Laws on the forms of state government. Form of government

The form of government refers to the system of formation and relationships of the highest state authorities. There are two main forms of government: monarchy and republic.

Term Greek origin(monos - one, arche - power) and means autocracy. This is a form of government in which power is fully or partially concentrated in the hands of the sole head of state - (king, emperor, shah, etc.) and is usually inherited. Absolute monarchy is characterized by the autocracy of the monarch. He is the only sovereign of power, he himself issues laws, appoints the government, and administers the highest court. Currently, absolute monarchy has been preserved only in a few countries ( Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Brunei).

A constitutional monarchy- This is a form of government in which the power of the monarch is limited by a representative body. Usually this limitation is determined by the constitution. A constitutional monarchy arises during the formation of bourgeois society.

Depending on the degree of restriction of the power of the monarch, there are dualistic and parliamentary monarchy. In dualistic monarchies (Prussia, Austria, Japan, Italy, Romania - in the past, at present - Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco), the monarch retains executive power, the right to form a government, the right to veto and dissolve parliament. Parliamentary monarchy is characterized by the following features: there is a separation of powers, the monarch “reigns, but does not rule”, the government is formed by parliament from representatives of the majority party (or parties), the government is responsible not to the monarch, but to parliament, the legal status of the monarch is limited.

Currently, there are 44 states with a monarchical form of government in the world. Parliamentary monarchies predominate (Great Britain, Japan, Sweden, Spain, Australia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, New Zealand and etc.). If at the beginning of the XX century. in Europe, all countries were monarchical (with the exception of France and Switzerland - republics), now out of 34 countries there are only 11 monarchies, and the rest are republics.

(Latin respuble - from res - business and publecus - public) - this is a form of government that is characterized by the election of the head of state. source state power is the people. The Republic arose in the ancient era - Athens (V-IV centuries BC)

Depending on the method of formation and interaction of the branches of government, three types of republics are distinguished - presidential, parliamentary and mixed (semi-presidential, parliamentary-presidential).

Presidential republic characterized by the following features: the president - the head of state is at the same time the head of the executive branch (as a rule, there is no post of prime minister); popular election of the president, the government is formed by the president; the lack of accountability of the government to parliament, the principle of separation of powers is rigidly manifested. The classic presidential republic is the United States.

Parliamentary republic: the supreme power in the organization of public life belongs to the parliament, which is elected by the citizens of the country; the president, as the head of state, is elected, as a rule, by parliament, has symbolic rights, and does not have a significant impact on political life; the government is formed by the parliament from representatives of the party or coalition of the parliamentary majority; the political responsibility of the government to parliament; head of government - prime minister (chancellor, chairman of the council) - leader of the party of the parliamentary majority, appointed by the president and is the main person political life countries. The parliamentary republics are Germany, Italy, India, Turkey, Hungary, Israel, Czech Republic, Slovakia, etc.

Mixed republics combine features of both presidential and parliamentary republics. main feature- the double responsibility of the government to the president and to the parliament. A similar system is in France, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia. This form of government is effective provided that the president, the parliamentary majority and the government adhere to the same political orientation, and if the opposite, then there may be a conflict. The situation in Ukraine is proof of this.

According to the amendments to the Constitution, adopted in December 2004, Ukraine became a presidential-parliamentary republic, in which the role of parliament has significantly increased, in particular, in the formation of the government. However, the amendments, adopted in the political emergency of late 2004, contained a number of controversial points, as a result of which the new parliament, elected in September 2007, will definitely have to return to constitutional problems.

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

Even Aristotle tried to develop a classification of states according to the criterion of the form of government. He singled out several forms of government: republic, monarchy, despotism, based on the classification methods of formation of state bodies, their correlation, methods of exercising state power. Currently modern theory of state and law can offer a deeper and sufficiently 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 for 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, the supreme power is exercised solely and is inherited.

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

the existence of a sole head of state who uses 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;

the legal irresponsibility of the monarch;

the monarch is not elected by the people;

the monarch cannot be forcibly removed from office (except for 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, retaining its traditional features.

Absolute Monarchy is a form of government in which all supreme state power belongs by law to one person - the king, king, pharaoh, emperor. According to the lawyer Hammurabi, all power - legislative, judicial and executive - belonged to the king, who was the vicegerent and servant of God on earth. By military regulations Peter I, the 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 the state and law of Russia”, M: Prospekt, 2000, p.169. Thus, the main feature of an absolute monarchical form of government is the absence of any state bodies (parliament, congress, federal assembly or states general) that limit 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 the monarch. At present, some monarchies of the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and Oman) are considered absolute.

Limited monarchy - this is a form of monarchy in which the power of the monarch is limited by a representative body, i.e. in England it is the 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 in fact independent of parliament in the sphere of executive power, at the same time he was often forced to reckon with 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 the parliament: he could veto its laws, he had the right to appoint deputies to the upper house, he could dissolve the parliament. However, a representative institution under the monarchy acquires control functions, acts as a legislative body, with which the monarch is forced to reckon. There are varieties of limited monarchy: parliamentary(constitutional) and dualistic.

parliamentary A (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 the politics of the state. 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 conclude 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 Japanese Empire in 1889, the power of the emperor was limited by the Imperial Parliament, he considered, approved and adopted the 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 a mainly 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 particular party (or parties) that received a majority of votes in parliamentary elections;

party leader with largest number deputy seats, becomes the head of state (the prime minister in the UK actually rules the country);

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

legislative acts are 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 (he dissolves parliament, is the head of the judiciary, the head of the church is Great Britain).

At present, almost all the monarchs of Europe 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, laws are adopted only by the parliament, and the monarch rules the country through the 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.

The dualistic monarchy has become the embodiment of a compromise, where the monarch at the same time expresses the interests of the feudal lords (the 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 social spheres of society, such decrees did not require the approval of parliament;

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

appointment of members of parliament (or one of its chambers) 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.

A dualistic monarchy existed in Germany (1871-1918), Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan, Libya, Nepal and other countries. Until 1990 Nepal and Kuwait were absolute monarchies, however, due to historical events (popular uprising in Nepal in 1990, Kuwait's war with 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 nationwide affair) See: Dictionary 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.

Republics, like monarchies, there are a huge number. The source of power in the 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 - 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 a possible usurpation of power.

Republican government is based on the principle of separation of powers. Principles of separation of powers - division of the unified state power into legislative, executive and judicial, when various state bodies are instructed to perform different functions of governing the state: the parliament (people's assembly, national assembly, duma, supreme council, congress, etc.) is instructed to adopt laws; the government and its bodies (executive-administrative bodies) - to implement laws, organize their implementation; judicial authorities - to exercise control over the implementation of laws, to hold accountable for their violation, etc.

According to the nature of the relationship between the legislative and executive authorities, 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 board is characterized by the supremacy of the parliament, which exercises legislative power. The government is formed by the parliament and is responsible to it. Thus, the elections simultaneously decide the composition of both the parliament and the government.

In a parliamentary republic, the post of president may be provided, but he does not have such broad powers (primarily in relation to the parliament and government) that the president has in a presidential republic, and depends on the government for his 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 he, using the support of the people, could not oppose himself to the parliament. The election of the president is carried out either by the parliament or by a specially created collegium. The president represents the state in the field 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 passed by parliament. Formally, the president may be the supreme commander in chief, but the actual leadership of the armed forces is carried out by the minister of defense, who is subordinate to the head of government.

A significant place in the parliamentary republic is occupied by the position heads of government Prime Minister (in In Germany, this post is called the "Federal Chancellor", and the state is sometimes called the chancellor's republic in the literature). As a rule, it is the leader of the ruling party or party coalition; he is elected by parliament. The government is formed by the leader of the winning party and is in power as long as it enjoys 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 speak of parliamentarism and ministerialism.

There are not very many parliamentary republics in the world: Germany, Finland, India, Turkey, Hungary, 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, the legislative power belongs to the highest representative body - the parliament, which issues laws, and the executive - to the government. However, the parliament does not form the executive branch, the latter is not responsible to it. Parliament cannot dismiss officials of the executive branch (only in the event of a crime, a gross violation of the constitution), if the deputies do not agree, for example, with the policy pursued by the government.

The President is the head of state and head of the executive branch. He usually appoints ministers and forms the government himself. The government (ministers) is responsible to the president and is not responsible to the parliament for their 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 various fields of activity. Usually, the president has the right to initiate legislation, call a referendum, declare a state of emergency, independently decide on some of the most important personal matters, be the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, have the right to make peace, declare war, etc. The president, within his competence, independently issues regulations which occupy an important place in the system of legislation of a country.

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

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

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

The advantages of a parliamentary republic can be seen in the great guarantees of real implementation in public administration society began democracy, because among the organs of the state there is no single-management body endowed with broad competence. Consequently, there are no objective prerequisites for the establishment of someone's dictatorship. The main drawback of parliamentary republics is that under a multi-party system, when it is not possible to form a parliamentary majority, it is practically impossible to pursue a well-thought-out, purposeful policy, 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 virtues inherent in these forms of government. It seems possible even to speak of an "intermediate" form of government - semi-presidential(or mixed) republic, in which elements characteristic of the classical X forms of government.

There is a strong president elected by the people. He, as a rule, is the head of the executive branch and leads the government. But the parliament must take part in the formation of the latter (for example, it approves the candidacies of ministers presented by the president). The government must enjoy the confidence of the majority in parliament and must be accountable 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 constitutionally have broad powers, but in practice he may not exercise some. 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 position may not exist, or there is a so-called administrative prime minister who only coordinates the activities of sectoral governments.

The form of government in Switzerland is peculiar. The government (Federal Council) is appointed by Parliament ( Federal Assembly) and accountable to him, but the political responsibility of the government to parliament is not provided.

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, there is essentially new form republics: semi-presidential, semi-parliamentary, with a predominance of features of one or another republic, and sometimes with such features that were not inherent in either a presidential or a parliamentary republic.

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

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

Secondly, behind an outwardly 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 president's power is practically unlimited and in reality it differs very little from an absolute monarchy. Power is acquired, as a rule, in an illegitimate way (usurped). The next presidential elections, if any are held (for example, in accordance with the Constitution of Malawi, the president is in office for life), are decorative. The president can be the head of a single political party, or even the creator of the official and only allowed state ideology (for example, Ghana under President Kwame Nkrumah, Guinea under President Sekou Tour, Zaire under President Mobutu, etc.). The change of the president occurs as a result of a military coup or his natural death.

For the same reason - the enormous and virtually unlimited power of the president - many states of Latin America received the names "superpresidential" republics. The so-called "socialist" or "people's democratic" republics that emerged after the Second World War were in fact a form of dictatorship. Secretary General and the central committee of the corresponding communist party.

In the conditions of military regimes, it is created presidential-military republic. This, although temporary, 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 recognizing or not recognizing the separation of powers, the methods of formation and correlation of legislative and executive authorities, the problem of their responsibility to the people.

In recent years, there have been changes in the theoretical understanding of the form of government, since there are such models of organization of the highest bodies of state power that cannot be attributed with full certainty to one or another group in accordance with traditional classifications. We have already mentioned 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, monarchical and republican principles are sometimes combined in the form of government of specific states.

Earlier it was about the election of monarchs in the United United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, and after all, the election (as opposed to inheritance) of the head of state is the most important feature of a 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, in Tunisia. The functioning of the highest authorities in modern Western constitutional monarchies and in parliamentary republics does not fundamentally differ.

In developed countries, the distinction between monarchy and republic is practically irrelevant; in terms of the degree of democracy in the order of government, the same monarchy of Great Britain differs little from the republic of France. However, in developing countries these differences can be fundamental.

concept "the form state 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 - in the form of government, among other things, they also include the political environment. As a result, in legal science, the form of government is understood as something in between.

Form of government represents an outwardly expressed institutional and functional characteristic of the structure of state power, the procedure for its acquisition and implementation, the mechanism of legal restriction and separation of powers.

To features 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 of the highest state authorities with other state bodies and with the population;

3. Responsibility of state power;

4. The order of education and change;

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, king, sultan, etc.) is the sole head of state uniting all the power in his hands, unlimited in time, passing it on by inheritance, and responsible for his powerful actions before God.

Signs of a monarchical form state government:

1. The existence of an autocratic bearer of supreme state power;

2. The method of transferring power is hereditary;

3. Lifelong possession 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 is not legally responsible 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, the globe There are about 30 states with a monarchical form of government, most of which are constitutional. At the same time, there is a global trend to reduce monarchies, while in states that have retained such a device, there is an active restriction of the rights of the monarch.

In the historical aspect Monarchies can be subdivided into ancient oriental - oriental despotism, based on the Asian mode of production (Babylon, India, Egypt), slave antique(for example, the ancient Roman monarchy), feudal(early feudal, class-representative, absolute).

There are also monarchies 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 transferred from father to son, but can also be transferred, for example, from brother to brother. It was invented by Western European feudalism and then spread to other parts of the world, although, perhaps, it developed independently in the countries of Islam.

tribal monarchy much more often than strict succession to the throne, the principle of belonging to the royal family acted in the monarchies. Those. the king had to come from the royal family, but this did not mean at all 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 the royal family, and these events took place solely because the previous dynasty was interrupted.

From the point of view of the completeness of the power of the monarch, the following types of monarchy can be distinguished: unlimited and limited. At the same time, traditionally, unrestricted absolute. In our opinion, the identification of unlimited and absolute monarchies is erroneous. Firstly, as a form of government, absolute monarchies arise as a result of the tendencies towards centralized, intensified as a result of the crisis of feudal relations. unified system state power. This means that as a legal phenomenon, absolutism arose relatively recently, in the 16th-17th centuries. (But monarchies have existed since much earlier times). Secondly, absolute monarchies (such as the absolutism that existed in Russia in the 17th century) symbolized, first of all, not the “omnipotence” of the sovereign (this is just more characteristic of the early, primitive forms of monarchical statehood - Eastern despotisms), but rather the unity and strength states. By the way, the powers of the monarch himself in the conditions of an absolute monarchy (especially in economic sphere) were often quite severely limited. It appears that unlimited can be considered monarchies in which the sources of the highest state power are individually defined individuals. With such an approach, the already mentioned ancient monarchies (Eastern despotisms), which were characterized by social structure, headed by the monarch (pharaoh) and included slaves as objects of control. At the same time, the place of a slave in social hierarchy and his very life depended entirely on the will of the pharaoh. In addition, unlimited monarchies may include different kinds theocracies, in which the monarch combines the powers of the head of the secular and spiritual authorities. As a form of unlimited monarchy, theocracies have survived up to the present time in a number of Arabian states (Bahrain, Oman).

AT 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 called constitutional (parliamentary) and dualistic.

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

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

2. The leader of the party that has received the majority of deputy mandates 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 the parliament.

As one of the signs of a parliamentary monarchy, one can name the adoption of legislative acts by the 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 established political practice and constitutional customs, the monarch, as a rule, does not refuse to sign bills adopted by parliament. In this regard, it would be more appropriate to attribute to the number of features of this form of government the presence of the institute of countersignature, suggesting that the signature of the monarch on the document is symbolic. The monarch, as a formal head of state, only confirms a document already signed by an authorized official who led the preparation of this document and bears full responsibility for it.

Most 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 are different 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 fact of the appointment of the government, but also plays a certain independent role, for example, by appointing the shaper of the government (Spain). Moreover, if the formator's attempt to form a government fails, the monarch can replace him with another candidate. The “strengthened” 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. Under such conditions, the monarch can create a short-term minority government, the purpose of which is only to organize the election of a new parliament.

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

1. Along with the legal and de facto 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 an 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 the end of the 19th century. to 1945. Currently, there are no classical dualistic monarchies, although modern monarchies in Jordan, Morocco, and Nepal can be classified as dualistic with a certain degree of conventionality.

The monarchy is a very flexible and viable form of state government, with a centuries-old history and traditions, undoubtedly having a number of both negative and positive qualities that have not lost their significance for the present. Monarchist sentiments are not alien and modern Russia. On its territory there are various public organizations, positioning themselves as monarchical and calling for its restoration within the entire state.

Republic(from lat. "res publica" - a public affair, nationwide) - a form of state government in which the highest state power is exercised collectively by elected bodies elected by the population for a certain period.

The republic is characterized the 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: "respublica est res populi" ("the state is a matter of the whole people");

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

6. The possibility of early termination of power.

As modern forms republican government are 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 by popular vote 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 presented 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 power (concentration of the greatest powers in the parliament) and subordination to the executive power. As a rule, in a parliamentary republic, the president does not have the right to veto laws, the right to hold a referendum, or to introduce a state of emergency.

Signs of a parliamentary republic:

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

- 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 parliament;

- in the event of a declaration of “no confidence in the government” by the parliament, the president is obliged to decide 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 - 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 government appointments, frequent government crises are possible.

Some states use a 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 simultaneously be the head of government, the parliament also participates in the formation of the government, for example, approves the candidacies of ministers presented by the president. At the same time, the government is responsible both to the president and to the parliament.

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

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

There are about two hundred states in the world. They can be classified depending on the level of economic, political development, on the ideological, religious orientation, on what means they carry out international politics, etc. But even within the same group, having a single essence, the same tasks, the states differ in their form.

When we talk about the form of the state, we mean its structure, which is manifested in the totality of its external features.

On the shape of the state big influence exerted not only by economic factors, but also by natural, climatic conditions, religious beliefs, national characteristics, the cultural level of the people, historical traditions, etc.

The form of the state includes three interrelated elements: the form of government, the form of government and the political regime.

The form of government characterizes the organization of state power, the system of higher state bodies, as well as the order of their formation, the relationship between themselves and with citizens.

So, in Nepal, all power belongs to the king, in Great Britain the queen rules only formally, but in fact - the parliament and government headed by the prime minister; The USA is a republic with a strong presidential power; In Italy, Parliament plays a decisive role. However, with all the variety of states in the form of government, they can be divided into two groups: monarchies and republics.

Monarchy(in translation from Greek - the power of one) as a form of government, otherwise it can be called personal autocracy. It is distinguished by the following features:

• the existence of a single head of state;
• the possession by the monarch of all the fullness of power, which is supreme, indivisible and sovereign (independent);
• hereditary transfer of power;
• the indefinite reign of the monarch;
• legal irresponsibility of the monarch.

Distinguish between unlimited (absolute) and limited monarchy.

Absolute monarchy is characterized by the absence of representative institutions of the people, the concentration of all state power in the hands of the monarch. He legislates, appoints officials, controls the collection of taxes, and spends them as he sees fit. The punitive function is also in his hands. A variety of absolute monarchy is a theocratic monarchy (for example, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman), which is characterized by the concentration of state and religious power in the hands of the monarch.

The limited monarchy is subdivided into dualistic and parliamentary (constitutional) depending on the degree of limitation of the powers of the head of state.

In a dualistic monarchy, there are two political institutions: the royal court (an institution of the monarchy), which forms the government, and the parliament, which has no influence on the government, as, for example, in Russia before the revolution of 1917. The monarch has a strong influence on the parliament: he can veto on the laws he passes, to issue emergency decrees having the force of law, and even to dissolve parliament.

A parliamentary monarchy (sometimes called a constitutional one) tends to limit the power of the monarch in both the legislative and executive spheres. Despite the fact that formally the head of government and ministers are appointed by the monarch, the government is not responsible to him, but to parliament. The monarch here is rather a symbolic figure, which is a kind of tribute to tradition, rather than an imperious one. He reigns, but does not rule (Japan, Sweden, Great Britain).

There are several systems of succession to the throne:

1. Castilian, adopted in the countries of Scandinavia, does not distinguish between a man and a woman. Of decisive importance in the succession to the throne is not the sex of the heir, but seniority. Therefore, the presence of a monarch in the family eldest daughter does not give the youngest son the opportunity to become king;
2. salic, allowing women to the throne only if the king has no sons. In other words, younger brother excludes the possibility for the elder sister to take the throne;
3. Austrian - the most rigid system adopted in Russia after the reign of Catherine II, allowing women to the throne only if, in royal family there will be no men at all.

Republic(in lane, from lat. - a public matter) as a form of government arose later than the monarchy and became dominant in the modern world.

The republic has the following features:

1. governance is carried out collectively, i.e., not by one person, but by a system of state bodies;
2. republican government is based on the principle of separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial;
3. the people participate in the formation of power; in the electoral process, authorities may apply various electoral systems, some less, others more democratic;
4. representative bodies of power and senior officials are elected for a fixed term;
5. senior officials are accountable to the body that elected them, or to the people.

practice state building two main types of republic are known.

Presidential republic characterized by a significant role of the president in the system of state bodies, the combination in his hands of the powers of the head of state and head of government. Since the president and the government are elected by extra-parliamentary means, these institutions of power in certain situations can politically oppose the parliament. The presidential republic creates favorable conditions for the concentration of great powers in the hands of the president, which stabilizes state power. This is usually essential in transitions (Mexico), in states with a strong monarchical tradition (Romania), in situations that are not very stable (Ukraine), during the period of reform (Chile), in states with a large territory or a multinational composition ( United States), in the presence of extraordinary events, such as war (Syria). Most of these factors are inherent in modern Russia, so the question of choosing the type of republic here must be decided, of course, in favor of the presidential republic.

Parliamentary republic characterized by the proclamation of the principle of the supremacy of parliament, to which the government bears full responsibility for its activities. The participation of the president in the formation of the government is minimal: it is formed by the party that has received a majority in parliament. Although the president is formally endowed with great powers, in practice he does not have a serious influence on the exercise of state power, as, for example, in Germany. A parliamentary republic is a less common form of government than a presidential republic. It exists in countries with developed, largely self-regulating economies (Italy, Finland, Turkey, etc.). There are not many such countries in the world. Russia is still very far from introducing this form of government.

There are other types of republic: super-presidential, mixed (semi-presidential or semi-parliamentary) republics.

It should be noted that the form of government cannot be chosen arbitrarily. In many ways, it depends on the level of consciousness of people living in a given state.

organization of the highest bodies of state power, the order of their formation, their relationship with each other and with the population, the degree of participation of the population in their formation. It is customary to distinguish between two F.p. - monarchical (monarchy) and republican (republic).

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FORM OF GOVERNMENT

the order of organization of state power, including the method of formation of higher and local state bodies and the order of their relationship with each other and with the population. Depending on whether power is exercised by one person or belongs to a collective elected body, monarchical and republican F. p. are distinguished. (see Monarchy, Republic).

Under the monarchist F.p. the bearer and source of state power, according to the laws in force, is the monarch. Under the republican - an elected body.

On the present stage In the development of society and the state, there are two types of monarchies - dualistic and parliamentary. characteristic feature dualistic monarchy is the formal legal division of state power between the monarch and parliament. Executive power is directly in the hands of the monarch. Legislative - at the Parliament. The latter, however, is actually subordinate to the monarch. The parliamentary monarchy is distinguished by the fact that the status of the monarch is formally and actually limited in all areas of the exercise of state power. Legislative power is wholly vested in Parliament. Executive - to the government, which is responsible for its activities to the parliament. The participation of the monarch in the formation of the government is purely symbolic. Great Britain, Holland, Sweden, etc. can serve as examples of a parliamentary monarchy.

Modern republics can be divided into two types: presidential, a feature of which is the combination in the hands of the president of the powers of the head of government and state, and parliamentary, which are characterized by a rather weak power of the president. feature parliamentary republic is also the presence of the post of prime minister, who simultaneously performs the functions of head of government and leader of the ruling party or party coalition.

Examples of a presidential republic are Argentina, Brazil, the United States, a parliamentary republic - Greece, Germany.

An intermediate view between a parliamentary and a presidential republic is the semi presidential republic(see Republic of the mixed type). Such a republic exists in France, Portugal, Poland and a number of other countries.

RF is a presidential republic. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the president, as head of state, determines the main directions of the country's domestic and foreign policy, solves key personnel problems, represents the Russian Federation within the country and in international relations, calls elections to the State Duma, dissolves it in the cases and in the manner prescribed by the Constitution, calls a referendum, has the right legislative initiative.

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