Analyze the ways in which political parties operate. Political parties

Keywords

POLITICAL PARTY/ GOALS / OPERATING PRINCIPLES / VOTER INTEREST PRIORITY/ POLITICAL PARTIES / PURPOSES / PRINCIPALS OF ACTIVITY /

annotation scientific article on political science, the author of the scientific work - Volkova M.A.

Introduction. The article is devoted to the topical problem of researching goals and operating principles political parties through the prism of citizens' participation in the management of state affairs. Target . The main goal is to analyze the goals of their activities that are normatively fixed and proclaimed by the parties in cooperation with the main operating principles political parties in Russia, identifying the relationship between goals and principles. Results. The Russian legislation has been studied in order to consolidate the main goals and operating principles political parties, statutes analyzed political parties... The conclusion is made about the primacy of the principles, as well as the need to introduce into the list operating principles political parties principle. Conclusion. Conclusions are drawn about the importance of researching goals and operating principles political parties in Russia, about the need to bring them into line with each other in order to eliminate emerging contradictions. The misconception that the main goal is political party there is always the conquest of power, arguments are made in favor of the fact that the conquest of power is not and should not be an end in itself of activity political parties... The importance of the relationship between goals and operating principles political parties... It is proposed to supplement the current legislation on political parties another principle principle priority of voters' interests.

The text of the scientific work on the topic "The goals and principles of the activities of political parties in the context of citizens' participation in the management of state affairs"

UDC 329.1 / .6; 342.7

OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ACTIVITY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PARTICIPATION OF CITIZENS IN THE GOVERNMENT OF STATE AFFAIRS

M. A. Volkova

Post-graduate student of the Department of Constitutional and Municipal Law, Saratov State University Email: [email protected]

Introduction. The article is devoted to the topical problem of studying the goals and principles of the activities of political parties through the prism of citizens' participation in the management of state affairs. Target. The main goal is to analyze the goals of their activities that are normatively fixed and proclaimed by the parties in conjunction with the basic principles of the activities of political parties in Russia, and to identify the correlation between goals and principles. Results. The Russian legislation has been investigated in order to consolidate the main goals and principles of the activities of political parties, and the statutes of political parties have been analyzed. The conclusion is made about the primacy of the principles, as well as the need to introduce the principle of priority of voters 'interests into the list of principles of political parties' activity. Conclusion. Conclusions are made about the importance of studying the goals and principles of the activities of political parties in Russia, about the need to bring them in line with each other in order to eliminate emerging contradictions. The misconception that the main goal of a political party is always the conquest of power is emphasized, arguments are given in favor of the fact that the conquest of power is not and should not be the end in itself of the activities of political parties. The importance of the relationship between the goals and principles of the activities of political parties is emphasized. It is proposed to supplement the current legislation on political parties with one more principle - the principle of priority of the interests of voters. Key words: political party, goals, principles of activity, priority of voters' interests.

Introduction

The Federal Law "On Political Parties" (hereinafter - the Law on Political Parties), securing in Art. 3 the concept of a political party, formulates it through an indication of the goals of this subject of political activity and system. Among them stand out such as citizen participation Russian Federation in the political life of society through the formation and expression of their political will, participation in public and political actions, in elections and referendums, as well as representing the interests of citizens in public authorities and local governments.

However, further, fixing separately the goals of a political party, the legislator names in addition other goals: the formation of public opinion; political education and upbringing of citizens; expression of views of citizens on any issues of public

life, bringing these opinions to the attention of the general public and public authorities; nominating candidates for elections at various levels, participating in these elections, as well as in the work of elected bodies, which we see as not entirely correct, since not all the stated goals of political parties are reflected in the normative definition of a political party. For example, the formation of public opinion as a target setting, in our opinion, is not reflected in the definition of a political party, but it is present in the list of goals below. Obviously, there is a certain inconsistency in this, expressed in the vagueness of the presentation of the goals of the political party.

The main task is to analyze the goals of their activities that are normatively fixed and proclaimed by the parties in interaction with the basic principles of the activities of political parties in Russia, and to identify the correlation between goals and principles.

results

Parties are given freedom to choose and fix their goals in the charter and program, the only limitation is the illegality of goals (Article 9 of the Law prohibits the creation and operation of political parties whose goals or actions are aimed at carrying out extremist activities).

Analyzing the statutes of modern Russian political parties, we note that for the most part in them it is difficult to find manifestations of the independence of political parties in formulating and defining the goals of their activities. Most often they contain copies of the goals set forth in the Law on Political Parties, but there are also some variations: United Russia»At present, the very first goal of the party is to ensure the compliance of state policy, decisions made by the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local authorities, the interests of the majority of the population of the Russian Federation, as well as the expression of citizens' views on any issues of public life. The charter of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation does not contain a delimitation of goals and objectives, consolidating them together, among them is the strengthening of the influence of the party in society at the expense of the actions of each party member, each primary, local and regional branch of the party; whether this is a goal or a task - one can only guess, nevertheless, in our opinion, you

keeping such a postulate as a goal would be wrong and impractical.

The All-Russian political party "Civil Initiative" sets the main goal of the party to transform Russia into a modern, respected in the world multinational country, in which a comfortable, safe and dignified life for every person is ensured.

Thus, we can conclude that only the main goals of a political party are legally designated, and all the rest, which will be enshrined in its charter and program, should not contradict the main goals. This circumstance allows us to classify the goals of political parties into basic and optional, legislatively enshrined and contained in the charter and program of the party, and in terms of content, we can single out and consider ideological, social, economic, educational, etc.

The opinion that the main goal of a political party is always the conquest of power seems to be incorrect. We believe that the conquest of power is not an end in itself for a political party, but rather an effective means for realizing its main goals, for example, ensuring the participation of citizens in the management of state affairs. This point of view finds support in the writings of political scientists and lawyers. Any party needs state power in order to use the power-coercive capabilities of the state as a political institution to give status to the nationwide ideals and interests that this party expresses, and for their practical implementation through legislation and executive mechanisms of state administration.

Professor S. A. Avakyan understands the goals of political parties as "strategic" pointers ", vectors of movement forward." Many authors support the point of view that the goals of all political parties are of a constitutional and legal nature, since they affect the fundamental foundations of state and social reality, the goals of political parties “proclaim the defended models of the desired state structure country, its constitutional and legal foundations, as well as the institutional foundations of the structure of public (non-state) life ”. Based on the goals, the tasks and main directions of activity of each party are formulated, as well as the most significant functions of political parties are expressed.

In addition to the goals of the Law on Political Parties in Part 1 of Art. 8 fixes the basic principles

zypes of activity of political parties in the Russian Federation. Among them are voluntariness, equality, self-government, legality and publicity, all of them are based on the provisions of Art. 30 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation that everyone has the right to association and no one can be forced to join any association and stay in it. The law designates these principles as basic, which makes it possible to think about the presence of other principles, possibly of secondary or optional importance.

Establishing the principles of activity of political parties, the legislator gives freedom to the latter in setting goals, forms and methods of their activities. A competent statement of norms on the goals and principles of the activities of political parties can, to a certain extent, minimize discrepancies in the main directions and functions of their activities.

The principle of voluntariness indicates that, despite close interaction with state structures, a political party remains independent from state bodies and institutions by education. In this connection, both free entry into the party and free exit from it are provided. This principle also follows from the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, however, unlike other public associations, a political party is characterized by special goals (part 4 of article 3 of the Law on Political Parties) of all members and common ideological attitudes. The freedom of activity of public associations, including political parties, is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Despite the proclaimed voluntariness of the activities of political parties, it is necessary to remember that their activities should not violate human and civil rights and freedoms, since they are recognized highest value In Russian federation. Thus, we believe that voluntariness is applicable both to the order of creation, membership in a party, and to the very activity of a political party.

The principle of equality is based on Art. 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which proclaims the equality of all citizens of the Russian Federation before the law and the court. Equality in relation to political parties means equal rights for all party members. Voluntariness and equality are closely intertwined.

Glasnost implies the openness of the party's activities, the availability of its main documents, coverage of its activities and the results achieved in the press and on the Internet.

The principle of self-government of a political party allows it to independently determine the internal structure, the course of its future activities, the vector of political orientation, develop the Charter and program of its activities, and determine priority areas.

Considering the basic principles of the development of democratic institutions in Russia, the basic values associated with a democratic regime (freedom, equality, human rights), it seems to us obvious that there is a discrepancy between these values in the norm of Part 1 of Art. 8 of the Law on Political Parties.

In our opinion, in addition to the above principles, it is necessary in paragraph 1 of Art. 8 to make changes by including the principle of priority of voters' interests in the list of principles, since all the activities of the party on the basis of the above principles are implemented with the aim of taking into account the interests of voters as much as possible. In this regard, it seems illogical that the Law contains a prohibition on the possibility of a political party to nominate persons who are members of other political parties. We believe that Part 1 of Art. 8 of the Law on Political Parties, which enshrines the basic principles of the activities of political parties, should be stated as follows:

“The activities of political parties are based on the principles of voluntariness, equality, self-government, legality, transparency and priority of the interests of voters. Political parties are free to determine their internal structure, goals, forms and methods of activity, with the exception of the restrictions established by this Federal Law. "

Given the objectives of this principle, part 3.1 of Art. 36 of the same Law, introduced in 2006 and prohibiting political parties from nominating candidates for deputies, including as part of lists of candidates, and for other elective positions in government bodies and local self-government bodies of citizens of the Russian Federation who are members of other political parties , should be removed from the text of the Law, thereby giving the parties such an opportunity.

Within the framework of the approach we have chosen, it will be possible to speak of a consensus concept of democracy, which seeks to make decisions that take into account as much as possible wide range preferences, and not just the preferences of the majority, which is supported by the principles of the existence of a proportional

We believe that this is a progressive step towards increasing the effectiveness of citizens' participation in the management of state affairs, since political parties should be considered primarily as an instrument for the realization of the basic political rights of citizens and an instrument for participation in the management of state affairs, and not a means of conquering power, as we have already mentioned. above in the context of the objectives of the political party.

At first glance, the question of political parties seems to be well developed in scientific literature, however, with a thorough study of the principles of the activities of political parties and the study of their essence, many questions arise. So, for example, the relationship between principles such as voluntariness and self-government is not entirely clear, since, using these concepts in a broad sense, there is a possibility of duplication and even substitution of one concept for another. In this regard, it would be appropriate to clarify the principle of voluntariness, using the wording “voluntariness of membership”, which would significantly narrow the meaning put into this principle and would allow avoiding an unreasonable broad interpretation. Such experience exists in the legislation of the Republic of Armenia: the principle of voluntary membership is specified in the law regulating the status of political parties.

In the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in addition to securing the principle of freedom of association, the meaning of the principle of equality as the equality of members of political parties is also clarified, that is, the meaning of this principle is also deliberately clarified. And in the Republic of Belarus, in addition to those named in Russian law principles, enshrined and such as the principle of freedom of association and democracy.

In addition to the basic principles of the activities of political parties, enshrined in the Federal Law "On Political Parties", some authors highlight other principles arising from certain areas of activity or the rights and obligations of parties. For example, A.V. Ilinykh singles out the principles of information support for the activities of political parties: the principle of public availability of information about the constituent and program documents of a party, the principle of free dissemination of information about the activities of a political party, the principle of using state and municipal governments by political parties.

local mass media on equal terms, the principle of guaranteed access to state and municipal media. However, in our opinion, such a classification of principles reflects more the organizational principles of interaction between parties with state and municipal bodies, the organizational mechanism of information support, rather than the essential and value guidelines of the party as a whole.

Conclusion

The analysis carried out allows us to conclude that the principles, being the basis and ideological regulators, should form the basis of the goals of the activities of political parties, and not vice versa. The formulation of goals and the artificial introduction of principles under these goals is extremely wrong. It is the principles that should be the criteria of legitimacy, the formulation of goals in this case is secondary, since the principles provide a uniform understanding of goals. The imposition of the principles of the activity of a political party on specific actions allows one to judge the legality and correctness of the activity of a political party.

Bibliography

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Purposes and Principals of Political Parties Activity in Sphere of Participation in Government

Saratov State University,

83, Astrakhanskaya, Saratov, 410012, Russia

Email: [email protected]

Introduction. The article is dedicated to the actual problem of analyze of purposes and principals of political parties activity in sphere of participation in government. Purpos. Main point of article is to analyze juridical purposes of political parties activity and basic principals of political parties activity in Russia and to analyze of correlation purposes and principals. Results. The author analyzed the Russian legislation on the subject of fixing the main objectives and analyzed principles of political parties activity, the statutes of political parties. The author draws a conclusion about the primacy of the principles, as well as about the necessity of insertion in the list of principles of political parties activity of the principle of priority of interests of voters. Conclusion. Author discovers roots about importance of analyze juridical purposes of political parties activity and basic principals of political parties activity in Russia. Author concludes about the need to bring them in line with each other to the exclusion of any disputes. Author underlines the wrong idea about that the main purpose of political parties always is the conquest of power. The author arguments in favor of the fact that the conquest of power is not and should not be an end in itself the activities of political parties. It is emphasized the importance of the relationship of the purposes and principles of activity of political parties. The author offers to amend the legislation on political parties one more principle - principle of priority of interests of voters.

Key words: political parties, purposes, principals of activity, priority of interests of voters.

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5. Mazdogova Z. Z. Parlamentskaja partija kak politiko-pravovoj institut. Vestnik Kazanskogo juridicheskogo instituta MVD Rossii, 2012, no. 8, pp. 85-90.

6. Avak "jan S. A. Konstitucionno-pravovoj status politicheskih partij v Rossii. Moscow, Norma Publ., 2011.320 p.

7. Barashkov G. M. Konstitucionnye celi kak politiko-pravovye akty v programmah politicheskih partij. Izv. Saratov Univ. New Ser. Ser. Economics. Management. Law, 2008. Vol. 8, iss. 1, pp. 49-52.

8. Konstitucija Rossijskoj Federacii (prinjata na vsenarod-nom golosovanii 12 dekabrja 1993 g.). Rossiiskaja gazeta, 1993, 25 Dec.

9. Fenenko A. V. Koncepcii i opredelenii demokratii. Moscow, KomKniga Publ., 2006.224 p.

10. Il "inyh A. V. Administrativno-pravovoj mehanizm infor-macionnogo obespechenija dejatel" nosti politicheskih partij: sushhnost ", principy. Uchenye zametki TOGU, 2013, vol. 4, no. 4. pp. 1197-1203.

Political party concept means a special type of public organization, the task of which is to take part in the management of the state or local self-government bodies (a city, for example). The party may also aim to completely seize state power.

The first political parties in the modern sense appeared in the 19th century in some Western countries after the introduction of universal suffrage: Progressive Party of Germany, Belgian Liberal Party, etc.

An interesting fact is that more than a third of Russians, according to polls, do not understand what political parties are for. To do this, consider the goals and functions of political parties.

Functions of political parties.

Formation of public opinion.
Political education of citizens of the state.
Expression of citizens' positions on social issues.
Communicating this position to the public and authorities.
Nomination of their candidates for elections at various levels.

Types of political parties.

According to the social class criterion:

Bourgeois parties (consisting of representatives of business, entrepreneurs).
Working people (representatives of workers, peasants)
Reconciliators (from various representatives of all classes).

By party organization:

Cadre parties - consisting of professional politicians or parliamentarians and having a group of leaders. Most active during elections. Target audience - representatives of the elite. Financed from private sources.
Mass parties are centralized organizations with statutory membership. Funded by membership fees. The masses are numerous and have a target audience.

By the degree of involvement in state power:

The governing bodies are those with a majority in parliament.
Oppositional - opponents of the ruling parties, constituting a minority in parliament.
Those who do not participate are those who did not receive a sufficient number of votes in the elections.

Left (communist and socialist, or with a corresponding bias).
Right (nationalistic, or with a nationalist bias, as well as conservative and liberal).
Centrists (Democrats).
Mixed.

By organization structure:

Classic type - with a clear organization and permanent membership.
Movement type - membership in them is formal.
Political clubs - free membership.
Authoritarian-possessive type - the party of one person, the author of the ideology of the party and its main representative (for example, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc or the Radical Party of Oleg Lyashko).

By type of ideology:

Liberal parties. Aimed at minimal government interference in public and private life.
Democratic parties. They stand up for democracy.
Social Democratic Parties. Stand for government regulation public life.
Communist parties. For complete equality, public property, power control over social and economic life.
Nationalist parties. The ideology of the rule of the nation in the life of the country.
Clerical parties. Church and religious ideas and norms.
Green parties. The ecological component of political ideology.
Fascist parties. Elimination of freedoms, suppression of human personality.

Often a particular type of political party is associated with certain colors and sometimes emblems. For example, it is generally accepted that all communist (left-wing) parties are associated with red. Conservative parties are usually blue or blue-black, Social Democrats are pink, and liberals are yellow. The color of the green parties is obvious, and the color of the monarchists is white (sometimes purple). Brown, black, red and black are the colors of fascists and neo-Nazis. Another popular type of color is the colors of the national flag. These colors are most popular in Ukraine.

The key feature of such a phenomenon as political parties is that they become intermediaries between society and the state. Political parties are the highest form of organizing political activity (in comparison with other group subjects of political activity - mass movements, public organizations, pressure groups, etc.). In addition, political parties are also the most organized form of social activity.

The activities of political parties necessarily include

1. Justification of political goals

2. making decisions that are binding on all citizens

3. collection of taxes; 4.creation of armed groups

P. p. naz-sya - an organizationally formed political association striving to achieve political goals and using legitimate means for this.

First, we note that a political party is determined, that is, a party that sets itself political goals associated with participation in government. In one organizational association - parties - different trends, groups, factions can exist simultaneously with their own political goals. Sometimes these goals are agreed upon and brought up to the general party level, sometimes they remain at the internal party level. The party itself has no goals. Individuals united in a party have goals. In this sense, the expression "party goals" is understood.

Secondly, the party must be organizationally formed. This concept includes both the creation of a structure for the organization and management of the party, and its legal form and registration. The party must have the necessary documents accompanying the registration. Usually this is a program that sets out its goals and objectives, and a charter containing information on the basis of the party's activities. In some countries, the presence of a party program is written down in the constitution, while others have special laws on parties that stipulate the conditions for creating a party and the requirements for it from the state.

Thirdly, this definition assumes that the party exists in a democratic society in which the issues of state governance are resolved on a legal basis. More often than not, these legitimate means include the institution of elections as a sine qua non for a party to come to power in a democratic way. Therefore, in order to achieve its goals, the party organizes its activities in such a way as to ensure a certain number of votes of voters who will vote for it in the elections.

There is no need to include in the definition of the party the words that the party "acts on a permanent basis and has a political program." As early as M. Duverger noted that in the governing bodies of the French Communist Party, workers constitute a minority. Parties are created and disappear in a shorter time, along with the regimes from which they grew (for example, the National Socialist Party of Germany).

In the conditions of modern communication networks and expanded media, the criterion of the nationwide character of a party is not essential. It is quite possible to imagine a party that has only a center, and the rest of its structure is virtual, activating only during the pre-election period.

In most cases, under proportional electoral systems, no party succeeds in gaining political leadership in a country. Therefore, even a party that is part of the leading bloc of the country often does not dominate, but only exerts pressure, solving along the way the problems of its leadership. The party does not necessarily seek mass support either. Often she needs support, but not support, which in its meaning is presented as a more stable formation in time. It is possible that the party exists in conditions of broad dynamic support only during the election campaign, and the rest of the time it is a small stable organization that becomes active only before the elections.

In fact, in all cases, it should be about interests, since the party always represents, first of all, someone's interests. Programs and promises are built on these interests as a foundation, and if a party comes to power, then these “fundamental interests”, hidden from wide strata of society, are decisive for it first of all, and only then, as far as possible, the fulfillment of other promises , under whose banner the party went to the elections. Most often, interests are determined economic factors and material conditions. Therefore, in the future, without specifying the concept of "interests", we will assume that the party represents the interests of only its members, and to the maximum extent the interests of its leadership, which is understood not only the direct formal leaders, but also the upper circle of persons associated with the party hierarchy who finance the party, create the conditions for its work, control the votes of certain groups of the electorate. Representatives of the party are recruited from this stratum to parliament, to the highest executive bodies, large government administrators. Often, party members associate with them not their real interests, but their ideas about possible interests, prejudices, desires. This side is used by populist leaders to win the support of party members and the electorate. The existence of ideal representations is also good because no one demands their fulfillment; one can approach them endlessly, but never achieve. An example of such an ideal is communism, which for a hundred years illuminated the road along which the material prosperity of the leaders of the Communist Parties in all countries was created.

According to Weber, “parties should be understood as associations based on free (formally) obligations. Their activities are aimed at providing their leaders with power within any organization, so that active members also have a chance to achieve material or ideal goals. "

The interests of each party member may be different, but there are general political goals, the achievement of which, in the opinion of the party member, will provide sufficient realization of his individual interests. In other words, the individual assessment of the benefits received by a party member if the party realizes its goal with his participation exceeds the individual assessment of the costs of a party member associated with his participation in the party. Any party, like any hierarchical system, is not homogeneous. Formally, everyone in the party is equal, but some always give orders, while others must carry them out. Those at the top of this hierarchy have more opportunities to defend their own interests than those at the bottom. This was very clearly traced in the former CPSU, in which each level of leadership had clearly defined opportunities for obtaining material benefits and additional benefits, ranging from apartments, cars and ending with food and clothing, special sanatoriums and medical institutions.

From a guest >>

16. The activities of political parties necessarily include

1. Justification of political goals

2.creation of armed groups

3. making decisions that are binding on all citizens

4. tax collection

17. What is the characteristic of a totalitarian state?

1.developed system of laws protecting individual rights

2.free formation of political parties and movements

3. the powers of the head of state are unlimited

4.division of state powers

18. The exclusive feature of the rule of law is

1.multiparty system

2.guarantee of the rights and freedoms of citizens

3.availability of various media

4.sovereignty

19.Institute Russian law is the right

1.Humanitarian

2.international

3.hereditary

4.political

20.Among the rights provided by the 1993 Constitution, a new one is the right to

1.education

2.Local government

3. to elect and be elected

4.the right to life

21.A type of administrative violation is

1.violation of the rules of travel in the subway

2. violation of labor discipline

3. violation of academic discipline

22. The bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the Russian Federation is

1.President

2.Government

3.Federal Assembly

4.the people of Russia

23. The concept of "adversarial nature" refers to the activities of the

1.the legislative branch

2.the executive

3.internal affairs

4.the judiciary

24 Are the following judgments about legal and regulatory acts?

A. In the Russian Federation, the population of the country participates in the adoption of laws through a referendum.

B. Regulations differ in legal force.

1.Only A is correct

2.Only B is correct

3.both statements are correct

4. Both judgments are wrong.

political party legal constitutional

The essential features of a political party find their succinct expression in its different definitions... Wherein generally accepted definition there is no political party in legal and political science, just as there is no unity of approaches to understanding its essence and characteristic features. According to Z.M. Zotova, only in domestic scientific works there are more than two hundred definitions of a political party. Among the set of these definitions in modern political and legal science, the most widespread are electoral (D. Sartori and others), structural (M. Duverger, M. Ostrogorsky), functional (K. Lawson and others), structural and functional (K. Neumann). For example, D. Sartori defines a political party as "a political group that actively participates in the conduct of elections and, thanks to this, has the opportunity to conduct its candidates to public authorities." In this case, the essence of a political party is seen, first of all, in its connection with the electoral process, which ensures the coming to power of a certain group of politicians.

The supporter of the functional approach K. Lawson proceeds from the fact that "a political party is an organization of individuals that seeks, through elections or in addition to elections, to extend the powers of the people or part of it in order to exercise political domination over this institution." It is significant that K. Lawson motivates the brevity of his definition by the lack of the possibility of developing a comprehensive definition of the party. Historically, a similar approach was inherent in a number of domestic researchers of political parties, for example, P.A. Berlin, which defined parties as "free organizations of the masses to achieve a specific social or political goal."

The electoral definition of a party, which is actually a kind of functional definition, is based on singling out the electoral function as the most significant of all the functions carried out by the party. Among domestic researchers, G.M. Mikhalev, who defines political parties as "public associations participating in elections at various federal, regional and local levels, formulating political goals and striving to participate in government bodies."

Structural definitions that derive the essence of a party from the specifics of its organizational structure are also known to modern science. The traditions of the structural approach date back to the works of M.Ya. Ostrogorsky and R. Michels, who studied the patterns of the structural dynamics of contemporary political parties and the tendencies of their oligarchization in a democratic society. In modern science, this direction is represented, first of all, by M. Duverger, who singled out as the most important attributes of the party such characteristics as the features of their structure, duration of existence, factors of the organizational structure. The original structural definition is offered by R.F. Matveev, who views the party as an organization uniting the social movement and the current of social and political thought.

Some Western researchers (S. Neumann and others) have undertaken quite successful attempts formulating a comprehensive structural and functional definition of a party as "a statutory organization of political agents of society who are associated with the control of government power and who compete for popular support with another group or groups." The definition of Yu.S. Gambarov, contained in his famous work "Political parties in their past and present" ("free social groups formed within the rule of law for joint action on the basis of common interests and ideas of all united individuals").

Thus, in our opinion, a political party is understood as a temporarily stable public association that expresses the interests of a part of society and aims to fight for the possession of power, characterized by statutory discipline, community of values and corporate interests.

Various theoretical and methodological approaches to the definition of the concept of a political party are formed both by lawyers-state scholars and political scientists. Of course, the scientific definitions of a political party, although they do not carry a normative load, are nevertheless reflected in the development and consolidation of the legal structure of political parties in normative acts. At the same time, in the course of its development, the concept of a political party is operationalized: it reflects, first of all, legally significant signs, the fact of the presence or absence of which can be reliably established. In this regard, the position of T.B. Beknazar-Yuzbashev, who proposed to clearly distinguish between the general state-legal meaning of the concept of a party (from the standpoint of considering political parties in the context of their interaction with the entire system of state, socio-political and legal institutions) and a specific legal definition in the law, the form of a specific expression of a party in law ...

The impossibility of fully identifying the legal concept of a political party with the concepts formulated by political and legal sciences has been repeatedly noted in the latest studies on political parties, since “the translation of the corresponding theoretical provisions into normative act requires taking into account the specifics of legal regulation ”.

The question of the criteria for the legal significance of the features of the concept of a political party is of great practical importance. However, this was not always the case. Until the middle of the XX century. the activities of political parties in most countries of competitive democracies were regulated mainly within the framework of the electoral process; accordingly, in the absence of legislation on parties, the scientific concept of a political party was identical to its legal definition. According to the researcher of political parties of the early XX century. Yu.S. Gambarov "political parties are not a legal, but only a social fact, devoid of any legal sanction." However, with the development of the system of sources of law and the establishment of the institution of parties as an independent organizational form of a public association, the issue of identifying legally significant party criteria has become relevant.

Modern legal science has various options for identifying legally significant criteria for a political party. According to Yu.A. Yudin, an analysis of modern legislation allows us to single out three main qualifying signs, in the absence of at least one of which a public association loses the legal quality of a party. This is the conquest of political power (within the framework and on the basis of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) as the main objective participation in the political process, the unification of individuals on the basis of common political views, the recognition of a certain system of values that are embodied in the party program, and the presence of a formalized permanent party structure.

A.S. Avtonomov defines a political party as a public association that defends and implements the interests of the class he represents, or social group by fighting for state power, exercising it, participating in its implementation, or exerting the maximum possible impact on its implementation under specific conditions, being in opposition as part of a state body or outside of them. T.V. Shmachkova points to four features that form a party: the ideological orientation of party activity, the long-term and multi-level nature of the association, the focus on conquering and exercising power, and an appeal to the support of the people.

In the works of Russian researchers devoted to comparative state studies, there are also more detailed versions of the list of legally significant features of a political party. In particular, V.E. Chirkin, among the essential features of a political party reflected in the legislation, distinguishes its voluntary, self-governing, stable and autonomous character, the common beliefs and goals of its members as a factor in the formation of the party, the absence of profit-making goals, assistance in the formation and expression of the political will of the people through participation in elections carried out on democratic principles and on the basis of transparency, publicity and openness.

Taking into account the above points of view, the following main features of a political party can be distinguished:

1. The party is a kind of public association. This means that parties, as well as other types of public associations (trade unions, youth, national-cultural and other associations) are voluntary, self-governing formations created at the initiative of citizens, united on the basis of a community of interests to implement common statutory goals. In the Russian legal system, the legal significance of correlating a political party with the generic concept of a public association is expressed in the fact that parties are subject to the requirements of the legislation on public associations in the part not regulated by a special law on political parties.

By its organizational and legal form, the party is public organization based on membership. At the heart of the party organization is a system of relationships between members of a political party, providing for the presence of certain hierarchical links between various parts of the organization, party discipline and subordination, voluntarily observed by its members. The party is distinguished by the stability of the organization over time - it is created for a long, indefinite period.

The party is the subject of public policy, which is characterized by an ideological mode of action. The goals and objectives of the party are formulated in program documents and election platforms and are implemented in its political activities. The combination of program-worldview and active-activity components distinguishes a political party, on the one hand, from communities of like-minded people (clubs, circle associations), and on the other, from lobbying structures, guided mainly by opportunistic interests.

4. The party is aimed at gaining its political representation in government bodies through elections, at participating - through its representatives - in government. The way to ensure the political influence of the party is to appeal to the support of citizens, carried out in an open and adversarial manner.

The legal definition of a political party usually exists only in the legislation of those states where there is legislation on parties. An analysis of the constitutional and legal framework for the activities of political parties reveals an interesting pattern: in countries with long-standing centuries-old traditions of a multi-party system, mentions of parties in the constitutions, as well as special laws on parties, are usually absent, and the activities of parties are regulated within the framework of civil legislation or electoral laws. In particular, there are no laws on political parties in Australia, the United States (at the federal level) and Switzerland. In Great Britain, the law on political parties was adopted only in 2000. In France, the legal regulation of the activities of parties is carried out within the framework of the law on freedom of association.

On the contrary, in countries with relatively recently formed constitutional traditions, the legal regulation of party activities is more substantive. Laws regulating the activities of political parties have been adopted in most of the CIS countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine. The need for this is obvious: in countries with a totalitarian and authoritarian past, the transition to democratic forms of organizing political power required the creation of legal prerequisites for ensuring the participation of citizens in public life and substantive regulation of the activities of parties.

The definition of the status of political parties is contained in most constitutions adopted in the second half of the 20th century. In a number of foreign countries (Austria, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, Sweden), the status of political parties is directly linked to the establishment of the foundations of the electoral system in the constitutions. In some countries, the issues of legal regulation of the activities of political parties and the procedure for organizing and holding elections are united under a single regulatory legal act (for example, in Mexico, the federal law on political organizations and the electoral process). A number of foreign countries (Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland) have adopted special laws on the procedure for financing political parties.

With the adoption of the Law on Political Parties, a legal definition of a party appeared in Russian legislation. In accordance with Article 3 of this law, a party is a public association created for the purpose of participation of citizens of the Russian Federation in the political life of society through the formation and expression of their political will, participation in public and political actions, in elections and referendums, as well as in order to represent the interests of citizens in public authorities and local governments. As can be seen from the definition, the legal structure of a political party is based on status functional criteria that distinguish it from other organizational and legal forms of public associations, namely:

the public-law nature of the objectives of the activity, expressed in ensuring the participation of citizens in the political life of society;

specific means of realizing these goals (formation and expression of the political will of citizens, participation in political actions, elections and referendums, representation of their interests in state and local government bodies).

In addition, the complex functional definition of a political party contained in paragraph 1 of Article 3 has been supplemented in paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the law by indicating a number of structural features - requirements that must be met by a party claiming constitutional and legal consolidation of its status. This:

- the presence of a political party regional offices in more than half of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
- a political party has at least 50 thousand members;

establishing the minimum number of regional branches of a political party in more than half of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation at the level of 500 members (in other regional branches, the number of each of them cannot be less than 250 members);

finding the governing and other bodies of a political party, its regional branches and other structural subdivisions on the territory of the Russian Federation.

The legal structure of a political party is an essential element of its legal status. However, the legal structure of the party is only basic framework to fix its status in the system political institutions... The status of a political party is revealed in more detail in the principles of the activities of political parties, which are the main legal guidelines by which it should be guided in its activities. The priority importance of the principles of activity of political parties lies in the fact that they orientate the law enforcement officer, making it possible to find the necessary solution even in the presence of gaps and legal conflicts.

The principle of voluntariness, based on the provision of part two of Article 30 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, means that the creation of parties, their activities and membership in them is carried out on the basis of free expression of will. Coercion to participate in the activities of political parties, as well as forcible retention in the ranks of a political party, is not allowed.

The principle of equality enshrined in the law, based on the provisions of part four of Article 13 and part one of Art. 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, means both the equality of rights of citizens united in a political party, and the equality of parties before the law. The state in its activities creates for citizens, members of the parties, equal opportunities for implementation constitutional law to unite, to express their political views and to participate in elections. The principle of equality does not deny the internal party hierarchy that exists in a political party, as in any other organization. After all, the internal organizational unity of a political party presupposes, in addition to having common goals and objectives, also a hierarchical structure of power, the presence of a system of norms and rules for regulating its activities. Accordingly, the principle of legal equality is manifested in the fact that the relations of vertical subordination between the members of the party and its leadership are based on the norms of party discipline that are common to all members, enshrined in the charter of the party, to which they are subject equally and on a voluntary basis.

The principle of self-government, based on the provision of part one of Article 30 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on the freedom of activity of public associations, means that parties independently and under their responsibility carry out activities related to the implementation of statutory goals and objectives. The state and its bodies have no right to interfere in the internal affairs of parties, to impose on them a certain line of political behavior, to co-opt their representatives into the governing bodies of the party, etc. use unlawful means of influencing parties. At the same time, consideration and resolution by state bodies (courts, bodies exercising control over the activities of parties in accordance with paragraph 1 of article 38 of the Federal Law "On Political Parties") disputes between party members and its governing bodies concerning violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens are not is the interference of the state in internal party relations.

The principle of legality, based on the provision of part 2 of Article 15 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, means that political parties in their activities are obliged to comply with the requirements established by the current legislation, to ensure that their program and organizational-statutory documents comply with these requirements.

The principle of publicity of party activities implies its openness to the public, the availability of information about its activities, the public nature of party events and the need to make the most important constituent and program documents public.

The system of principles presented in this study is based on the provisions of the Federal Law "On Political Parties". At the same time, in a number of studies devoted to the problem of the legal status of a party, other principles are also given that are not substantively indicated by legislation, but as if implied by the systemic connection of its norms. In particular, a number of researchers also emphasize the principles of pluralism and competition, which, in our opinion, is quite justified, since the latter is based on the provisions of parts 1 and 3 of article 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which recognizes ideological and political diversity, a multi-party system as the foundations of the constitutional system.

annotation scientific article on political science, the author of the scientific work - Volkova M.A.

Related Topics scientific works on political science, the author of scientific work - Volkova M.A.

The text of the scientific work on the topic "The goals and principles of the activities of political parties in the context of citizens' participation in the management of state affairs"

Functions of political parties.

Types of political parties.