Lecture № 2 State as the basic institution of political system. National revival of Ukraine as the aim and content of political activity.

Тhemes: The notion of a state. Theories of state origin. Main features of a state. Main functions of a state. Forms of state government. Types of state. The concept of a lawful state. Future of the state.

The notion of a state A state is the basic institution in the political system of society. Analysis of development of state's essential features, social role of functions it fulfills, forms of state rule and state regime, principles of state policy is one of the most important tasks of politology.

State is … State is a form of society organization, a bearer of public power, integrity of interrelated establishments and organizations that govern the society on behalf of the people.

The state is characterized by: Power organization according to certain territorial principle: population division according to the inhabited territory but not to family features. Integral character - a state embodies with its influence all the people that inhabit its territory including the citizens of the other countries.

The state is characterized by (2): Public power that is performed only by people that are engaged in society administration and protection of established rules. Right and possibility to conduct inner and foreign policy on behalf of the whole society. Monopoly on tax collection for national budget formation, support of state apparatus.

The state is characterized by (3): Monopoly on coercion influence on the population and special system of institutions, establishments and means of coercion (army, police, courts, prisons) that fulfil functions of the state power. Sovereign legislative branch of power - right to issue laws that are obligatory to the entire population.

The notion of a state can be viewed as: a community of people that live in a certain territory and are grouped by the organs of the state power; a system of organizations, institutions, establishments that have supreme, power on a certain territory.

Rabinovich gives us the following definition of state: A state is an organization of political power of the dominating part of population in socially-inhomogeneous society that supports unity and security of the society, manages common social affairs.

The place and role of the state in the political system The place and role of the state in the political system are determined by the basic principles of its functioning: Supremacy of public power, Preservation of state integral structure that is based on the reach of compromise between those who rule and those who are ruled regardless of the government stuff and ruling party.

The place and role of the state in the political system (2) Reaching of the state unity through certain relation with social forces of society - classes, groups, nations, political parties, etc. - by the means of the right and possibility to perform inner and foreign policy on behalf of the people trough the natural interaction with the civic society in general.

Theories of state origin Theological theory explained the state origin by the will of God. The theory supposes the dependence of the state upon the religious organizations and leaders. Tertullianus, Aurelius Augustinus were the representatives of this theory. They claimed a state to be eternal and any rebel is condemned to fail because God's will is laid into the leader's hands and is aimed to protect everybody.

Theories of state origin (2) Non-historic theory was proposed by Aristotle. He declared that nature of a man who is a political creature determined its life in the society and the state is a natural result of human communities' development.

Theories of state origin (3) Patriarchal theory says that a state is the result of the family development. The absolute state power is the continuation of the father's power in the family. Patriarchal theory was popular in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and treated a state as a big family.

Theories of state origin (4) Treaty theory appeared in the Ancient Greece and was later formed in the works of Grotius, Spinoza, Rousseau, Locke, Hobbes, Diderot According to this theory the state appeared in the result of a treaty between the sovereign dwellers of certain territory with the ruler according to the laws of human intelligence with the aim to achieve order and stability.

Theories of state origin (5) Psychological theory relates the state origin to special qualities of the human psychology that needs to depend on some great personality. The people is an inert mass and isn't able to make decisions and needs government. To the founders of this theory belong L. Petrazhytskyi, G. Tarde.

Theories of state origin (6) Violence theory says that a state appeared as a consequence of conquest of one people by the other. A state is the form of domination of conquerors by over the conquered. A conquest is viewed as a nature law. It is the result of social conflict, mabsolute hostility that is characteristic of people. The theory was created by L. Humplovych, K. Kautskyi.

Theories of state origin (7) Marxist (class) theory links state origin with class division of society. The dictatorship of a ruling class is the essence of a state. It was founded by K. Marx and F. Engels. They claimed that appearance of a state is the result of natural-historical objective process.

To the basic state features belong: The system of sovereign political power (legislative, executive, judicial). Sovereignty means that a state enjoys the supreme and unlimited power on the inner subjects inside the state and the other states are to recognize it.

To the basic state features belong (2): Territory. A state is associated with a certain territory where its laws have absolute power. The territory includes the land, entrails, air space and sea- expanse. State language. This is a language of the majority of population.

To the basic state features belong (3): Monopoly on legal applying of the power. A state creates special apparatus of coercion that is used in situations established by the law. The range of state coercion spreads from limitation of freedom to physical extermination of the person.

To the basic state features belong (4): State apparatus as a rule consists of the parliament, local governing bodies, president, government and its regional bodies, judicial bodies, prosecuting magistracy.

To the basic state features belong (5): National law system. Every state functions in the certain law system. State law system establishes norms that regulate social life, and which subordinate all the subjects and objects of politics.

To the basic state features belong (6): Population. A state influences all the people in the country. No person can exists outside the state and disobey it, because state appliance is a social necessity and is regulated у the law.

Main functions of a state Economical - protection of economical basis of society, existing way of production, different property forms; regulation of economical activity, market relationships; state government in economical sphere.

Main functions of a state (2) Social - regulation of relationships between social and ethnical communities and prevention of social conflicts and contradictions and their settling in case of occurrence; regulation of interests and needs of individuals and social groups; efficient demographic policy.

Main functions of a state (3) Support of legality and order - control and supervision over law norms following and application of coercion in the case of need; protection of rights and freedoms of the citizens, creation of conditions for their safety, social order, etc

Main functions of a state (4) Legislative - creation and adoption of new laws and other juridical norms. Cultural-educational - regulation and development of educational system, system of culture, science, physical culture and sport, morality, humanism, common to mankind and national values.

Main functions of a state (5) Ecological - environment protection, rational use of natural recourses, formation of ecological culture.

Foreign state functions National security - protection of the country from the outer aggression and protection of its integrity. Diplomatic - protection and realization of national interests of the state and its citizens in international life; realization of independent international policy.

Foreign state functions (2) Cooperation - development of economical, political, cultural relationships between countries; deepening of integration processes on public, regional and political basis.

Forms of state organization Unitarian states. Federations. Confederations.

Forms of state government Monarchy is such a form of state government when the supreme power belongs to monarch completely or partially and is inherited. There are absolute and constitutional monarchies.

Forms of state government (2) Republic is characterized by the realization of the supreme state power by the elective collegiate body that is formed by the population (or its part) for a certain time.

Types of state Democratic state is such a type of state where the people is the source of power, where state democratic social-political institutions and democratic type of political culture provide perfect combination of people's participation in state affairs solving and wide civic rights and freedoms.

Types of state (2) Social state is a state that strives to provide every citizen with worthy conditions for existence, social security, participation in government of production, equal chances, possibility of self-realization of personality.

Types of state (3) Legal state is such a type of state that has law supremacy, power distribution, legal protection of a person, juridical equality of a citizen and state as its basic principles.