What is the name of the form of government? Form of government

The form of government is the basis for determining the structure and functioning of the country. The basic scheme of the form of government is enshrined in the Constitution of many countries around the world. For modern Russia establishing an optimal hierarchy of power is topical issue, since the country is characterized by complex economic, administrative-territorial, religious and national problems. It is impossible to build a rule-of-law state until these problems are resolved.

Definition of the concept

The form of government of the state is an important element of the country’s structure, determining the system of government bodies, the sources of their formation, powers, terms of action and the relationship of the elements of the state apparatus with each other and the population. Concept“form of government” is close to the definitions of “political regime” and “form of state structure,” however, they differ and have their own nuances. Taken together, these elements define full set characteristic features territorial-administrative and political structure of a certain country. The control form indicates:

• the source of creation of the main bodies of the state and their hierarchy;
• the relationship between the branches of government as a whole and their subdivisions;
• institutions of influence by citizens on government;
• institutions for the protection of the rule of law.

The study of the basic methods of government began in the ancient world. Aristotle, using the example of city-policies, developed the basic classification. At different stages of history, the form of government was endowed with a certain meaning: under feudalism, it reflected the structure of inheritance of power. With the emergence and development of capitalism, which was accompanied by the complication of social relationships, the determination of the form of government acquired much greater importance.

Modern political science identifies several main types of forms of government. It is necessary to briefly list them:

• monarchical;
• republican;
• hybrid.

Types of monarchy

Monarchy is a type of government characteristic feature which is kinship inheritance of power and lifelong rule. The ruler is not legally responsible to citizens. This type of government includes:

1. Absolute monarchy is a system in which all branches of government are subordinate to the ruler. The latter is capable of overturning decisions of government bodies. The monarch concentrates the main legislative, executive and judicial functions.
2. A limited monarchy is the next type of structure, which represents a symbiosis of the activities of the supreme ruler and the authorities not subordinate to him. Rights and powers are delimited by law.

This type of monarchy also includes:

1. Estate-representative monarchy is a type of system in which the highest bodies are formed by representatives of a certain estate, caste or organization.
2. Constitutional monarchy is a type of government in which the powers of the monarch are limited by law. There are also elected bodies of power independent of the ruler.

Constitutional monarchy varies:

1. Dual monarchy is a system of government in which elected bodies can engage in legislative activities, but the ruler has the right to veto their decisions. The monarch has broad powers in all three branches of government.
2. Parliamentary monarchy is a type of system in which the ruler has no real levers of power. Elected bodies carry out legislative activities and form executive bodies, and the judiciary is an independent branch.

Signs of a republic

Republic is a form of government in which source of power the population speaks out. The latter delegates its rights to an elected body for a certain period. This type of government is characterized by certain characteristics:

• the presence of independent branches of government;
• the elected head of state is the president;
• responsibility of government officials to the people.

According to the structure of formation of the executive power of the republic, they are divided into:

• Presidential is a type of government in which the president forms and heads the government. The influence of parliament on the executive branch is minimal.
• Parliamentary is a type of government in which parliament has the means to control the activities of the president and the government. The elected body acts as a source of formation of the highest executive bodies. The head of state has limited powers.
• A mixed republic is a government structure in which both the chief executive and parliament have broad powers to control the government.
• Directory is a type of management in which executive power is distributed among several persons.

Atypical forms of government

A monarchy with elements of a republic is a system of government of a federal union in which the ruler is elected for a certain term from the list of rulers of the member countries of the association.

A republic with monarchical elements is an ancient one in which an elected head of state usurped power. Formally, signs of democracy remain, but in fact it is an authoritarian system.

A theocratic republic is a type of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of religious organizations. At the same time, elected bodies of legislative and executive power can exist.

The classification of control types has complex structure. Let's bring general scheme forms of government of the state:

Table. States by type of government.

Russian governance structure

Since modern Russia does not have the characteristics of a unitary state, then Russian Federation – federal state. The President and Parliament have broad powers, so the form of government is a mixed republic. Territorial-administrative subjects of the country have the right to legislative activity and state symbols. The government structure has three branches of government. The people are the only legitimate source of power.

The Russian Federation is a democratic federal republic with a mixed type of government. However, it is difficult to call Russia a republican country. This is an unconventional form of government for the country. Therefore, in the process of life there arises a large number of problems whose solution requires an integrated approach.

The form of government is an organization higher authorities state authorities, their structure, order of formation, distribution of competence and relationships with the population.

Aristotle also tried to develop a classification of states based on the criterion of the form of government. He identified several forms of government: republic, monarchy, despotism, basing the classification on the methods of formation of state bodies, their relationship, and methods of exercising state power. Currently modern theory State and law can offer a deeper and more substantiated understanding of the form of government as one of the main characteristics of the structure of the state, give a more balanced classification of these forms, and outline a more realistic forecast of their development. It is equally important to take into account those factors that were previously excluded from the scope scientific consideration: historical traditions, national psychology, religiosity, etc.

There are two main forms of government - monarchical And republican.

Monarchical form of government - (Greek monarchia - autocracy) - a very ancient form of government. In this form of government, supreme power is exercised individually and is inherited.

The main features of the classical monarchical form of government are:

the existence of a sole head of state who exercises his power for life (king, king, emperor, shah, Caesar, pharaoh);

hereditary order of succession of supreme power;

representation of the state by the monarch at his own discretion;

legal irresponsibility of the monarch;

the monarch is not elected by the people;

the monarch cannot be forcibly removed from office (except by a revolutionary coup);

legal irresponsibility and independence of the monarch, which is emphasized by the institution of countersignature (the procedure in which laws approved by the monarch are subject to mandatory certification by the signature of the prime minister (less often one of the ministers) responsible for the implementation of this law.)

The monarchical form of government arose during the slave system and continued to develop over time, maintaining its traditional features.

Absolute Monarchy is a form of government in which all supreme state power by law belongs to one person - the king, czar, pharaoh, emperor. According to the Lawyer Hammurabi, all power - legislative, judicial and executive - belonged to the king, who was the governor and servant of God on earth. By Military regulations Peter I’s sovereign is “an autocratic monarch who should not give an answer to anyone in the world about his affairs” See: Titov Yu.P. “Anthology on the history of state and law of Russia”, M: Prospekt, 2000, p.169. Thus, the main feature of the absolute monarchical form of government is the absence of any government bodies (parliament, congress, federal assembly or states general) limiting the powers of the monarch, where the will of the monarch is the source of law and law. also in absolute monarchy there is no constitution and separation of powers, and the presence of a standing army led by a monarch. Currently, some monarchies in the Middle East are considered absolute ( Saudi Arabia and Oman).

Limited monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the power of the monarch is limited by a representative body, i.e. in England it is Parliament, in France it is the National Assembly. A peculiar duality of state power arises, which was expressed in the fact that although the monarch was legally and actually independent of parliament in the sphere of executive power, at the same time he was often forced to take into account the activities of parliament. He appointed a government that was responsible to him, but the activities of this government could be discussed and criticized in parliament. The monarch had a strong influence on parliament: he could veto its laws, had the right to appoint deputies to the upper house, and could dissolve parliament. However, a representative institution under a monarchy acquires control functions and acts as a legislative advisory body with which the monarch is forced to reckon. There are varieties of limited monarchy: parliamentary(constitutional) and dualistic.

Parliamentary(constitutional) monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the power of the monarch is limited in the legislative sphere by parliament, and in the executive sphere by the government. In a parliamentary monarchy, the king has no real power and does not interfere in state policy. This does not mean that the king does not play any role in the state. His powers, which traditionally belong to the head of state (declaring a state of emergency and martial law, the right to declare war and make peace, etc.), are sometimes called “sleeping”, since the monarch can use them in a situation of a threat to the existing state (Spain, 1981) .

This form of monarchy is also called constitutional because the power of the monarch can also be limited by the constitution. For example, according to the constitution of the Empire of Japan in 1889, the power of the emperor was limited to the Imperial Diet, which considered, approved and adopted bills proposed by the emperor. Thus, in a constitutional monarchy, all acts emanating from the monarch acquire legal force if they are approved by parliament and are based on the constitution, that is, they cannot contradict the constitution. The monarch in a constitutional monarchy plays mainly a representative role, is a kind of symbol, decorum, representative of the nation, people, state. He reigns, but does not rule.

Parliamentary(constitutional) monarchy is distinguished by essential features:

parliament is elected by the people;

the government is formed from representatives of a certain party (or parties) that received a majority of votes in parliamentary elections;

party leader with the largest number parliamentary seats, becomes the head of state (the Prime Minister in Great Britain actually rules the country);

in the spheres of legislative, executive and judicial power of the monarch is virtually absent, it is symbolic;

legislation is passed by parliament and formally signed by the monarch;

the government, according to the constitution, is responsible not to the monarch, but to parliament;

Only in some parliamentary monarchies does the monarch have real levers of government (dissolves parliament, is the head of the judiciary, and the head of the church - Great Britain).

At present, almost all European monarchs are parliamentary monarchies: Great Britain, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Japan and others.

Dualistic Monarchy is an intermediate, transitional option from absolute to parliamentary monarchy. In a dualistic monarchy, the division of power occurs formally legally between the monarch and parliament. That is, only parliament makes laws, and the country is governed by the monarch through a government appointed by him and responsible only to him. If in a parliamentary monarchy the monarch is deprived of legislative and executive power, then in a dualistic monarchy only legislative power.

The dualistic monarchy has become the embodiment of a compromise, where the monarch expresses the interests of the feudal lords (nobility), and the parliament represents the interests of the bourgeoisie and, to a certain extent, other segments of the population (most often the “third estate”).

Despite this, the powers of the monarch were very strong:

with his decrees (decrees) he covered the social spheres of society, such decrees did not require parliamentary approval;

the king had the right of veto (only suspensive) in relation to the laws of parliament;

the appointment of members of parliament (or one of its houses) by the monarch (as opposed to a parliamentary monarchy, where parliament is elected by the monarch);

had the right to dissolve parliament;

had the right to set the date for new elections.

Dualistic monarchies existed in Germany (1871-1918), Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan, Libya, Nepal and other countries. Until 1990 Nepal and Kuwait were absolute monarchies, but due to historical events (the popular uprising in Nepal in 1990, the war between Kuwait and Iraq in 1991), democratic reforms began in them and today Kuwait and Nepal have moved from absolute to dualistic monarchies.

Republic(translated from Latin - a national affair) See: Dictionary of Foreign Words - 19th edition, M, 1990, p. 441

This is a form of government in which the supreme power in a given state is exercised by elected bodies.

There are a huge number of republics, like monarchies. The source of power in republics is the people, who at certain intervals elect the highest representative bodies of the state. This manifests popular sovereignty - one of the fundamental principles of modern democratic statehood. The people elect the highest legislative body - the parliament and, in some cases, the president. All other supreme bodies of the state are formed, as a rule, by these representative bodies. The powers of the highest elected bodies of the state are limited to a certain period - to prevent possible usurpation of power.

Republican government is based on the principle of separation of powers. Principles of separation of powers - division of a single state power into legislative, executive and judicial, when various state bodies are entrusted with performing different functions in governing the state: parliament (people's assembly, national assembly, duma, Supreme Council, Congress, etc.) is entrusted with making laws; the government and its bodies (executive and administrative bodies) - implement laws, organize their implementation; judicial authorities - to monitor the implementation of laws, hold them accountable for their violation, etc.

Based on the nature of the relationship between the legislative and executive powers, there are parliamentary, presidential And mixed(or semi-presidential) republics.

Parliamentary republic. Here the legislative power is strong, and the executive power is subordinate to it. This form government is characterized by the supremacy of parliament, which exercises legislative power. The government is formed by parliament and is responsible to it. Thus, elections simultaneously resolve the issue of the composition of both parliament and government.

In a parliamentary republic, the post of president may be provided for, but he does not have such broad powers (primarily in relation to parliament and government) as the president has in presidential republic, and depends on the government for its activities. The President is the head of state, but not the head of government; he is not responsible for the actions of the government. Usually the president in a parliamentary republic is not popularly elected (one of the few exceptions is Bulgaria) so that, while enjoying the support of the people, he cannot oppose himself to parliament. The election of the president is carried out either by parliament or by a specially created collegium. The President represents the state in the sphere foreign policy, but even here he is forced to coordinate his actions with the government. The president, as a rule, does not have the right to hold a referendum, to declare a state of emergency, to dismiss the head of government at his own discretion, and usually does not have the right to veto laws adopted by parliament. Formally, the president may be the supreme commander in chief, but the actual leadership of the armed forces is exercised by the minister of defense, who is subordinate to the head of government.

A significant place in a parliamentary republic is occupied by the position head of government - Prime Minister (in In Germany, this post is called “federal chancellor”, and the state is sometimes called in the literature a chancellor republic). As a rule, this is the leader of the ruling party or party coalition; he is elected by parliament. The government is formed by the leader of the party that wins the elections and remains in power as long as it has the support of the majority of parliamentarians. Members of the government are responsible to parliament for their activities. Parliament can pass a vote of no confidence in the government or its individual members, and then they resign. Depending on whether it is possible to form a party majority in parliament, just as in the case of parliamentary monarchies, it is possible to talk about parliamentarism and ministerialism.

There are not very many parliamentary republics in the world: Germany, Finland, India, Turkey, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Italy and some other states.

Presidential republic. This form of government is characterized by the fact that the president occupies a very significant place in the state apparatus. Therefore, sometimes, by analogy with monarchies, it is called a dualistic republic, since there are two main centers of power in it - the parliament and the president.

In a presidential republic, legislative power belongs to the highest representative body - parliament, which issues laws, and executive power belongs to the government. However, parliament does not form the executive branch, and the latter is not responsible to it. Parliament cannot dismiss executive officials (only in the event of a crime or gross violation of the constitution) if deputies do not agree, for example, with the government's policies.

The President is the head of state and head of the executive branch. Usually he independently appoints ministers and forms the government. The government (ministers) is responsible to the president and not responsible to parliament for its activities; the president can independently remove members of the government. Typically, the president is elected by popular vote. The President has the right of suspensive veto on laws passed by Parliament.

In a presidential republic, the president has broad powers in a variety of areas of activity. Usually the president has the right of legislative initiative, calling a referendum, the right to declare a state of emergency, independently decides on some of the most important personal matters, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has the right to make peace, declare war, etc. The president, within the limits of his competence, independently issues regulations, which occupy an important place in the legislative system of a particular country.

A presidential republic is a fairly common form of government. The United States, many countries in Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, etc.), Africa (Zimbabwe, Nigeria, etc.), and Asia (Philippines, etc.) are presidential republics.

Parliamentary and presidential republics are the two main types of this form of government. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Among the advantages of a presidential republic is a fairly high degree of efficiency of state management of society: after all, the president, having broad powers, largely determines the policy of the state. Managerial influence is more targeted if it comes from one center. Especially important effective management during periods of reforms, major social changes, and bringing the country out of crisis. The main disadvantage of a presidential republic: the extensive powers of the president can lead to excessive centralization of power, usurpation of power and its abuse.

The advantages of a parliamentary republic can be seen in greater guarantees of real implementation in public administration society began democracy, since among the state bodies there is no single-authority body endowed with broad competence. Consequently, there are no objective prerequisites for establishing anyone’s dictatorship. The main disadvantage of parliamentary republics is that in a multi-party system, when it is not possible to form a parliamentary majority, it is almost impossible to carry out a thoughtful, targeted policy, and government crises are frequent.

In many states, attempts have been made to combine the features of parliamentary and presidential republics in order to overcome the shortcomings and preserve the advantages inherent in these forms of government. It seems possible to even talk about an “intermediate” form of government - semi-presidential(or mixed) republic, in which elements characteristic of classical X forms of government.

There is a strong president elected by the people. He is usually the chief executive and runs the government. But in the formation of the latter in mandatory Parliament takes part (for example, it approves ministerial candidates submitted by the president). The government must enjoy the confidence of the majority in parliament and must be responsible to parliament. Thus, it is the formation, and to an even greater extent, the responsibility of the government, that is the factor that legal science considers key in distinguishing between varieties republican government.

The president may have broad powers under the constitution, but in practice he may not exercise some of them. In a semi-presidential republic, the independence of the government increases, the importance of the post of head of government increases compared to a presidential republic, where such a post may not exist, or there is a so-called administrative prime minister who only coordinates the activities of sectoral government bodies.

Switzerland has a unique form of government. The government (Federal Council) is appointed by parliament ( Federal Assembly) and is accountable to it, but the government’s political responsibility to parliament is not provided for.

Sometimes it is generally difficult to draw a line between a parliamentary and a presidential republic (Turkey, Sri Lanka, Peru, Russia, Ukraine, etc.). In certain cases it arises essentially new form republics: semi-presidential, semi-parliamentary, with a predominance of the features of one or another republic, and sometimes with features that were not inherent in either a presidential or parliamentary republic.

The republican form of government is characteristic of modern constitutional states with a democratic political regime, however, two points must be kept in mind.

Firstly, republics existed both in slave-owning societies and under feudalism, albeit on a limited territory: as a rule, these were city-republics.

Secondly, behind an apparently democratic republican form of government there may well be an authoritarian political regime.

In a number of countries tropical Africa, where monarchical traditions turned out to be especially strong, such a phenomenon as "monocratic republics". Formally, the separation of powers is proclaimed there, but the power of the president is practically unlimited and in reality differs very little from an absolute monarchy. Power is acquired, as a rule, in an illegitimate way (usurped). The next presidential elections, if they are held (for example, in accordance with the Constitution of Malawi, the president holds office for life), are decorative in nature. The president may be the leader of the only political party, or even the creator of the official and only acceptable state ideology (for example, Ghana under President Kwame Nkrumah, Guinea under President Sekou Toure, Zaire under President Mobutu, etc.). The change of president occurs as a result of a military coup or natural death.

For the same reason - the enormous and virtually unlimited power of the president - many Latin American states were named "super-presidential" republics The so-called “socialist” or “people’s democratic” republics that emerged after the Second World War were in fact a form of dictatorship of the general secretary and the central committee of the corresponding communist party.

Under military regimes, it is created presidential-military republic. Although this is temporary, it is not such a rare form: since the emergence of independent states in Latin America, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and also, although to a lesser extent, in Europe there were about 700 successful military coups. In some countries, this form of government existed for more than 10 years (Algeria, Nigeria, etc.), and in some of them, military rule, interspersed with civilian regimes, covered a significant period of existence independent state(Nigeria, Pakistan, etc.).

Thus, after considering various forms board it is possible to clarify the understanding fundamental issues organization and activities of the state apparatus. The problem of the form of government is, first of all, the problem of recognition or non-recognition of the separation of powers, the methods of formation and correlation of legislative and executive authorities, the problem of their responsibility to the people.

IN last years changes are taking place in the theoretical understanding of the form of government, since such models of organization of the highest bodies of state power appear that it is not possible to confidently assign to one or another group in accordance with traditional classifications. We have already discussed above the difficulties that arise when drawing clear boundaries between absolute and dualistic, between dualistic and parliamentary monarchies, between parliamentary, semi-presidential and presidential republics. In addition, the form of government of specific states sometimes combines monarchical and republican principles.

Previously, we were talking about the election of monarchs in the United United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, but the election (as opposed to inheritance) of the head of state is the most important feature of the republican form of government. There are also republics with presidents for life. At one time, such a situation, characteristic of monarchies, took place, for example, in the Central African Republic and Tunisia. The functioning of the highest authorities in modern Western constitutional monarchies and in parliamentary republics is not fundamentally different.

In developed countries, the differences between a monarchy and a republic are practically irrelevant; In terms of the degree of democracy in the order of government, the same monarchy of Great Britain is not much different from the republic of France. However, in developing countries these differences can be fundamental.

Form of government- this is an element of the form of the state that characterizes the organization of the supreme state power, the order of formation of its bodies and their relationship with the population. Depending on the position of the head of state, forms of government are divided into monarchies and republics.

Monarchy

Monarchy is a form of government where the highest state power belongs to the sole head of state - the monarch, who occupies the throne by inheritance and is not responsible to the population.

Distinctive features of the monarchy:

The sole head of state is the monarch, who receives his power by inheritance;

The monarch is legally irresponsible (it is impossible to remove the monarch from power).

Types of monarchies:

Absolute monarchy (unlimited)- a state in which the monarch is the only supreme body in the country and all the fullness of state power is concentrated in his hands (Saudi Arabia, Oman). A special type is the theocratic monarchy (Vatican City).

Limited monarchy- a state in which, in addition to the monarch, there are other bodies of state power that are not accountable to him, and state power is dispersed among all the highest authorities, the power of the monarch is limited on the basis of a special act (Constitution) or tradition. In turn, a limited monarchy is divided into:

Estate-representative monarchy is a monarchy in which the power of the monarch is limited based on the tradition of forming bodies according to the criterion of belonging to a particular estate ( Zemsky Sobor in Russia, Cortes in Spain) and playing the role, as a rule, of an advisory body. Currently, there are no such monarchies in the world.

A constitutional monarchy is a monarchy in which the power of the monarch is limited on the basis of a special act (the Constitution), where there is another supreme body of power, formed through the election of representatives of the people (parliament). In turn, the constitutional monarchy is divided into:

A dualistic monarchy is a state in which the monarch has full executive power and also has some legislative and judicial powers. A representative body in such a state exists and carries out legislative functions, but the monarch can impose an absolute veto on adopted acts and, at his discretion, dissolve the representative body (Jordan, Morocco).

A parliamentary monarchy is a state in which the monarch is only a tribute to tradition and does not have any significant powers. State structure in such a monarchy is built on the principle of separation of powers (Great Britain, Japan, Denmark).

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the highest bodies of state power are elected by the people or are formed by special representative institutions for a certain period of time and bear full responsibility to the voters.

Distinctive features of the republican form of government:

There are always several supreme authorities, and the powers between them are divided in such a way that one body is independent of the other (the principle of separation of powers);

The head of state is the President, who exercises his power on behalf of the people;

The highest authorities and officials bear responsibility to the population, which can be expressed in the following:

they are elected for a certain period, after which their powers may not be renewed;

early termination of powers is possible.

Types of republics:

Republics differ mainly in which of the authorities - the parliament or the president - forms the government and directs its work, as well as to which of these the government is responsible.

A presidential republic is a state in which, along with parliamentarism, the powers of the head of state and the head of government are simultaneously combined in the hands of the president. The government is formed and dissolved directly by the president himself, while parliament cannot exert any significant influence on the government - here the principle of separation of powers is most fully revealed (USA, Ecuador).

A parliamentary republic is a state in which the supreme role in organizing public life belongs to parliament. Parliament forms the government and has the right to dismiss it at any time. The president in such a state does not have any significant powers (Israel, Greece, Germany).

Mixed republic - in states with this form of government, strong presidential power is simultaneously combined with the presence of effective measures for parliamentary control over the activities of the executive branch in the form of the government, which is formed by the president with the mandatory participation of parliament. Thus, the government is responsible simultaneously to both the president and the parliament of the country (Ukraine, Portugal, France).

Concept "form of government"(or simply “form of government”) answers the question of who “rules” in the state, that is, who exercises the highest (supreme) power in it.

There are two approaches to understanding the form of government: narrow - according to which the form of government is understood only as the position of the head of state, wide - the form of government, among other things, also includes the political environment. As a result, in legal science the form of government is understood as something in between.

Form of government is an outwardly expressed institutional and functional characteristic of the structure of state power, the procedure for its acquisition and implementation, the mechanism of legal restrictions and division of power.

TO characteristics of the form of government should include:

1. The structure of the highest bodies of state power (their composition, competence, principles of interaction);

2. The nature of the relationship between the highest state authorities and other state bodies and with the population;

3. Responsibility of government authorities;

4. The procedure for formation and shift;

5. The degree of participation of the population in the formation.

In jurisprudence, it is customary to consider two forms of government - monarchy and republic.

Monarchy- autocracy (from the Greek “monos” - one and “arche” - power, that is, “monoarchy”) - a form of government according to which the monarch (pharaoh, king, czar, sultan, etc.) is the sole head of state uniting all power in his own hands, unlimited in time, passing it on by inheritance, and responsible before God for his actions of power.

Signs of the monarchical form government:

1. The existence of a sovereign bearer of supreme state power;

2. The method of transfer of power is hereditary;

3. Lifelong ownership of power by the monarch;

4. The power of the monarch is acquired “by the grace of God,” i.e. comes from God;

5. The monarch does not bear legal responsibility for his actions as the head of state (according to the Military Regulations of Peter I, the sovereign is “an autocratic monarch who should not give an answer to anyone in the world about his affairs”).

At the beginning of the 21st century globe There are about 30 states with a monarchical form of government, most of which are constitutional. At the same time, there is a worldwide trend towards a reduction in monarchies, while in states that have retained such a structure, there is an active restriction of the rights of the monarch.

From a historical perspective monarchies can be divided into ancient eastern - eastern despotism based on the Asian method of production (Babylon, India, Egypt), slaveholding antique(for example, the ancient Roman monarchy), feudal(early feudal, class-representative, absolute).

Monarchies are also distinguished according to the principles of inheritance of power:

Dynastic monarchy In such a monarchy, a strictly dynastic principle operates, according to which the throne is passed on from father to son, but can also be passed on, for example, from brother to brother. It was invented by Western European feudalism and then spread to other parts of the world, although it may have developed independently in Islamic countries.

Tribal monarchy much more often than strict succession to the throne, the principle of belonging to the royal family operated in monarchies. Those. the king had to come from a royal family, but this did not mean that he automatically inherited the throne.

Elective monarchy represents the most ancient principle of acquiring royal power - its prototype is the elected military leaders or high priests. Byzantium, for example, was an elective monarchy, as was the Holy Roman Empire. It must be remembered that the people chose not so much the king as royal family and these events occurred solely because the previous dynasty was interrupted.

From the point of view of the complete power of the monarch, the following types of monarchy can be distinguished: unlimited And limited. At the same time, traditionally, unlimited absolute. In our opinion, the identification of unlimited and absolute monarchies is erroneous. Firstly, as a form of government, absolute monarchies arise as a consequence of tendencies towards centralized, intensified as a result of the crisis of feudal relations. unified system state power. This means that absolutism as a legal phenomenon arose relatively recently, in the 16th–17th centuries. (but monarchies have existed since much earlier times). Secondly, absolute monarchies (such as absolutism, which existed in the 17th century in Russia) symbolized primarily not the “omnipotence” of the sovereign (this is more typical of early, primitive forms of monarchical statehood - eastern despotism), but rather unity and strength states. By the way, the powers of the monarch himself in an absolute monarchy (especially in economic sphere) were often quite seriously limited. It appears that unlimited can be considered monarchies in which the sources of supreme state power are individually determined individuals. With such an approach, the already mentioned ancient monarchies (oriental despotisms), which were characterized by social structure, headed by a monarch (pharaoh) and including slaves as objects of governance. At the same time, the slave’s place in the social hierarchy and his very life depended entirely on the will of the pharaoh. In addition, various types of theocracies can be classified as unlimited monarchies, in which the monarch combines the powers of the head of secular and spiritual power. As a form of unlimited monarchy, theocracies have survived to the present day in a number of Arabian states (Bahrain, Oman).

IN limited monarchies The power of the monarch is limited by an elected body - parliament or a special legal act - the constitution. In most limited monarchies, there is a combination of both ways of limiting the power of the monarch - the constitution and parliament. Monarchies limited in this way are usually called constitutional (parliamentary) and dualistic.

Constitutional (parliamentary) monarchy characterized by the following main features:

1. The government is formed from representatives of the parties that received a majority in parliamentary elections;

2. The leader of the party that received the majority of parliamentary seats becomes the head of government;

3. The power of the monarch is symbolic, he “reigns” but does not rule;

4. The government is accountable in its activities to parliament.

One of the signs of a parliamentary monarchy is the adoption of legislative acts by parliament and their signing by the monarch. However, in our opinion, this prerogative of the monarch, like most of his other powers, is of a formal nature. Due to the current political practice and constitutional customs, the monarch, as a rule, does not refuse to sign bills passed by parliament. In this regard, it is more appropriate to include among the signs of this form of government the presence of the institution of countersignature, which assumes that the monarch’s signature on a document is symbolic in nature. The monarch, as the formal head of state, only seals a document that has already been signed by an authorized official who supervised the preparation of this document and bears full responsibility for it.

The majority of monarchical states are currently constitutional (parliamentary) monarchies: Great Britain, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Japan, Thailand, etc. It should be borne in mind that, in accordance with the constitutions of these countries, the functional powers of monarchs as heads states differ in socio-political significance. For example, monarchs in Japan, Sweden, Norway and some other countries are deprived of any independent powers, remaining in most cases only a symbol of the unity of the nation. In other countries, the monarch not only formally certifies the appointment of the government, but also plays a certain independent role, for example, by appointing the formator of the government (Spain). Moreover, if the formator’s attempt to form a government is unsuccessful, the monarch can replace him with another candidate. The “enhanced” status of the monarch is characteristic of those countries where several parties are represented in parliament, none of which has an absolute majority, or the parties cannot form a majority coalition. In such conditions, the monarch can create a short-term minority government, the purpose of which is only to organize the elections of a new parliament.

It is also quite reasonable, in our opinion, to highlight dualistic monarchy as the original form of limited (constitutional) monarchy. This form of government is characterized the following signs:

1. Along with the legal and actual independence of the monarch, there are representative bodies with legislative and control functions (parliament);

2. Executive power belongs to the monarch, who exercises it directly or through a government accountable to him;

3. The monarch, although he does not legislate, is endowed with the right of absolute veto, that is, he has the right to approve or not approve laws adopted by representative bodies.

Dualistic monarchies were, for example, Germany in the period from 1871 to 1918 and Japan from late XIX V. to 1945. Currently, there are no classical dualistic monarchies, although with a certain degree of convention they can be classified as dualistic modern monarchies in Jordan, Morocco, Nepal.

Monarchy is a very flexible and viable form of government, with a centuries-old history and traditions, which undoubtedly has a number of both negative and positive qualities that have not lost their significance in modern times. Monarchical sentiments are not alien to modern Russia. On its territory there are various public organizations that position themselves as monarchical and call for its restoration within the entire state.

Republic(from the Latin “res publica” - public matter, nationwide) - a form of government in which the highest state power is exercised by collegial elected bodies elected by the population for a certain term.

The republic is characterized by following signs:

1. Election of the highest bodies of state power and their collegial (collective) nature;

2. The presence of an elected head of state;

3. Election of bodies of supreme state power for a certain period;

4. The derivative of state power from the sovereignty of the people: “res publica est res populi” (“the state is a matter of the whole people”);

5. Legal responsibility of the head of state for decisions made;

6. Possibility of early termination of power.

As modern forms republican government is being considered presidential And parliamentary republics.

Presidential republics(USA, Argentina, Mexico, Philippines, etc.) are characterized by the concentration of the greatest amount of power in the head of state - the president.

Signs of a presidential republic:

– the president is elected through popular elections and is thus independent of parliament;

– the president either directly heads the executive branch and forms the government, or appoints the chairman of the government (prime minister) and approves the composition of the government represented by the prime minister;

– the government is responsible to the president and acts during the presidential term;

– the president has the sole right to dismiss the government;

– relations between the president and parliament are built on the principle of separation of powers and are based on a system of checks and balances.

Parliamentary republics(Italy, Germany, Finland, Turkey, Hungary, India, etc.) are characterized by a strong legislative branch (the concentration of the greatest powers in the parliament) and subordination of the executive branch to it. As a rule, in a parliamentary republic the president does not have the right to veto laws, hold a referendum, or declare a state of emergency.

Signs of a parliamentary republic:

– the president is elected from among members of parliament or by a special parliamentary commission, as in Germany;

– the government is formed from members of parliament and is headed by the leader of the party of the parliamentary majority;

– the government is responsible to parliament and acts during the term of office of parliament;

– in the event of a declaration of “no confidence in the government” by parliament, the president is obliged to make a decision on the resignation of the government;

– the actions and decisions of the president must be coordinated with the government.

The legal literature notes both the advantages and disadvantages of both types of republics. The advantages of a presidential republic usually include its stability and greater efficiency, since the president, having broad powers, largely determines the policy of the state, and managerial influence is more targeted, since it comes from the center. The main disadvantage of such a republic is excessive concentration power is in the hands of one person - the president, and hence the possibility of its abuse, which can lead to a cult of personality and the transformation of the republic into a super-presidential one, when representative bodies practically lose their significance.

A parliamentary republic is considered more democratic, since the government is formed by a collegial body - the parliament, and not by one person, as in a presidential republic, therefore there are no objective prerequisites for the concentration of power in one hand. The main disadvantage of a parliamentary republic is that with a multi-party system and the procedure for appointing government, frequent government crises are possible.

Some states use the form of government in the form mixed republic with elements of presidential and parliamentary republics. Such a republic is distinguished by the fact that, along with a strong president, who can also be the head of the government, the parliament also participates in the formation of the government, for example, it approves ministerial candidates nominated by the president. At the same time, the government is responsible both to the president and to parliament.

The history of the formation of the republican form of government also knows such varieties as democratic(Athensian democratic republic) And aristocratic(Spartan, Roman). There were also feudal city-republics, which, as a result of strengthening their power, moved from city self-government to state sovereignty. Such city-republics were Florence, Venice, Genoa - in Italy, Novgorod and Pskov - in Russia. There were also free cities in Germany, France, and England.

The form of government of a totalitarian state is called a “perverted form of republic” or a “partocratic” republic, which has all the features of a totalitarian organization.