The political encyclopaedia, т.II

POLITICAL CHANGES, POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND POLITICAL MODERNIZATION

Political process - the form of functioning of political system of a society; certain set of the actions which are carried out by subjects, carriers and power institutes on realisation of the rights and prerogatives in political sphere, on realisation of specific functions (dysfunctions) in sphere of the power and, in the end result, providing development (or disintegration) the given political system.

I. Political changes, political process and political development. All live, allocated with reason, by all means moves, changing in time and space. Change - the natural form of life of all objects and the phenomena, representing constant transition from one condition in another. Change in a broad sense includes all evolutionary processes, and also occurrence of the new phenomena in the world, therefore categories of political change and political development are closely interconnected and usually considered in steam. These concepts belong to number of the most important and often used in a modern political science.

Sources of dynamics of political systems consist in development dialectics, in the permission of internal contradictions and in answers to external influences. Political process arising thus it is possible and it is necessary to explain as certain changes in a condition of the political system, providing a cycle of its reproduction (formation, functioning, development with an exit on higher level).

The term process (from an armour. processus - advancement) usually is designated by the certain movement, any course, the order of movement having the direction; consecutive change of conditions, stages, evolutions; set of consecutive actions for achievement of any result. If to summarise various approaches to the characteristic of political process it is possible to allocate two its kinds - more schematical, simple and more complex, difficult. The first of them defines political process as consecutive and long in time change of conditions of political system and its subsystems or change in them of separate elements which are made under the influence of external and internal living conditions of a society. The second assumes that the concept of political process means:

1) dynamic integrated measurement of political life of any society, comprising reproduction of components of its political system, and also certain changes in a condition of the political system, providing a cycle of its reproduction;

2) cumulative political activity of social and political subjects with consecutive expansion in “real time” all set of individual political actions and events;

3 ) struggle for control over means властвования and managements of a society, characterised by certain arrangement and a parity of sociopolitical forces.

Political process is always closely connected with such three forms of existence of the political phenomena, as functioning, development and decline:

- Functioning of the political phenomena at society level is a way of maintenance of the developed political system, reproduction of that balance of forces which reflects their base relations, продуцирования the basic functions of structures and institutes, forms of interaction of elite and electorate, political parties and local authorities. At such way of changes of tradition and continuity possess a conclusive priority before any innovations;

- Development characterises such updatings of base parametres of the political phenomena which assume positive character of evolution of the last, that is the policy is deduced on level which allows the authorities to answer adequately time calls, effectively to operate public relations;

- Decline represents such way of transformation of the developed base forms and relations which assumes negative prospect of political evolution of the phenomenon. According to P.Struve, decline is “a regressive metamorphosis” politicians. Decline in essence means disintegration of the developed political integrity, for example, falling of a political mode.

The tradition of the analysis of dynamics of political life has developed far back in the past. For example, Poliby in II century BC has stated ideas about the complete circulation of political life assuming natural transition of the state in a stage of formation, blossoming and decline. A major landmark in creation of bases of the concept of political process in the western political science were K.Marx and F.Engelsa's works, put forward ideas of alternation of social and economic formations and change of their political superstructures. V.Pareto has developed in “the Treatise on the general sociology” the concept of circulation (circulation) of elite that has given J.Shumpeteru's grounds to name its founder of "sociology of political process”. But the present revolution in the theory of political process was made by A.Bentli's book "Managerial process" (1908). By which the concept of groups of interests and treatment of dynamics of political process as struggle and mutual pressure of social groups in rivalry for the government have been in detail developed.

David Truman who has published in 1951 the book “Administrative process” became Bentley's successor in working out of a problematics of political process, proceeding from the concept of groups of interests. As well as its predecessor, it understood struggle of social groups as political process for the power and for control over distribution of imperious resources. However has given to this process existential characteristics because group dynamics, in its opinion, appears as a wavy cycle of transition from astable interactions to an establishment of relative balance, to restoration of old model of balance between groups or to creation of new model.

The system approach to research of political process in the western political science is connected with T.Parsons and D.Istona's names. They considered it through four phases: 1) an input - influence of the social and extrasocial environment on political system in the form of its support and promotion to it of requirements; 2) conversion - transformation of requirements to decisions; 3) an exit - reaction of political system in the form of decisions and actions; 4) feedback - return to a balance starting point. This model of "circulation", that is cyclic functioning of political process was rather popular and only in second polovine70 th years ХХ centuries has started to give way to more modern campaigns.

Bases of dynamic model of political process as adaptations of political system to changing conditions of the social environment were put by G.Almond. In the theoretical scheme he has tried to connect activity of separate groups to functioning of all system, having allocated some joint blocks of actions of political subjects and political system. D.Apter and some other American political science used ideas of Almonda for the description of political processes of last quarter of the XX-th century in the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America that has helped not only to updating of the theory of development, but also a policy of modernisation.

The policy characteristic as process allows to see the special parties, sides of interaction of subjects concerning the government. Some scientists identify political process with political sphere in whole (R.Douz) or with all set of behavioural actions of subjects of the power, change of their statuses and influences (C.Merriam). S.Hantington connects political process with functioning and transformation of institutes of the power. D.Iston understands it as set of reactions of political system on environment calls. R.Darendorf places emphasis on rivalry of groups for statuses and power resources, and J. Mannheim and R.Rich treat it as a difficult complex of the events defining character of activity of the state institutes and their influence on a society. Being guided on вышеозначенные approaches, it is possible to consider that political process represents set of all dynamic changes in behaviour and relations of subjects, performed by them of roles and functioning of institutes, and also in all other elements of political space which are carried out under the influence of external and internal factors. It is considered the most widespread following definition : political process is the consecutive, internally connected chain of political events and the phenomena, and also set of consecutive actions of various subjects of the policy directed on a gain, deduction, strengthening and use of the political power in a society.

Owing to such interpretation of political process by its central characteristic change which means any updating of structure and functions, institutes and forms, constants and variable lines, rates of evolution and other parametres of the political phenomena acts. In a science there was a set of representations about sources, mechanisms and forms of changes. K.Marx, for example, saw principal causes of political dynamics in influence of economic relations, V.Pareto connected them with circulation of elite, M.Veber - with activity of the charismatic leader, T.Parsons - with execution by people of various roles etc. However more often as the basic source of political changes name the conflict understood as one of possible variants of interaction of political subjects. As the source of political process the conflict represents a version and result of competitive interaction of two or more parties (groups, the states, individuals), imperious powers challenging each other distribution or resources.

Political processes worldwide differ original character, dynamics and orientation degree. At the same time a number of criteria allows to allocate the basic versions of political processes:

Locally-regional and global. Division of political processes by such principle is connected by that frequently the result of this or that regional process can influence and the general course of world politics. For example, the ethnopolitical conflict between Serbs, босняками and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina from a domestic concern of the former Yugoslavia has outgrown in the scale phenomenon, affected on all European and even world politics;

Intersystem and transitive (transit). Such sight at political processes opens one more party of the given phenomenon - the relation to system of institutes and the norms, a forming framework in general any process. Intersystem processes are developed in such political space where the number of players and judges is accurately defined, that is institutes, time and game rules - political norms. It concerns the countries with the established political system in enough which rigid borders political process is developed. Processes concern type of transit processes in the countries enduring the period of a radical change of the power, including its institutes and other subjects;

Stable and crisis. In the Marxist literature distinction of stable and crisis processes was quite often reduced to a dilemma - reform or revolution. Really, in the politician acute political crises quite often turn to revolutionary explosions, and series even deep governmental reforms provide stable evolution. At the same time both revolution, and reform can be way of the permission of political crisis that is caused by the mechanisms of the most political process connected with presence or absence of balance and a consensus of leading political forces, acting as its subjects;

Legal and shadow. Such distinction of political processes is connected by that in their basis always there are values and norms of dominating political culture, and also separate subcultures. These values also define rules of a game of politics, border permitted and not resolved, official and informal, legal and illegal (shadow) processes. For example, revolt and revolution, terror and putsch at all types of modes are prohibited by constitutions and norms of political life. In a reality. Nevertheless, political process frequently is beyond a legal field, and the so-called political expediency is appreciated above, than legality.

Types of political processes can be allocated on ways of achievement of dynamic balance of political system during its transformations assuming certain sequence of political changes (such classification represents result of a theoretical assumption, exarticulation of certain ideal types which with political practice are closely interconnected, bound among themselves). In that case speech can go about processes texnocratic, идеократического and charismatic types:

- Political process of texnocratic type prefers political technologies and procedures, traditions, ways of legitimate investment with the power, decision-making when subjects strictly adhere to those political roles and functions which are ordered them by the legislation, political traditions, and leaders represent itself as carriers of interests of those institutes which they directly represent;

- Political process идеократического type is characteristic for traditional societies where there is no the independent person, the developed differentiation of political roles and functions where integration diverse in ethnocultural and social and economic relations of a society is carried out on the basis of national idea;

- Political process of charismatic type is characteristic for east cultural tradition where the role and the status of the political leader are absolutised, and is frequent it simply idolise, where political process can be effective under a condition if it is supplemented texnocratic and идеократическим with political processes. At immaturity of a civil society, at low legal culture and absence of the national consent concerning lines and properties of a desirable society such societies should hope for the charismatic person. Its charisma can be based or on the official status, or on ability to express expectation of the overwhelming majority of members of a society, using thus discontent, the protest and promising to change by all means a situation to the best.

In a political science attempts типологизировать political processes on цивилизационной are presented also to a basis. So, L.Paj allocated "the not western" type of political process. It carried to its features:

Propensity of political parties to apply for formation of outlook and development of a way of life;

The big freedom of heads in definition of strategy and tactics of political structures and institutes;

Presence of sharp distinctions in political orientations of generations;

Intensity of the political debates poorly connected with decision-making, etc.

At the same time between concepts of political process, political change and political development there are essential distinctions. If process reproduces political system changes and development represent not simply transformation of internal properties of systems, but also its transition to other qualitative condition or change of one system type by another. Political development allows to create also institutes which are capable to include in the sphere of influence and to order participation in the politician of new groups, and also to stimulate social and economic changes.

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