunger strikes;
– Campaigns of defiance or boycott;
- liberation wars and revolutions;
7) influence on the course of political processes through appeals and letters;
8) meetings with political leaders, representatives of state and political organizations and movements.

Specific forms, types, methods, levels of citizens' participation in politics express the functional properties of a given political system and are the result of the impact and manifestation of political interests, the alignment of social class forces, the characteristics of the political regime, power structures, political consciousness, traditions and culture. Authoritarian political systems and regimes, for example, tend to limit the participation of certain groups and strata in politics. For totalitarian regimes - to ensure mobilization, controlled involvement of people in politics. For democratic regimes - to create the necessary prerequisites and conditions for broad, free participation of citizens in politics.

Types of political behavior and human participation in politics: high constant political activity; episodic participation in politics; showing interest in politics; neutral or negative attitude towards politics; apolitical attitude, negative attitude towards one's participation in politics.

Political crisis

A political crisis is such a state of the political system, when the sharpness of contradictions in it reaches the highest intensity, the need for its transformation becomes irreversible. In this situation, the existing methods of maintaining public order, forms of conflict resolution are unacceptable, and their use only aggravates the situation. The main problems that exist in society and stimulate the activity of people are not solved, despite the actions and decisions of power structures.

There are many problems outside politics, the absence of a solution to which stimulates crisis development: among them are long-term economic turmoil, environmental disasters, and military defeats. All of them, to one degree or another, are expressed in the inability of the institutions of the political system to meet the requirements of the emerging political situation, in the growing gap between various kinds of declarations, intentions and real deeds that follow them.

Only two options are sometimes envisaged as the outcome of a crisis: its settlement in one way or another, or a social catastrophe, the visible manifestations of which are the inability of the political system to help meet the needs of people, primarily economic ones, as well as the destruction of the organs of the political system. Their actions increasingly contradict each other, do not meet the needs of either social management or the protection of citizens.

Law of political activity

This law characterizes political activity as the initial political basis and reveals the mechanism for the formation of political life. The content of the concept of political activity leads to the conclusion that in the process of using political power, people enter into certain, objectively developing relations, which are called political.

In their totality and their interconnection, they form a political organism through which political life is carried out. Without political activity, political life cannot arise and take place.

As a result, political influence cannot occur. Political activity is the basis of political being and constitutes the beginning of political development. In turn, political development is a natural (measured by law) result of political activity. There is a stable and necessary connection between political activity and political development.

It constitutes the law of political development, conditioned by political activity. It can be formulated as follows: political development occurs on the basis of political activity. This law can be called the law of political activity.

Thus, the analysis of the concept of political activity leads to the realization of its law, which characterizes political development. This analysis shows that the features and significance of political activity are due to the use of political power in its process.

In turn, the use of political power is the main content of political activity and contains its main criterion.

Thus, it is revealed that political power determines the features of all phenomena born of political activity. Political power is the source of political quality and acts as a political substance. The further development of political theory is connected with the study of the concept of political power.

Political activity of citizens

The political activity of citizens is carried out mainly through participation in political parties and socio-political movements.

Political activity is an activity associated with the struggle for the interests (primarily material, economic interests) of large social groups - classes, nations, peoples, and other social communities. Therefore, both politics as a sphere of social activity and political parties appear in connection with the differentiation, stratification of society into large groups of people with their own special interests. Through political parties, people unite to fight for power in order to ensure the common interests of their social or national group, an entire class or people.

In the constitutions of various countries, including the Russian one, there is no legal definition of a political party. These constitutions define only the goals and objectives of the parties: political parties “promote the expression of opinions by voting” (Article 4 of the French Constitution); parties contribute to "the expression of the people's will and the organization of political power" (Article 47 of the Constitution of Portugal). More precisely, the function of a political party is defined in the Italian Constitution: parties are created in order to “contribute in a democratic way to the determination of national policy” (Article 49). Art. 29 of the Greek Constitution: "Parties shall serve the free functioning of the democratic regime."

The constitutions of these states enshrined the principles of free formation of parties, a multi-party system, and political pluralism. The idea of ​​political pluralism is that there are various interests in society and, therefore, they are expressed by various parties that compete in the struggle for power, for votes.

In political science literature, a political party (from Latin pars, partis - part) is defined as the most active and organized part of the social stratum or class, formulating and expressing its interests. Or, more fully, as "a specialized organizationally ordered group that unites the most active adherents of certain goals (ideologies, leaders) and serves to fight for the conquest and use of political power in society."

The first political parties appeared in Ancient Greece(of course, not in the form in which they exist now).

For modern political parties, it is characteristic, in particular, that they:

They are political organizations;
- are public (non-state) organizations;
- are stable and sufficiently broad political associations with their own bodies, regional branches, ordinary members;
- have their own program and charter;
- built on certain organizational principles;
- have a fixed membership (although, for example, the US Republican and Democratic parties traditionally do not have a fixed membership);
- rely on a certain social stratum, a mass base in the person of those who vote for the representatives of the party in the elections.

In the literature, attempts are made, based on the analysis of modern legislation, to identify the legal features of political parties, their features as legal institutions. So, Yu.A. Yudin identifies three main qualifying features of a political party (in the absence of at least one of them, according to Yudin, "a public association loses the legal quality of a party").

1. A political party is a public association, the main purpose of which participation in the political process is the conquest and exercise (or participation in the exercise) of state power within the framework and on the basis of the constitution and current legislation.
2. A political party is an organization that unites individuals on the basis of common political views, recognition of a certain system of values ​​that are embodied in a program that outlines the main directions of state policy.
3. A political party is an association that operates on a permanent basis and has a formalized organizational structure.

Socio-political movements differ from parties in that they are created for relatively narrow, “targeted” goals: the struggle for peace, environmental protection (the “green” movement), etc. They do not set themselves the task of fighting for power, but only put forward certain demands to the authorities.

In democratic states, parties are prohibited that use subversive, violent methods of fighting for power, parties of a fascist, militaristic, totalitarian type with a program aimed at overthrowing the government, abolishing the constitution, and with military and paramilitary type discipline.

All parties are required to strictly observe the constitution and the democratic regime of internal party life. Parties are civil society organizations and cannot assume the functions of state power. The international document of the Copenhagen meeting within the framework of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) states that parties should not merge with states. This entry warns against repeating the experience of totalitarian one-party regimes, including the Soviet one, when a single party swallowed up not only the state, but to a large extent civil society as well. In such cases, so-called "party states" are formed. In itself, the concept of a “party state” (“state of parties”) initially does not carry anything bad in itself: it served only as a justification for the need for legal regulation of the activities of parties. The main idea of ​​this concept is the recognition of parties as essential elements for the functioning of democratic state institutions.

At present, the Russian Constitution has brought the legal status of political parties in line with world democratic standards: political pluralism, competition in the struggle for power by winning votes are recognized, totalitarian-type parties that profess violence as the main means of political struggle(Article 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). The party is organized on the initiative of the founders and can start legal activities after registering its charter with the Ministry of Justice Russian Federation. Its activities may be banned if it violates the constitutional framework, violates the requirements of the constitution and the law for political parties.

Both parties and the state are political organizations, political public institutions. Moreover, the state and parties are traditionally considered "elements of the political system of society." At the same time, it is emphasized that the state is the central link of the political system, which establishes the "rules of the game" for all political forces and acts as a factor integrating the elements of the political system into a single whole.

It seems, however, that such a construction as a "political system" in many respects requires revision. It was convenient for Soviet political thinking, when all political institutions had to be in the same harness, revolve around one political "core".

The balance of political forces, their balance and interaction, existing in a free, democratic society, is a special system. In any case, this is not the same political system as it was presented in Soviet state studies and totalitarian political thinking. From the point of view of modern ideas, along with the state, one should also take into account the integrating role of civil society, its determining influence on the state. But political parties are one of the institutions of civil society.

At the same time, unlike parties, the state expresses the interests of society as a whole, is the official representative of the entire people. In this regard, the state has only its inherent capabilities and attributes - the "levers" of political power, for the possession of which political parties are fighting in order to ensure the implementation of their programs with the help of the mechanism of state power. The ruling political parties, that is, those that have already gained access to the mechanism of state power in one way or another, exercise power mainly through the placement of members of their parties in the most important state posts.

There is a typology of political parties. Distinguish parties legal and illegal, ruling and opposition. The ruling parties can be ruling monopoly and ruling as part of a coalition. Depending on the nature of the party ideology, liberal, conservative, social democratic, communist, etc. are distinguished. parties.

Participation in political activities

One of the most important ethical issues of social work: can a social worker, being a representative, on the one hand, of the state, and on the other hand, of a client, publicly criticize the state, its policies, individual decisions, i.e., in fact, participate in political activity, not just as a citizen exercising this right on the basis of the law, but as a representative of his profession and state structure. Is it ethical in relation to the state?

Opinions on this issue can be divided into two groups.

The first group of opinions A social worker, as a representative of the state, must maintain a certain loyalty towards him. In addition, true professional activity always has a certain range of goals, tasks and functions, which, as a rule, do not include political activity. Social work is no exception in this respect and should be subject to general rules. Moreover, social work is called upon to neutralize all negative phenomena in social life by non-political, specific professional means and methods, to promote the realization of the constitutional rights of its clients with the help of legally established opportunities. This mission was entrusted to social services by the state.

The second group of opinions. A social worker in his daily activities is constantly faced with the fact that his client suffers from the imperfection of the system, its costs and even vices, which, in fact, made him a client of social services. Basic constitutional rights become empty phrases without providing the conditions for their implementation, and the social reality is such that social work does not yet have sufficient opportunities to organize the conditions for the implementation of all of their constitutional rights by clients. It is the duty of every social profession, and even more so of social work, to contribute to the improvement of the system, and the most effective means for this is participation in political activity.

Apparently, the solution to this dilemma should be a reasonable combination of the first and second options. If the social service does not pursue its own, corporate goals, but represents the interests of clients, that is, in fact, the interests of people who do not have the opportunity to independently solve their problems (including through political struggle), then social workers have the right participate in political activities as representatives of a profession whose immediate task is to strive to improve the living conditions of clients and, thus, contribute to a decrease in the number of clients. The forms of such political activity can be different - from active participation in the formation of the main directions of social policy and the development of social programs to peaceful protests based on constitutional and civil rights.

However, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between the participation of a social worker in political activities as a citizen and as a representative of the relevant structure. Taking part in political activities, a social worker must be clearly aware of whose interests he is defending - his own, his clients or the social service. As a citizen, he has the right to political action in accordance with the procedure established by law and can use this right at his own discretion, defending his own interests. If he acts on behalf of a client or a social service, he must have the appropriate authority to do so, officially delegated to him. That is, engaging in active political activity on behalf of a social service or social protection system, a social worker must do this with the full consent and approval of his colleagues, together with them. If he represents the interests of the client, then he must do this on behalf of and on the direct instructions of the client. It will be considered a violation of the norms of professional ethics to represent the interests of clients or a professional group in various political actions, parties or movements without their consent and approval.

The term "deontology" (from the Greek. deonthos - due) to refer to the doctrine of proper behavior, actions, mode of action was introduced in the 18th century by the English philosopher I. Bentham. Initially, Bentham invested in this concept a rather narrow religious and moral content, meaning the believer's duty and obligations to God, religion, and the religious community, and then used it to designate the theory of morality as a whole. Soon the concept of "deontology" began to be applied in a slightly different sense - as a term denoting the proper behavior, actions and actions of an individual or specialist, and not just a believer, in relation to his religious duties, and the doctrine - deontology - began to differ from axiology - doctrine of moral values.

With the formation of deontology, ethics from the morality of virtuous behavior became the morality of the norm, since the norm fixes what is due in certain maxims, rules. Thus, in the history of ethics, another step was taken from the morality of individual moral qualities to a morality based on the law. We will take this step and consider professional activity from the point of view of due, duty and, of course, the norm that fixes proper behavior.

Almost every modern profession forms its own ideas about what should be, at the same time comparing it with what is. On the basis of ideas about what is due, there are requirements for behavior and actions that, in relation to a specialist, act as his professional duty and duties. The concept of professional duty always includes not only the functional duties of representatives of a particular profession, but also the responsibility of these people to colleagues, to the profession as such, to society.

There are no professions important and unimportant, necessary and unnecessary, harmful to society or useful. The very fact of their existence suggests that they are in demand by society, therefore, they are necessary, important and useful. All existing professions directly or indirectly ultimately serve the interests of man and mankind. However, there are professions whose external manifestations (i.e., the final results of the activities of specialists) have a significant impact on the development of society, its security, cultural and moral state, or directly affect the interests of a person.

The doctrine of due is the core of every professional ethical system. The concept of "deontology" is essentially narrower than the concept of "professional ethics". If ethics reveals the essence of professional duty, then deontology reveals the specifics of its implementation in specific types of relationships. It is in deontology, therefore, that the conjugation of moral and professional components in the behavior and actions of a specialist is so clearly expressed. The category "professional duty" expresses the moral duties of a specialist in relation to society, colleagues, clients and their social environment and is a reflection of the internal, moral need to follow the fulfillment of one's duties, the need to follow a certain line of behavior, dictated primarily by interests external to the personality of a specialist.

Duty is one of the most important categories of both general and professional ethics, since it expresses the social and professional ties of a specialist and is a set of his obligations to the state, society, colleagues, profession, clients, to himself and responsibility to them. Consciousness of his duty determines the behavior of a specialist, his choice of certain moral standards, which he follows in his daily practical activities. Unlike professional duties, professional duty is perceived by a specialist not as something imposed from the outside, but as an internal moral need, a deep conviction in the need for certain actions.

In the category of "duty" the social nature of the activities of a social worker and the normative nature of professional ethics are most clearly manifested. The specific content and main features of the duty of a social worker are determined by the fact that he is engaged in a specific specific social activity to solve the problems of society, social groups and individuals, and follow from the content of his professional activity. A sense of duty encourages a social worker to measure all his actions, actions and relationships in specific situations with the requirements and norms of professional morality.

Duty as “a high moral necessity that has become an intrapersonal source of voluntary subordination of one’s will to the tasks of achieving and maintaining certain moral values” is internally naturally associated with responsibility, expressing the correspondence of a person’s moral activity to his duty from the point of view of its capabilities. If the duty of a specialist is to realize and practically implement the requirements of professional morality in a particular situation, then his responsibility is determined from the point of view of the feasibility of the duty. The responsibility of a specialist characterizes his personality from the point of view of the moral requirements imposed on him in terms of professional qualifications and personal qualities and activities. Responsibility without duty is pointless, it never acts in isolation, especially when it comes to responsibility to oneself.

The activity of a social worker is associated with a high degree of independence and moral responsibility, which is a conscious attitude to professional duty. Responsibility, in turn, is not an abstract concept, it is inseparable from creativity and independence, attention to people surrounding a social worker in his daily practical activities. In these cases, the concept of professional duty obliges a specialist to be able to foresee the consequences of his activity, especially negative consequences, in accordance with the well-known principle of “primum non nocere” - “first of all, do no harm”, attributed to Hippocrates.

Deontology is one of the foundations of the professional activity of social workers, medical workers, teachers, psychologists and representatives of other professions whose object of activity is a person, and professional actions are directly related and aimed at achieving the physical, mental and social health and well-being of a person, his social environment and society. The doctrine of duty is the central link in the system of professional ethics. Professional deontology is the doctrine of the duty and obligations of a representative of the profession to society and the state, to his profession, to his colleagues and to the people on whom the activity is ultimately directed.

In relation to social work, deontology is a set of professional, legal, moral and ethical rules that make up the concept of the professional duty of a social worker. The deontology of social work is a set of norms, regulations and instructions on duty and professional duties, the responsibility of a social worker (the workforce of a social protection institution) to society and the state, to social work as a profession and a social institution, to colleagues and to the client of the social service.

Thus, the professional duty of a specialist is the requirements that society, the profession, the team, clients and he himself impose on behavior and actions, and what he himself needs and is responsible for. Duty appears to the specialist in the form of duties, the observance of which becomes his internal moral need. The content of the professional duty of a social worker is a set of legal, moral requirements imposed on him by his profession.

A social worker's awareness of his professional duty is a reflection of his objective duties in ideas, beliefs, feelings, habits, in the internal motives of professional activity and their embodiment in practical everyday activities. Thus, professional duty is due to a combination of objective and subjective factors that determine the behavior of a specialist. The conscious fulfillment of one's duty is a condition for the highly effective activity of both the social worker himself and the entire social service and the institution of social work as a whole.

Social work as a kind of professional activity and a social institution arise in response to an objective social need. Accordingly, the duties of a social worker (and the functions of social work) are a reflection of an objective social reality.

“Man's obligations to society are both objective and subjective. The first means that these duties exist whether the person recognizes them or not. They follow from the very fact of human life in society. The second means that the person recognizes the existence of these duties and voluntarily assumes them. The content of professional duty, therefore, follows from the requirements imposed by society on the activities and behavior of people who perform certain functions on behalf of society and are employed in this professional field. This content of professional duty can be documented to a greater or lesser extent, but it exists objectively.

Under certain conditions, an objective and professional duty actually becomes an internal moral duty of a social worker as a person and as a representative of the profession. Moral duty - as a deeply realized need for a certain line of behavior dictated by the needs to achieve good in the "man - environment" system - for a social worker is a continuation of professional duty and essential attribute professions. For a professional social worker, the requirements of professional duty largely coincide with his personal interests, which is why he is aware of duty as a necessity, an internal need, a moral obligation. The dictates of professional duty, which have become the inner convictions of a social worker, are the defining spiritual stimulus of his activity. The requirements of moral duty force the social worker to consider his duties wider than professional duty requires.

Guided in his behavior and activities by professional and moral duty, the social worker takes into account both the legal and professional requirements established for him by society, takes into account the possible reaction on the part of society, the professional group and the client to the performance or non-performance of his duty.

However, he does:

Freely, since the system of moral standards adopted by society is not universal, and from the whole variety of norms that take place in society - from group to public - a specialist can choose those that best meet his inner aspirations and ideas about good and good;
- consciously, since the decision to act one way or another was made by him independently or as a result of consultations with colleagues and the client due to a conscious, situationally determined need, by choosing from a significant number of options for possible solutions;
- voluntarily, since a sense of duty has become his conviction and the dominant motive of activity, and it is this circumstance that determines the behavior and activities of a specialist in everyday practice.

Awareness by a social worker of his professional duty means:

High professional and qualification level as a guarantor of the quality of work;
- a clear knowledge of their professional duties, conscientious and rigorous performance;
- professional activity strictly within the framework of the regulatory framework;
- deep conviction in the need to fulfill their professional duties, since this is required by the interests of society, the staff of the social protection institution and the client;
- conscious and active participation in professional activities in order to achieve the benefit of society, the workforce and the client;
- interest in improving the efficiency of their team and their individual work;
- high organization and conscious discipline, the habit of proper behavior;
- the presence of strong-willed qualities necessary to fulfill one's professional duty;
- the desire to constantly improve in the profession, learn new knowledge, gain experience in practical activities.

At the same time, the conscious principle that regulates behavior, the requirements for the professional and personal qualities of a social worker and the habit of proper behavior do not contradict each other - on the contrary, they complement each other.

Moral behavior in professional activity, even in such a humane and ethical one as social work, does not follow automatically from the context of the environment in which the activity takes place and the content of work, although to some extent it is determined by standard functional duties. However, professional activity is never reduced to the mechanical performance of functional duties. Duties that have become a moral duty, a professional performs on internal conviction and motivation, without direct stimulating influence from the outside, while acting consciously and creatively. This is one of the features of the work of a social worker - the existing forms of managing the professional activities of a specialist, the system of rights and obligations and methods for their implementation leave room for the creativity of a social worker, which makes the motivation of professional activity by considerations of moral duty even more significant.

The activity of a social worker, which is based on proper behavior, is always focused on the careful, creative performance of professional duties and the achievement of high results, accompanied by a sense of personal responsibility for the actions performed. Such activity is stimulated by the need for self-respect, maintaining professional authority and personal dignity, the status of the workforce and the profession in society. It cannot be focused on purely external indicators, on performance criteria that can be officially recorded and monitored in order to receive incentives in any form. Deontology shows what demands society makes of a social worker as a specialist, citizen and person.

The deontology of social work includes certain principles:

Personal responsibility for the task assigned, both legally and morally;
- competence of a specialist;
- a rational approach to solving the tasks;
- correspondence of powers and responsibilities;
- legal regulation of activities;
- accountability;
- initiatives and creativity;
- organization and discipline;
- control and verification of performance;
- a critical approach to assessing activities, the capabilities of one's own and the client;
- trust and freedom of action;
- rewards and punishments and others.

Conventionally, the deontology of social work can be considered by what subjects and objects are considered as parties to a particular professional relationship. Accordingly, five types of such relations can be distinguished, presented in the form of corresponding sections of the book.

Activities of political movements

Socio-political movements are effective method expression by large masses of people of political ideas, views and interests. This form of exercise of power is able to reflect the views on the management of the state and society, both on the part of individual citizens and on the part of numerous groups.

Citizens actively unite in mass political movements to express their own views and satisfy interests. That is why socio-political movements were incredibly popular in the period from the 19th to the 20th century. As a rule, they were working associations. Home distinctive feature a similar expression of popular power is the absence of statehood. It is important to draw a parallel here with the presence of state parties that are supported by the government. The ease of creating a social movement lies in the fact that the formation process is not controlled by state authorities.

Socio-political movements are stable social movements that are securely fastened by common public interests. Each participant strives to achieve one goal, which is completely identical to the goal of the political current. The solidarity of the participants is what makes the social wave exist and develop.

The most active participants in the movement are individuals who are dissatisfied with the current regime in the country, as well as those who are fighting against the current system of exercising power. At the same time, leaders do not seek to state their proclaimed views in legal ways. On the contrary, dissatisfaction with the activities of many political institutions makes activists embark on a path of enmity with the head of state and the political regime.

Another reason for the formation of opposing views is the "diversity" of the incoming composition. Any socio-political organizations and movements include representatives of various strata of the public. In one current it is possible to meet both representatives of diverse ethnic cultures and preachers of various religious concepts. The common goal of political groups is able to unite even those who are not familiar with tolerance.

Means of political activity

In dictionaries, the term "means" is defined as techniques, methods, objects, devices used to achieve some goal. The word "methods" is interpreted in almost the same way: techniques, a system of techniques in any activity. In politics, as means (methods) of activity, one can consider any actions, deeds, actions performed individually or collectively and aimed at maintaining or changing the existing socio-political reality.

It is impossible to give a complete list of policy tools. We will name only the main ones: rallies, demonstrations, marches and demonstrations; elections, voting and referenda; political speeches, manifestos and appeals; meetings and sessions; meetings, negotiations ... and consultations; orders, orders and decrees; reforms and counter-reforms; uprisings, coups and putsches; revolutions and counter-revolutions; terrorist acts and wars. As can be seen, among the means and methods of political action there are both peaceful and non-peaceful forms. A possible set of means and methods of political action used by various social actors depends on the characteristics of a particular society, its political culture. Individual and collective agents of political action in specific conditions also use specific means, i.e. a certain set of actions, techniques, actions. However, if political action begins to go beyond certain limits, then it encounters opposition from the groups ruling in society. This means that the political system is organized by them in such a way that it does not allow social subjects to go beyond certain, as a rule, legally established limits in the use of political means. And the ruling groups themselves as a whole are also limited by law in the use of political means.

When the political actions of certain social actors and the means and methods used for this begin to go beyond the limits permitted by law, the ruling groups take appropriate counteractions. In these conditions, violent methods are often used.

There are two types of violence:

1) "from above", carried out by the official authorities, when the stability of the socio-political system is endangered;
2) "from below", used by those who are trying to change this system.

When violence becomes the main means of political action on both sides, then this character of social relations is a civil war. Its result can be both the strengthening of the power of the ruling social groups, and its overthrow.

In political science and jurisprudence, the question of the legality or illegality of violent political actions by social groups with political power is ambiguously resolved. Let's take a closer look at this problem. First of all, we note that it is customary to distinguish between legal and illegal political violence. Only the state has the legal right to violent actions, and, consequently, whoever rules it uses this right. Subjects of political relations who do not have political power do not have the right to use violence. And if they resort to means of violence, then this immediately causes a corresponding reaction from the authorities. However, subordinate social groups in some cases may find themselves under such strong social oppression that it is permissible to assess their violent actions against the authorities not as illegal, but as “good”, “fair”, “righteous”, “lawful”. This terminology is widely used in political theory. All social revolutions are justified by the right of "just" violence. However, even Pope Paul VI himself (1897-1978) admitted the legitimacy of revolutionary actions “against a clear and prolonged tyranny that grossly encroaches on the fundamental rights of the human person and dangerously harms the common good of the country.”

The structure of political activity

Considering political activity, it should be borne in mind that, on the one hand, it is a kind of social activity, and on the other hand, actions in the field of politics related to resolving issues of power. Political activity is closely connected with other types of social activity: economic, social, cultural, etc. This connection is due to the close interdependence of all spheres of society's life.

Political interests, being the basis of political activity, are ultimately determined by economic interests. However, the formation of political interests is influenced by both political and spiritual, moral, environmental and other needs. Thus, the political interests realized in political activity reflect the most diverse needs of social subjects.

Political activity in its deployment has a number of characteristic features, among which are the following: consciousness, purposefulness, strong-willed, collective, community character. Based on these features, we can give the following detailed definition of it. Political activity is a set of conscious, purposeful, volitional actions of social actors to realize their political interests, aimed primarily at gaining power or exercising influence over others.

Political activity has its own internal structure, which can be represented as follows:

1. Objects of political activity. Political power is its main object. Considering that power is the basis of politics, we can say that the objects of political activity are also political institutions, political relations, the political system as a whole, all those political structures that have a direct or indirect influence on the formation of power relations in society.
2. The subjects of political activity are all subjects of politics: social groups, classes, ethnic communities, political parties, public organizations and movements, individuals. A special place among the subjects of political activity belongs to the secondary subjects of politics. Being the bearers of power, they simultaneously act as both an object and a subject of political activity. Because of this, we can talk about the specific manifestation of their subjectivity in the structure of political activity, which manifests itself in the fact that secondary subjects of politics regulate the relationship between various subjects of political activity.
3. The goal is the main content element of political activity. The ultimate goal of any political activity is the conquest and retention of power. All other goals are intermediate, contributing to the realization of the final goal. In relation to the existing state of the political system, the goal can be constructive and destructive. Goals can also differ in their importance.
4. The circumstances of the implementation of activities largely affect the successful implementation of political activities and represent the limitations (framework) of political activities formed by objective factors. First of all, these are social norms, customs, traditions that have developed within the framework of a given political culture, as well as, under certain circumstances, the type of political organization of society. In addition, the implementation of political activity depends on the conditions that are created by the most mobile factors of politics. Among these conditions, the most important are the internal situation in the country, the effectiveness of the activity itself, the foreign policy situation, the activities of political institutions, etc.

The proposed structure of political activity is very conditional and schematic. Under certain conditions, the subject can act as an object and vice versa. The circumstances of the activity can also be its object, changing under its influence. However, even such a schematic structure of political activity makes it possible to trace the mechanism of its deployment in more detail.

Political activity, from the point of view of the political activity of subjects, may have a different manifestation of its intensity:

1) reaction to the political activity of other subjects or the political process as a whole, i.e., an assessment of the situation that does not provide for one's own high activity;
2) participation in periodic actions related to the delegation of authority (participation in elections, referendums, etc.);
3) activity (as participation) in public organizations and movements, political parties;
4) performance of political functions within the framework of political institutions and organizations;
5) direct political action - direct participation in one of the forms of political activity;
6) vigorous activity aimed at strengthening or changing existing power relations.

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Politicalactivityhowthe most importantelementpoliticians

politicalactivity interest decision

Plan

1. The concept of political activity. Types of political activity

2. Variety of political interests

3. Political decisions as a result of political activity

1. conceptpoliticalactivities.Kindspoliticalactivities

In political science, there are different approaches to understanding politics. One of them is to consider politics as one of the four main areas of society. The sphere of politics includes both political consciousness and political organizations (government, parliament, parties, etc.), and the tasks that various social groups seek to solve using power, and the political process that goes through conflicts and cooperation, including measures to maintaining stability in society and reform. Second approach based on the understanding of politics as a special type of social relations between individuals, small groups and large communities, i.e., relations associated with power, the state, managing the affairs of society. Finally, the third approach consists in considering politics as one of the activities, that is, the activity of its subjects - participants in political life. All three approaches give a multidimensional view of one object - politics. The historical development and experience of many generations of thinkers involved in the study of politics and political activity is concentrated in modern science of science, in particular, in political science, sociology, political psychology and other branches of social science.

Politics is the activity of state bodies, political parties, social movements in the sphere of relations between large social groups, primarily classes, nations and states, aimed at integrating their efforts in order to strengthen political power or win it by specific methods.

Politics is a special kind of activity associated with the participation of social groups, parties, movements, individuals in the affairs of society and the state, their leadership or influence on this leadership. When considering politics as an activity, there is every reason to recognize it as both a science and the art of managing (the state, people), building relationships and realizing interests, as well as gaining, retaining, and using political power.

It follows that political activity is the main content of the political sphere of life. To define the content of the concept of political activity is to give an essential definition of politics.

Political activity is a kind of activity, directions for changing or maintaining existing political relations. Basically, political activity is the management and management of social relations with the help of institutions of power. Its essence is the management of people, human communities.

The specific content of political activity is: participation in the affairs of the state, determining the forms, tasks and directions of the state, the distribution of power, control over its activities, as well as other impact on political institutions. Each of the moments noted generalizes diverse types of activity: for example, the direct performance of political functions by people within the framework of government institutions and political parties and indirect participation associated with the delegation of powers to certain institutions; professional and non-professional activities; leading and executive activities aimed at strengthening a given political system or, on the contrary, at its destruction; institutionalized or non-institutionalized activities (for example, extremism), etc.

Political activity is manifested in various forms participation of the broad masses in the political life of society. In the course of political activity, its participants enter into specific relationships with each other. It can be cooperation, union, mutual support, and confrontation, conflict, struggle. The essence of political activity is revealed in the specifics of its object and structural elements: the subject, goals, means, conditions, knowledge, motivation and norms, and finally, the activity process itself.

Subjects politicians are, firstly, large social communities, which include social groups and strata, classes, nations, estates, etc.; secondly, political organizations and associations (states, parties, mass movements); thirdly, political elites are relatively small groups concentrating power in their hands; fourth, personalities, and above all political leaders.

In modern Russia, the most influential subjects of political activity are political parties and movements (especially in the person of their leaders), all kinds of power structures and bodies, public associations, the population (at the time of referendums and election campaigns).

The object of policy is the subject to which the activity of the acting subject is directed and in which the change results. Most often, both the object and the subject of political activity are people, that is, participants in political activity. In political activity, the object-subject relationship is an organic unity: after all, a person is the main subject and object of politics; social groups, organizations, movements also act both as objects of political activity and as its subjects. In addition, the objects of political activity can be social phenomena, processes, situations, facts. From the consideration of the objects of political activity, we can conclude that politics affects the whole society, all aspects of its life. From this follows the conclusion about the great importance of political activity in the development of society.

Political activity, like any other, involves the definition of its goals. They are divided into long-term (they are called strategic) and current goals. Goals can be relevant, priority and irrelevant, real and unrealistic. How relevant, on the one hand, and how realistic, on the other hand, this or that goal can be answered only through a complete and accurate analysis of the main trends in social development, urgent social needs, the alignment of political forces, and the interests of various social groups.

Of particular importance is the question of the availability of funds with which to achieve the intended goals. The attitude: the end justifies the means is characteristic of dictatorial regimes and their political carriers. The demands that the means correspond to the democratic, humane goals of politics are the norm of genuinely popular forces and political structures expressing their interests. However, many scholars note that a politician often has to choose: either to prevent the danger of taking tough measures that do not quite correspond to “absolute morality”, or by inaction to allow damage to society. The moral limit that cannot be crossed is today reflected in human rights documents, in international humanitarian law.

An essential feature of political activity is its rationality. Rational actions are conscious, planned, with a clear understanding of the goals and necessary means. Rationality in politics is specific: it includes ideology. The ideological component permeates every political action, as long as it is oriented towards certain values ​​and interests. Moreover, it is a criterion sign of its orientation.

The rational moment, of course, is decisive in the subjective semantic content of political action, expressing the attitude of the subject to the institutions of power. However, political action is not limited to rationality. It leaves room for the irrational as a deviation from purposefulness. Irrational - these are actions motivated mainly by the emotional states of people, for example, their irritation, hatred, fear, impressions of ongoing events. In real political life, rational and irrational principles combine and interact. Political actions are spontaneous and organized. A spontaneous rally and a carefully prepared party conference are examples of such actions.

Recently, the importance of such methods of political activity as persuasion, the study of public opinion, a constructive dialogue between various political forces, control over compliance with legal norms, and forecasting the consequences of certain political actions has increased. All this requires a high political culture, moral self-control, and political will from the subjects of politics.

Political activity is differentiated into theoretical and practical. Being relatively independent, they are interdependent. Political theory acquires effectiveness and efficiency when it is based on practical experience and coincides with the needs and interests of those groups that the subject of politics represents.

Political activity is heterogeneous; several distinct states can be distinguished in its structure. It is advisable to begin their analysis with a type of activity whose political significance is undoubtedly very great, but the meaning of which lies precisely in the rejection and denial of politics. They are political alienation.

Political exclusion - the state of relations between a person and political power, which is characterized by the concentration of human efforts on solving the problems of personal life when they are separated and opposed to political life. Politics is considered in the sphere of alienation as a kind of activity that does not concern real problems, human interests, and contact with political power is considered extremely undesirable. Here a purely forced contact is established with the authorities, the state through a system of duties, taxes, taxes, etc. For the ruling groups, political alienation is expressed in the transformation of the public service into a sphere of service only for private, narrow group interests, power is usurped by individuals, replaced by the struggle of cliques representing corporate interests. Serving the interests of social integrity turns into a means of maintaining only individual life. A striking manifestation of political alienation is the phenomenon of bureaucracy.

The next type of political activity is political passivity.

Political passivity - a type of political activity in which the subject, and it can be both an individual and a social group, does not realize its own interests, but is under the political influence of another social group. Passivity in politics is not inactive; it is a specific form of activity and a form of politics when a social group realizes not its own, but political interests alien to it. A type of political passivity is conformism, expressed in the acceptance by a social group of the values ​​of the political system as their own, although they do not correspond to its vital interests. The means of forming conformist political attitudes is a specific technique of influencing the consciousness and behavior of people - manipulation, which involves "the transformation of people into controlled objects, the deformation of their inner world, thoughts, feelings and actions, and thereby the destruction of their personalities through influences that distort ideas about real interests and needs, and imperceptibly, with the seeming preservation of free will, they subordinate people to a will that is alien to them. The manipulation system focuses primarily on the subconscious sphere of the human psyche, and its methods and means in modern societies are becoming more sophisticated, actively using the achievements of psychology and sociology.

The criterion for the political activity of an individual or a social group is the desire and ability, influencing political power or directly using it, to realize their interests.

The nature of political activity varies significantly depending on the specifics of the problems that cause it, the time of occurrence of the tasks it is aimed at, and the composition of participants.

In modern conditions, political activity has the following characteristic features:

The growing desire of citizens to act outside the traditional forms of political activity and participation, instead of rigidly defined political parties, preference is given to political movements without a clearly defined organized structure;

More and more often, unification takes place not around any party, but around a problem, about its solution;

The number of citizens interested in politics is growing, but at the same time the number of parties is falling;

More and more people are inclined towards independent politicization, they do not associate their participation in politics with belonging to one or another active political force, structure, but strive to act independently.

The initial stage of pronounced vigorous activity, when the political subject makes a clear choice of the trend of action, is a political position.

A mature form of political activity is a political movement, that is, such a purposeful and long-term social action of a certain social group, which has as its goal the transformation of the political system or its conscious protection.

Thus, the concept of "political activity" reflects the whole variety of people's actions in the field of politics, and the concept of "political activity" - the leading creative, transformative form of political activity, expresses the essence of politics - the realization by a social group of its own interests. Political participation is a characteristic of the degree of involvement of the subject in politically active action, and the concept of "political behavior" allows you to reveal the mechanism, the structure of political activity.

2. Manifoldpoliticalinterests

The concept of “interest” (lat. Interest - to have a meaning) is actively used in various branches of scientific knowledge. At the same time, the initial understanding of the term everywhere goes back to the interpretation in the dictionaries of Dahl, Ozhegov, Ushakov - “interest” as the meaning, importance of the matter; attention aroused to someone significant, important, useful or seemingly so. In the philosophical and political sense, interest is understood as the reason for the actions of individuals, social communities, the reason that determines their social behavior.

Thus, interest is the relation (conscious and interested) of the subject to the object, which is a means of satisfying one or another need of an individual or a social community. In this case, there is always a correlation of needs, objects that serve as a means of satisfying them, the social conditions of the subject's life (social environment) and ways to satisfy certain needs.

Depending on the scope and social carrier, interests are divided into economic, political, cultural, moral, aesthetic, religious, military, political.

Interests are often called the driving force, the "motor" of people's activities. This fully applies to political interests.

Political interest is the selective attitude of institutional and social subjects of politics to socio-political processes, events and phenomena, the real reason for their political activity, based on well-defined worldview principles, beliefs and attitudes. In other words, this is the internal conscious source of political behavior that encourages the subjects of politics to set certain political goals and carry out specific political actions to achieve them.

Based on the specifics of the nature of political needs and political interest, the latter is inherently a subjective expression of objectively existing political relations from the point of view of the implementation by the subjects of politics of their social goals. The object of political interest are: power and power relations in society; mechanisms and ways of exercising political power; political activities of parties, socio-political movements, public organizations and lobbying groups; political elite and individual representatives at the national, regional and local levels.

The whole set of political processes, phenomena and events is the subject of political interest. They are perceived and evaluated by the subjects of politics in terms of their usefulness and the possibility of using them to achieve their goals.

Political interests, due to their diversity, are a complex systemic formation. They can be classified on various grounds. For example:

a) according to the degree of generality (personal, group, class, public);

b) according to the degree of awareness (spontaneous or conscious);

c) in their direction (domestic, foreign policy);

d) by the nature of the subject of interests (national, state, party, class, etc.);

e) if possible, their implementation (feasible and imaginary);

f) in relation to the objective trend of social development (progressive, reactionary, conservative).

Unlike other social interests, political interests have a number of characteristic features that determine their qualitative specifics.

First, political interest is rooted in the material relations of society, but at the same time plays an active role in relation to it. This is due to the fact that in economic relations at each historical moment there are potentially several development trends, but not every one of them can be realized. The realization of this or that trend is a matter of political choice, in which the decisive role is played by the political interests of certain social forces, social groups and strata.

Secondly, political interest is a manifestation of a power relationship, it is closely connected with the mechanism and methods of exercising power in society.

Thirdly, political interest has a relative autonomy. The complexities and vicissitudes of the interaction of the interests of different social groups with the total public interest - the interest of social integrity, create the possibility of an independent form of the existence of political interest, embodied in this case in the image of a supra-class, "non-political" state.

Fourthly, the contradictory nature of political interest gives rise to various states and types in which it appears in the general system of political relations. All the variety of types and modifications of political interests has a common source - the correlation of the interests of classes, social groups and strata with the interests of society as a whole. Departure from it causes the formation of illusory forms that lose the attributive properties of political interests. Such an illusory form can be, for example, bureaucratic interest. This is an illusory universal, that is, in fact, not a political, but a private interest of an egoistic social group, which its representatives deliberately pass off as universal, but are not. Moreover, due to the inevitable orientation of the bureaucracy towards the formation of a specific corporate interest, it plays a restraining role in relation to the political activity of the masses.

Fifth, the content of political interest is formed mainly as a result of the interaction of the interests of social groups, depending on their maturity, political activity, and weight in society. However, the coincidence of the political interests of social groups and the political interests of society occurs only at a certain moment in the development of both the whole - society, and its integral part - the social group. There may be situations when the interests of a social group (class) have not yet matured to express the interests of the whole, and situations when, in time, the opportunities for the coincidence of these two types of interests have already been missed, when the class is less and less able to organize its activities taking into account the interests of the whole. The political activity of this class causes the growing disorganization of the social system, leads not to the resolution, but to the accumulation of ever new contradictions, the growth of social antagonisms. The coincidence of the political interests of a social group with the interests of society gives impetus to intensive development, since their activities do not diverge in the main determining direction from the main direction of social development. Such qualities are possessed by the progressive classes in the era of social revolutions (for example, bourgeois ones).

Sixthly, the political interests of individual classes, social groups and strata may not coincide with the political state interest: in exercising the overall political interest, the state may infringe on private political interests. The implementation of political measures by the Soviet state after the revolution of 1917 can serve as a concrete expression of this situation in society.

Seventh, in a multinational society, political interest has a national coloring, since nations are the subjects of politics, and national relations are an element of political relations. And in this regard, the negative processes: national strife, separatist tendencies, elements of a civil war on the basis of national contradictions and conflicts that are taking place today are an expression of the political interests of various classes, social groups and strata within the Russian Federation.

What is the role of political interests in the general system of political relations in society?

Firstly, in political interests, the actual political needs of representatives of certain social communities find the most generalized expression, as a result of which the interests themselves are always aimed at maintaining or changing the political position of a particular group in society, serve as real reasons for their political behavior.

Secondly, political interests determine the direction of political activity, reflect the relationship of the general (nationwide interest), private (the interest of a class, social group, individual).

Thirdly, political interests express the level of development of political activity, the degree to which it reflects the most important social needs. If, for example, the economy is the most important basis for political activity and political activity, then qualitative changes in the economy and its structure serve as the most important outcome, an indicator of the success of political activity.

Fourth, political interests reflect the attitude of members of society towards political power, the political system as a whole. The lack of coordination between the political interests of various social groups, strata and the interests of representatives of government institutions can lead not only to the formation and aggravation of political contradictions, but also to the creation of a situation in which contradictions can develop into a political conflict.

Fifthly, political interests are the basis for the formation of political views, political public sentiments, ideological positions, on the basis of which the choice of political priorities is carried out, taking into account the needs of social groups and strata of society.

Thus, in the conscious regulation of social processes, when choosing and ensuring the priorities of common interests over private ones, political interest is of great importance.

3. Political decisions as a cutltate of political activity

Political activity of any level and any scale begins with the adoption of a political decision.

A political solution is always a process that begins with the appearance of a political problem and ends with its resolution, removal. Of course, if effective measures are taken.

A political decision is also a way of realizing the interests of any participants in political events. The political life of society is not limited to the relationship between rulers and subordinates. It is the interaction of the interests of various participants in political events pursuing their goals. Their implementation is possible through a number of political measures, actions and, in particular, through political decisions.

A political decision is also a means of resolving conflicting political situations. Conflict in the political life of society is an inevitable phenomenon. The conflict is resolved through not one, but, as a rule, a whole series of political decisions, each of which should be a step of political wisdom, attentiveness, caution, consent, because we are talking about matching opposing, and often antagonistic, interests.

A political decision is also a conscious choice by the subject of activity of a course of action from many possible ones. This side of a political decision is directly related to such conditions for its adoption as freedom and responsibility: the higher the status of the decision-maker in the pyramid of participants in political events, the higher the degree of his freedom in choosing options for action, but at the same time, the higher the level of his social responsibility for their chosen option.

A political decision is also a volitional effort of the one who makes the decision. Achieving the intended result means taking into account the possible opposition of other participants in political events, therefore, providing for the expenditure of significant volitional efforts to implement it.

From the foregoing, we can conclude that a political decision is at the same time the coordination of the goals and means of achieving them by one subject of political activity, with the goals and means established by another subject.

Decision making has its own patterns, representing some algorithm, a sequence of steps that can lead to a positive result. The traditional steps are as follows: awareness of the existing political reality; determination of political interest; goal setting; the formation of appropriate values ​​and ways to achieve the goal; making a decision on a specific form of activity with the subsequent organization of its implementation, control, adjustment, etc. Depending on the political organization of the system, the decision is made as a volitional act of the dominant political subject, and may become a collective political and legal act of a system of political institutions. It may be the verbal command of an elite leader, or it may take the form of a universal law.

Modern democracy presupposes the adoption of a political decision through collective ideological and political creativity. Often this process is complex, multi-subject and multi-level. It is prepared by professionals from various scientific and ideological areas: political scientists, lawyers, sociologists, psychologists, representatives of various intellectual and party-political corporations. As part of a systems analysis, a set of alternatives is prepared that suggest differences in the resources needed to implement the decision, the methods of action, its results, as well as the possible consequences for different institutions, including the whole society.

If we proceed from the fact that political activity is a consistent, internally connected chain of political events and phenomena, as well as a set of actions of various political subjects, then it is precisely the political decision that acts as the starting point, the “trigger” of all events and actions.

As a rule, it is customary to distinguish several main types of implementation of decisions: populism, elitism, conservatism, democracy and radicalism. Each of these types of implementation of the political course corresponds to certain methods of power regulation, the nature of the relationship between the authorities and the population, the information regime of ruling.

Thus, populism as the main means of achieving power goals involves a direct appeal to public opinion, direct reliance on mass sentiment. Therefore, it is inevitably oriented toward simplification and, in some cases, vulgarization of the goals offered to society. The ruling elites are trying to develop some kind of slogan, an appeal to the population, the implementation of which, in their opinion, will ensure the overcoming of all contradictions and rapid progress towards success. Often in such cases, flattery is used (“communists are at the head of social progress”), intimidation by an external or internal threat (“ruling circles are in the power of the mafia”), unfounded promises and promises (“radical reforms will quickly lead to economic recovery”) . Populism is most pronounced under charismatic rule. But populist measures can also be an integral part of the political course in democratic and other types of regimes that adhere to rational methods of government.

A distinctive feature of elitism is a course to prevent any significant participation of citizens not only in the development, but also in correcting decisions, to encourage various intermediary forms of interaction with the electorate, to truncate political information to the public, and the closed nature of the adoption and implementation of political decisions at all stages. With a conservative policy, the activities of the authorities are dominated by the orientation to preserve the structure and functions of state authorities, traditional forms and methods of political regulation. Such management methods are characteristic of stable political regimes that cultivate the internal commitment of citizens to the values ​​and ideals that are stored and revered in a given society. This inevitably enhances patriotic sentiments and contributes to the preservation of the integrity of social and political organisms.

The radicalism of political rule leads to exactly the opposite results. Even when the desire to revolutionize society, to achieve its qualitative reorganization is not an end in itself of the authorities, the social and political consequences caused by radical methods transformations rarely bring civil peace, order and improve the lives of the population. Violence - the main method of governing revolutionary regimes - inevitably turns power into a deadly instrument of transformation, fraught with mass death of citizens.

Unlike radicalism, which neglects the vital rights and interests of people in the name of global future goals, democratism focuses on the real needs and demands of citizens, the embodiment of their inalienable rights and freedoms. By cultivating an atmosphere of mutually responsible relations between ordinary citizens and the elite, democratic politics achieves people's trust and the desire to loyally cooperate with the authorities. Compliance with the procedures of electoral cycles, the principle of separation of powers, civilized relations with the opposition, as a rule, excludes the means of strict social coercion from the arsenal of political management, and encourages the mechanisms of “self-discipline and self-coercion” of citizens (N. Elias).

Listliterature

1. General and Applied Political Science: Textbook edited by V.I. Zhukova, B.I. Krasnova M.: MGSU; Soyuz Publishing House, 1997.

2. Introduction to political science. V.P. Pugachev, A.I. Solovyov. Aspect press Moscow 2000.

3. Political science: study method. complex. Shalak A.V. - Irkutsk: BSUEP Publishing House, 2005.

4. Political science. Lecture course. - Omsk: OmGPU Publishing House, 2005.

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Gaganov Alexander Andreevich - expert of the Sulakshin Center, Ph.D.

Will the concept of political activity of NPO-foreign agents be changed? What does the Ministry of Justice propose?

The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation has developed a bill that clarifies the concept of political activity. The bill provides for amendments to the relevant provisions of the Federal Law "On Non-Commercial Organizations", paragraph 6 of Article 2, which refers to foreign agents, is amended. The first paragraph of paragraph 6 remains unchanged, that is, the concept of a non-profit organization performing the functions of a foreign agent remains the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE BILL

The order to clarify the concept of political activity was given to the Ministry of Justice by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin following a meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights on October 1, 2015.

At the meeting of the HRC, the President of the Russian Federation, in particular, emphasized that "the state will continue to pay special attention to the development of human rights institutions and institutions of civil society." According to him, in 2015 the amount of grants to such organizations amounted to 4.2 billion rubles. Vladimir Putin noted the growing interest of citizens in charitable and socially significant projects. To encourage the development of such projects, it was decided to establish an annual State Prize in the amount of 2.5 million rubles, which will be awarded for outstanding achievements in charitable activities. A similar award is provided for human rights defenders - for outstanding achievements in human rights activities.

It's funny that after the story about the state award for human rights defenders, Mikhail Fedotov, the chairman of the HRC, followed the passage that "prosecutors ... are engaged in human rights activities." Fedotov is perplexed: “Then why are they (prosecutors - author's note) so stubbornly recording human rights organizations as so-called foreign agents? After all, if human rights activities are recognized as political, then prosecutors should be fired, because they are prohibited by law from engaging in politics.” Fedotov also said that “for real human rights activists, foreign grants are not a reason, but only a means to fulfill their mission. There will be domestic grants - thanks, the work will continue for Russian money; there will be no money at all - it will continue on a volunteer basis.”

QUOD LICET JOVI…

Legislation indeed prohibits prosecutors and judges from being “members of public associations pursuing political goals and taking part in their activities”, “belonging to political parties, materially support these parties and take part in their political actions and other political activities”, “conduct political propaganda or agitation, participate in campaigns for elections to state authorities and local self-government bodies, attend congresses and conferences of political parties and movements, engage in other political activities. Political activity is also prohibited for the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation.

In the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, political activity is mentioned in the context of Article 277 - an encroachment on the life of a statesman or public figure, committed in order to stop his state or other political activity or out of revenge for such activity. It turns out that in the Criminal Code the concept of political activity is broader than the concept of state activity, and includes the latter.

Who then are the state and public figures who can be engaged in political activities? The commentary to the Criminal Code suggests that statesmen are deputies of all levels, members of the Government of the Russian Federation, deputy ministers and other high-ranking officials. And public figures are functionaries of political parties and public associations. In this sense, the Commissioner for Human Rights will be a statesman.

Thus, the concept of "political activity" is not uniformly used in the legislation. And the new definition of political activity proposed by the Ministry of Justice only exacerbates this situation.

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES NOW AND IN THE FUTURE

According to the Law on NGOs, political activity is the participation of NGOs (including through financing) in the organization and conduct of political actions in order to influence the adoption of decisions by state bodies aimed at changing their state policy, as well as in the formation of public opinion for these purposes. The list of exclusion areas is absolutely not important in practice, since NGOs working in these areas are free to do so. The Ministry of Justice in its bill supplements the list with a proviso that these activities should not be carried out for political purposes. This deprives the list of "exceptions" of any meaning.

New in the initiative of the Ministry of Justice was the indication of the areas of activity in which the foreign agent works: from the foundations of the constitutional order, the federal structure and to the legislative regulation of rights and freedoms. The question is, how does the Ministry of Justice imagine the activities of NGOs, for example, in the field of state security? Questions also arise when comparing the list of "non-political" activities and spheres of political activity.

For example, science is not related to political activity. It is logical to assume that science in the sphere of the foundations of the constitutional system is also not a political activity. However, if an NPO with foreign funding is engaged in such science, then this activity suddenly becomes political. Sociological research - a common research method for a number of scientific fields - is proposed to be attributed to political activity. Strange thing: science is not politics, but its methods are politics.

In any case, the purpose of this list is also unclear, because the draft law does not provide for proof of the fact that an NPO works in these areas in order to recognize it as a foreign agent.

The Ministry of Justice in its bill names the forms of political activity, among which, for example, are such forms as “public appeals to state bodies, local governments, their officials, as well as other actions that affect their activities, including those aimed on the adoption, amendment, repeal of laws or other legal acts”, “dissemination, including with the use of modern information technologies, of assessments of decisions made by state bodies and their policies”, “participation in the organization and conduct of public events in the form of meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches or picketing, or in various combinations of these forms, in organizing and conducting public discussions, speeches.

What does this mean? Any public event, any appeal to the authorities with requests to adopt or repeal a law or other act, any appeal by an NPO to the court to challenge the action or decision of an official, posting a poll on the Internet, publishing an article criticizing the government - all this is political activity. For example, sending to the authorities or articulating in the media a proposal to adopt a law on the Constitutional Assembly, which is already required to be adopted by virtue of Part 2 of Article 135 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is political activity. Even challenging the decision of the Ministry of Justice to include NGOs in the register is also a political activity.

Yes, this activity is not prohibited. But if it is an NPO with foreign sources of funding, welcome to the register of foreign agents. And “finding” foreign funding from NGOs is not so difficult, as practice has shown.

The law is not proposed to be changed in terms of indicating the purpose of the activity - influencing the state. But the Ministry of Justice offers a different formulation of the goal: "influencing the development and implementation of state policy, the formation of state bodies, local governments, their decisions and actions." This is a more streamlined wording. Defining an attempt to influence the decisions and actions of public authorities is much easier than proving "influence on decision-making aimed at changing public policy." Moreover, the concept of changing state policy is very vague.

Of course, it is important for the state to protect itself from real “foreign agents” who, through the inconspicuous activities of disparate NGOs, can undermine the foundations of the Russian state. Nobody argues that it is necessary to fight against such organizations financed by our geopolitical opponents. But the methods of struggle must be adequate and logical. According to the logic of the Ministry of Justice, foreign agents can simply include all NGOs funded from abroad. For this, it is not necessary to invent a new concept of political activity.

CONCLUSIONS

1. In its draft law, the Ministry of Justice described almost all types of activities of NGOs, for which they were included in the register of foreign agents after the introduction of the relevant norm in 2012. Almost any public activity of an NGO has become political.

2. If the HRC asked to concretize and narrow the concept of "political activity", then the Ministry of Justice, which carried out the corresponding instruction of the head of state, on the contrary, actually expanded this concept.

3. The new concept of political activity will further move this concept away from unification within the framework of the legislative system: this concept is not universal and applies only to NGOs.

4. The concept of political activity has nothing to do with the activities of political parties: it does not apply to political parties.

5. The draft law of the Ministry of Justice has a high chance of being adopted, because it will be submitted to the State Duma by the Government of the Russian Federation, on average 74% of whose initiatives are.

MORE RELATED

Activity is the conscious actions of people aimed at meeting their needs, at transforming the world around them and their own nature. Human activity is conscious purposeful.

Political activity is the conscious purposeful actions of political subjects pursuing individual, group goals and interests. It is the prerogative of political professionals who perform their functional duties. At the same time, if political professionals are part of state structures, then their activities should be a set of organized actions of political subjects aimed at realizing the general tasks of the political system of society. If this is the activity of political subjects who are in opposition to the ruling regime, then it can pursue completely different goals and interests.

Political activity is associated with the expression and protection of the interests of certain social groups. Therefore, the actions of an individual, pursuing personal or group goals, can acquire a political character only to the extent that they are included in public political activity.

The essence of political activity lies in the organization and management of social relations with the help of institutions of power. The very political system of society can function and develop only through political activity. At the same time, the functioning of the political system consists of both the direct activities of political subjects and the indirect participation in political activities of people who have delegated their powers to representative authorities and other political institutions.

But often, the authorities, which have received power from their voters and already formed political institutions, ignore the initial promises and thus neutralize the political activity of the majority of the country's citizens. As a result, political activity becomes the monopoly of professional politicians.

The most important features of political activity are rationality, efficiency and legitimacy. Rationality involves the expression of social needs, expediency and scientific validity of political goals and ways to achieve them. Efficiency is the real results of political activity. Legitimacy is the approval and support of political activity by the citizens of the country.

But in real life, political activity can be irrational, ineffective and illegitimate. Such a negative result of political activity depends not only on the professional qualities of the subjects of politics and on the availability of the necessary resources, but also on their political motivation. If the ruling political elite, through its political activities, creates the most favorable conditions for a relatively small layer of rich people, ignoring the interests of the rest (for example, as has been done since the beginning of the 90s of the 20th century in Russia), then for the majority of citizens of the country and society as a whole, such political activity will be irrational, ineffective and illegitimate.

Main types of political activity:

struggle for political power and power. This type of political activity is one of the main ones, since the possession of power or participation in the exercise of power gives the subjects great opportunities to achieve their goals;

participation in shaping the development and implementation of political decisions;

activities in non-state political institutions (parties, socio-political organizations and movements, and others);

organizing and holding mass social and political events (rallies, demonstrations, strikes, pickets, etc.);

motivated non-participation in various political events, for example, as a form of protest against a policy that does not meet the interests of the actor or his social group.

Depending on the direction of actions, researchers distinguish three main groups of political activity58: 1)

activities within the political system itself, such as the interaction between political institutions; 2)

the operation of the political system, aimed at environment, for example, the adoption of managerial decisions in order to change relations in society; 3)

actions of the surrounding social environment aimed at political institutions of power, for example, expressing support or distrust of the government, participating in the formation of institutions of power in elections, and others.

Political activity is divided into practical and theoretical. Each of these activities is determined by the specifics of the political subject.

Political behavior is a qualitative characteristic of political activity and political participation; it is how a person behaves in different situations, in different political events. For example, 450 deputies simultaneously participate in the work of the State Duma, that is, they are engaged in political activities. But the behavior of all these political actors is ambiguous. Some are quietly dozing in their deputy chairs, others are shouting something from their seats, others are rushing to the microphone installed on the podium, and the fourth are starting a brawl with their colleagues.

Participants in a political event also behave differently. For example, some demonstrators are marching peacefully along the declared route, others are trying to organize riots, and others are trying to provoke bloody clashes. All these differences in the actions of subjects and participants in politics fall under the definition of "political behavior".

In other words, all the above entities and participants are engaged in political activities or participate in a political event, but each behaves in its own way. Therefore, political behavior is a way of showing political participation in political activities.

According to D. P. Zerkin, political behavior manifests primarily subjective-subjective relations. This is an expression of the state of the subject itself in the process of action. Whereas in political activity, subjective-objective relations are in the foreground, i.e., relations determined by the type of activity59.

The political behavior of an individual (group) may depend on many factors. Let's dwell on some of them.

Individual emotional and psychological qualities of the subject or participant in the political process. For example, the behavior of V. V. Zhirinovsky is characterized by such properties as emotional richness, impulsiveness, unpredictability, shocking; for V.V. Putin - prudence, balance in words and deeds, outward calmness.

Personal (group) interest of the subject or participant in political actions. For example, a deputy strongly lobbies a draft law that interests him, although he is rather passive when discussing other issues.

adaptive behavior. It is connected with the need to adapt to the objective conditions of political life. For example, it is difficult to imagine a daredevil who, in a crowd glorifying some political leader (Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong), would shout out slogans denouncing this leader.

situational behavior. It is due to the specific situation when the subject or participant in the political process has practically no choice.

Behavior determined by moral principles and moral values ​​of a political actor. For example, Jan Hus, J. Bruno and many other great thinkers could not “give up their principles” and became victims of the Inquisition.

Competence of an actor in a political situation or political actions as a factor of behavior. It manifests itself in how well the subject controls the situation, understands the essence of what is happening, knows the "rules of the game" and is able to adequately use them.

Behavior caused by political manipulation, when lies, deceit, populist promises "force" people to behave in an appropriate way.

Violent coercion to a certain type of behavior. Such methods of influencing behavior are usually characteristic of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes of power. So, for example, under the communist regime in the USSR, people were forced to participate in mass political actions (subbotniks, rallies, elections, demonstrations) and at the same time behave in a certain way.

The nature of activity and behavior is significantly influenced by the motivation and degree of involvement of the actor in political life. For example, for some, participation in political events is a random episode, for others, politics is a profession, for others it is a vocation and the meaning of life, for others it is a way to earn a living. Mass behavior can be determined by the socio-psychological properties of the crowd, when individual motivation is suppressed and dissolved in the poorly conscious (sometimes spontaneous) actions of the crowd.