Political System: Definition & Functions

What is a System

A system is a group of elements interacting among themselves for a purpose under certain rules of the game. It has thus four features

1. It consists of multiple parts
2. All parts are interacting with one another; the mal-functioning of one or more affects the whole system
3. They interact among themselves under certain rules and procedures
4. It is result-oriented, producing results

A computer is an exact example of a system in which its constituents namely electric plug, monitor, processor, mouse, keyboard etc are constituents. These constituents are designed to process the information put into the processor which produces results in the form of documents. Thus every system has three sub-systems

1. Input Sub-system: electric plug, mouse, keyboard
2. Processing Sub-system: main computer with its own operating system
3. Output Sub-system: any paraphernalia attached to the main computer

What is a Political System?

Every state has one overriding objective namely to improve the quality of life of its citizens. To fulfil this role, it devises certain policies and takes actions; these policies and actions are carried out by three interrelated but distinct systems

1. Social System: It consists of people in their social role(raising families, marrying, interacting with people,)clubs, religion, a peaceful environment
2. Economic System: It consists of people in their economic role (buying goods, performing services for a price, producing goods for profit etc), firms, budget making, businesses, chambers of commerce, trade associations etc
3. Political System: It consists of people in their political role (voting, protesting, obeying laws etc), constitution, parliaments, rules of procedures of assemblies, election commissions, election rules and procedures bureaucracy, rules of business, judiciary, media, political parties etc

Thus the political system is the set of formal legal institutions that constitute a “government” or a “state”, carrying out their assigned functions under certain rules and procedures to assist the state in achieving its overriding objective namely improving the quality of life of a common man

Every political system has three components

1. Political Structures: Formal or informal institutions such as constitution, political parties, pressure groups, parliament, election commission, bureaucracy, etc. (Call them the hardware of the political system)
2. Political Processes: Formal or informal actions carried out by these institutions such as holding meetings by political parties, conducting elections by the election commission, making policies by the parliament, and implementing these policies by bureaucracy. (Call them the operating system)
3. Political Culture: Those attitudinal and behavioural patterns of the people and institutions that distinguishes one system from the other such as tolerance or lack of it, respect for laws and procedures, accepting dissent,

(Notice; while the political structures and political processes in two countries may be the same, like those in the UK and Pakistan, it is the third element namely political culture that distinguishes one political system from the other)

What are the Functions of a Political System?

According to Almond and Powell, every political system, whether democratic or authoritarian, has to perform eight functions

1. Polotical Socialisation

Political socialisation is the process whereby individuals are inducted into the political culture and their orientations towards political objects are formed.

Political socialisation, which starts early in one’s life, enables people to not only acquire values and opinions that shape their political stance and ideology but also helps transmit norms and behaviours acceptable to a well-running political system from one generation to another. Some of the agents of political socialisation are

1. Family: Families heavily contribute to children’s initial political ideological views or party affiliations.
2. Schools: Schools teach students key principles such as individual rights and property, personal responsibility and duty to their nation.
3. Media: Media plays an extremely important role in the political socialisation of individuals as it is not only a source of political information but it is also an influence on political values and beliefs.
4. Religion: Religious beliefs and practices play a role in political opinion formation and political participation. The theological and moral perspectives offered by religious institutions shape judgement regarding public policy, and ultimately, translates to direct “political decision-making on governmental matters
5. Political Parties: Political parties have more role to play in reinforcing the political views of an individual than its formation as other agents have.
6. The state: The state is a key source of information for media outlets, and can inform, misinform, or disinform the press and thus the public.

2. Political Recruitment

Political recruitment is the process whereby citizens actively take part in politics i.e, joining a political party, standing for elections, holding public offices, policy-making, etc.

Political recruitment is a basic function of political parties: a party that cannot attract and then nominate candidates surrenders its elemental opportunity for power. Two stages may conveniently be distinguished in the process of recruitment. Certification includes the social screening and political channelling that results in eligibility for candidacy, while selection includes the actual choice of candidates to represent parties in the general election.

3. Interest Articulation

Interest articulation is the process of airing the demands of people in a structured way for their acceptance by the competent authority

When a group of people make demands through any channel such as media, trade association, NGO, protest, agitation etc to the competent authority, it is known as interest articulation. Thus, asking the state to provide public goods and services like food, shelter, clothing etc at affordable prices, maintaining law and order, defending us from external threats, and protecting us from a pandemic, are all cases of interest articulation.

In every polity, several interest groups are striving hard to advance their agenda for getting a maximum share from the national kitty. For example, farmers will be interested to get maximum subsidies, lower prices for agricultural inputs they use and the best prices for their output. Industrialists will press for the imposition of high import duties to earn maximum profit in a protected environment while consumers will be keen to lower the import duties on imports to have access to foreign products at affordable prices.

These interest groups usually have their own organisations such as chambers of commerce and industry, farmers’ associations etc and formulate their own sets of demands for their presentation to the policymakers. In this endeavour, they are involved in alliance building with other groups with whom they can enter into giving and taking agreements. Press is one important vehicle for airing their demands which are extensively used during the elections by different interest groups to ensure their interests are reflected in the manifestos of the political parties contesting the elections. They use the services of the lobbyist not only at this stage but also at other stages.

4. Interest Aggregation

Interest aggregation is the process of analysing the conflicting demands of various interest groups and synthesising the form of options for its presentation to the policymakers for the formulation of appropriate policies

In a democratic set-up, it is the political parties which normally perform this function; in an authoritarian set-up, it is the bureaucracy which is responsible for interest aggregation. A political party contains various groups in its folds, some of which with competing interests and demands. For example, farmers would lobby for higher prices for their outputs and lower ones for agricultural inputs like fertilizers, pesticides etc.

On the other hand, the industrialists and trading class in the same party would press for the opposite. Political parties try to aggregate the demands of these competing members in their respective folds through consultations and come up with viable policy options acceptable to their members. These demands are reflected in their election manifestos during the election campaigns or presented to the decision-making fora through their elected members

5. Rule Making

Rule making is the process whereby the competent authority, usually the elected representatives, deliberate upon the options for the resolution of a problem, and formulate an appropriate actionable plan of action for its resolution in the form of policy guidelines

It is the prerogative of the elected members of the country to formulate the policies but they cannot formulate any policy in a vacuum. The demands brought forward by the elected members of different political parties in the parliament are first handled by the bureaucracy which is the repository of the historical knowledge and channel of stability in the country examines these demands and consults the relevant stakeholders in the public or private sector as well as the concerned civil society organisations. A draft with various options along with their respective pros and cons and specific recommendations is presented to the concerned legislative body.

Once the draft is put up, it is scrutinised by the select/standing committee where all those likely to be affected by the implementation of the proposed policy may be called for a hearing of their views. Lastly, it comes to the decision-making forum cabinet or the parliament where it is again discussed and fine-tuned. Once a consensus has been reached or the majority has agreed, the policy is approved.

In any political system, the role of the leader is very crucial but the degree of his influence is directly proportionate to the governance structure of the country. Thus, in a totalitarian state, the leader plays larger than life role in policy formulation while in a purely democratic set up his discretion to formulate a policy is greatly curtailed by the requirements of institutional consensus he has to build to frame a policy.

Most countries fall in between these two extremes. Thus, a charismatic leader in a democratic set-up may play a dominant role than the institutional consensus would have warranted otherwise. On the other hand, a weak leader in a totalitarian state may have to accommodate the wishes of the other members of the ruling elite in formulating a policy

6. Rule Implementation

Rule implementation is the process of implementing the policy formulated by the public representatives by devising approbate strategies to achieve the objectives of the policies

Once a policy has been approved, it is the responsibility of the bureaucracy to implement it in letter and spirit. For this purpose, they prepare appropriate practicable strategies, as well as rules and procedures to ensure the effective and efficient achievement of the objectives set in the policy. Thus a policy is a general statement of intentions of the political elite while a strategy is its implementation plan made by the bureaucracy. Its detailed implementation is with the lower formations

For example, politicians make a place where all appointments in the government sector will be made transparently. Bureaucracy prepares a strategy that these will of the policymakers would be carried out by conducting written examinations for all new inductees. To implement this strategy, they prepare elaborate rules such as the format of the examination to be held, where it would be held, who would prepare the question papers, who will conduct interviews, how many numbers would be allocated to interviews etc. In case of any difficulty, the bureaucracy is supposed to bring it to the notice of those who formulated it and get it revised

7. Rule Adjudication

Rule adjudication is the process wherein the courts decide whether the policy made is under the constitution, and more importantly whether it is being implemented in true spirit.

Thus a decision by a higher court on whether the policies made by the public representatives are by the constitution or not is a clear case of rule adjudication. Similarly, when a court decides that a public office holder has not decided a case under the policy laid down by the public representatives is a rule adjudication.

Sometimes, the policy formulated by the elected representatives is against the fundamental law of the land i.e., the Constitution or its implantation itself may result in gross injustice to the public. In both cases, the judiciary itself or on the petition of anyone adversely affected can act and either refer it back to the elected representatives for its re-examination or it can strike it down completely.

However, more important than its interpretation, the courts come into the picture when a person aggrieved with any action of bureaucracy approaches the court with the plea that the action of a civil servant is not following the provisions of the policy formulated. Here the court then adjudicates whether the concerned civil servant has strictly followed the rules or not while making a decision

8. Political Communication

Political communication is the process where various types of information are passed among different stakeholders in the system.

Thus when a group of citizens express their demand through a press release to lower the prices of petrol or a government issues a statement about its inability to do so, political communication is taking place. Political communication also takes place when the interest groups or the media point out the deficiencies in the policy implemented to the higher authorities No policy formulated by the elected representatives can be without flaws nor it is etched in stone. Here the press and civil society play a very important role by pointing out the anomalies or the adverse consequences of any policy formulated or being implemented. This feedback plays a key role in amending a policy formulated or even its repealing if necessary