Lecture № 1

Politics and modern society. Subject, structure, functions and methods of

politology.

Тhemes:

1. Politics and Modern Society.

2. Basic Concepts of Politics.

3. Structure and Functions of Politics.

Politics and Modern Society

The term politics originates from Greek words "polis" (a city) and the words that originated from this word - "politike" (the art of ruling a state), "politeia" (constitution), "polites" (citizens), "politica" (a statesman) and others. There is no common definition for the notion of "politics".

Тhe notion of "politics"

For instance Plato understood the art, ability to live in the conditions of polis that puts a person into certain conditions under the notion of "politics".

Weber believed that politics is a strive for power, coming into it and holding the power in big social communities.

Easton and Merkle

Easton views politics as a division of values performed by the state power.

Merkle stated that politics is a noble striving for justice and rational order in the best case and a greedy urge for power, fame and richness in the worst one.

The essence of the policy

After a considerable study of scientific political literature we can say that all the phenomenon of politics is viewed either as a process of struggle for gaining and holding the power or as a specific type of social subjects' activity that is related to the struggle for power, values distribution, governing of state and social affairs.

O. Semkiv: “Politics – is…”

According to the definition given by O. Semkiv "politics is an activity of people, micro- and macro-groups and institutions aimed at gaining and holding the power, it is a system of relationships in social organization that is regulated by normed hierarchy of subordination."

The purpose of policy

The support of the rule of one social groups over the others or concordance of social interests is an aim of politics. Law, force and moral are the means of politics. Union of all the classes of the society on the basis of common interests and orientation of their activity towards solving important social-state tasks is the mission of politics.

Essence of social policy (non-Marxist)

There are two points of view on the question of politics appearance as a specific kind of social activity - non-Marxist and Marxist. The representatives of the first point of view claim that politics appeared simultaneously with the formation of stable groups of people united by common interests and aims.

Essence of social policy ( Marxist)

The representatives of the Marxist point of view think that politics appeared only on the stage of class division of society. The ruling class performs functions of the basic subject of politics; it determines the content and prospective of politics of the state.

Three levels of functioning policy

mega level is related to the activity of such international organizations asEuropean Union, United Nations Organization, NATO and others;

macro level characterizes a state as an integrity, characterizes state power,its structure;

micro level covers particular structures and organizations (political parties, public organizations, trade unions, etc.).

Serhy Yekelchyk

Serhy Yekelchyk states bluntly: “Modern Ukraine is the result of a nationalist project, but it was not built by nationalists and was always a multinational state”

Birth of a Modern Nation

Birth of a Modern Nation starts with the period of ancient civilizations, Kyivan Rus, its legacy, and the Cossack period. Yekelchyk manages to present the initial, grassroot stages of formation of Ukrainian identity and how it was constantly endangered.

The birth of radical nationalism.

Yekelchyk also discusses in great detail the curtailment of the policy of Ukrainization, the first five-year plan, the war on the peasants, the Great Terror, and “mature” Stalinism He presents a convincing, thorough, and substantive analysis of the birth of radical nationalism.

“Independent Ukraine”

Yekelchyk examines “Independent Ukraine”. He considers Kravchuk’s presidency, Kuchma’s building of crony capitalism, the Orange Revolution, and its aftermath. Some questions, however, remain. For example, Yekelchyk might examine the extent to which Shelest, Shcherbytskyi, Kravchuk, on one side, and Chornovil, on the other side, contributed to the “birth” of Ukraine.

Head of state

Main article: President of Ukraine According to the constitution the President of Ukraine is the head of state. The current president of Ukraine is Viktor Yushchenko (since January 23, 2005)President is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The last presidential elections were held in 2004 (See: Ukrainian presidential election, 2004). 

Recent development 

The President is elected through direct universal popular vote for a five-year-term. He is the head of state and has the right to act in the name of the state.

Functions of the President (1)

Formal nomination of the Prime-Minister, which is made on a proposal of the parliamentary coalition

appointment of the ambassadors

may dissolve the Parliament if it fails to gather for a session within 30 consecutive days, or if it is incapable of forming a coalition and the Cabinet

Functions of the President (2)

appoints and dismisses the General Prosecutor and the Head of the State Security Agency (requires the consent of the Parliament);may temporarily suspend the acts of the Cabinet if he founds a contradiction between a respective act and the Constitution

Functions of the President (3)

is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, appoints and dismisses the high officers of the Army;

is the head of the National Security and Defense Council;

appoints and dismisses one third of the Constitutional Court

Verkhovna Rada

Verkhovna Rada, a unicameral parliament (450 seats) amends the Constitution of Ukraine, drafts laws, ratifies international treaties, appoints a number of officials, and elects judges.Elections were last held on March 26, 2006. (See Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2006).

The Constitutional Reform

Following the Constitutional Reform in Ukraine the authority of the Verkhovna Rada over the selection and oversight of the executive branch has been substantially increased.

Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

The Prime Minister of Ukraine (the head of the Cabinet) and the Cabinet are appointed by the Verkhovna Rada (the parliament). The current Prime Minister is Viktor Yanukovych, whose candidacy was approved on August 4, 2006, following tense and controversial political negotiations.

Judicial system of Ukraine

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The Constitutional Court has been formed on October 18, 1996, following the adoption of a new Constitution. Initially the judges were appointed for 6 years, and by 2005 the term has been expired for the majority of judges, which resulted in the court being de facto not functioning

The Supreme Court of Ukraine

High specialized courts: the High Arbitration Court of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Вищий господарський суд України), the High Administrative Court of Ukraine;

Regional courts of appeal, military courts of appeal, specialized courts of appeal;

Local district courts, military garrison courts.

Basic Concepts of Politics

Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often described as the study of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how".

History Antecedents

Political science is a late arrival in terms of social sciences. However, the discipline has a clear set of antecedents such as moral philosophy, political philosophy, political economy, political theology, history, and other fields concerned with normative determinations of what ought to be and with deducing the characteristics and functions of the ideal state.

The antecedents of Western politics

The antecedents of Western politics can trace their roots back to Plato (427–347 BC) and Aristotle (384–322 BC), particularly in the works of Homer, Hesiod, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Euripides. Later, Plato analysed political systems, abstracted their analysis from more literary- and history- oriented studies and applied an approach we would understand as closer to philosophy.

The Roman Empire

During the height of the Roman Empire, famous historians such as Polybius, Livy and Plutarch documented the rise of the Roman Republic, and the organization and histories of other nations, while statesmen like Julius Caesar, Cicero and others provided us with examples of the politics of the republic and Rome's empire and wars.

The Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, the study of politics was widespread in the churches and courts. Most of the political questions surrounding the relationship between church and state were clarified and contested in this period.

Modern political science

Since Political Science is essentially a study of human behavior, observations in controlled environments are usually not available and impossible to reproduce or duplicate. Because of this, Political Scientists seek patterns in the reasons and outcomes for political events so that generalizations and theories can be made.

Political philosophy

Political philosophy is the study of questions about the city, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights it should protect and why, what form it should take and why, what the law is

History of political philosophy

As an academic discipline, Western political philosophy has its origins in ancient Greek society, when city-states were experimenting with various forms of political organization including monarchy, tyranny, aristocracy, oligarchy, and democracy.

Medieval Islam

 The rise of Islam, based on both the Qur'an and Muhammad strongly altered the power balances and perceptions of origin of power in the Mediterranean region. Early Islamic philosophy emphasized an inexorable link between science and religion

Medieval Europe

Medieval political philosophy in Europe was heavily influenced by Christian thinking. It had much in common with the Islamic thinking in that the Roman Catholics also subordinated philosophy to theology

European Renaissance

During the Renaissance secular political philosophy began to emerge after about a century of theological political thought in Europe. While the Middle Ages did see secular politics in practice under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, the academic field was wholly scholastic and therefore Christian in nature.

European Age of Enlightenment

During the Enlightenment period, new theories about what the human was and is and about the definition of reality and the way it was perceived, along with the discovery of other societies in the Americas, and the changing needs of political societies led to new questions and insights by such thinkers as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu

Industrialization and the Modern Era

The industrial revolution produced a parallel revolution in political thought. Urbanization and capitalism greatly reshaped society. During this same period, the socialist movement began to form. In the mid-19th century, Marxism was developed, and socialism in general gained increasing popular support, mostly from the urban working class.

Functions of policy

Governing. Developing of the main ways of economical and culturaldevelopment of society. Prognostic. Defining prospects of social development, creating differentmodels of future economics, political system, etc. Integrative. Uniting different social groups under certain ideas, values,etc.