The form of government -it is an element of the form of the state that characterizes the internal structure of the state, the method of its political and territorial division, which determines certain relationships between the organs of the entire state and the organs of its constituent parts.

The form of government determines:

Internal structure of the state;

The legal status of parts of the state;

The interests of each nation living on the territory of states;

The volume and quality of the rights and freedoms of citizens (subjects);

The stability of the state, its correct functioning.

With the help of this concept, the ratio of power in the center and in the localities is determined.

From the point of view of state structure, states are divided into unitary and federated.

A unitary state is an integral state entity, consisting of administrative-territorial units that are subordinate to the central authorities and they do not possess signs of state sovereignty.

Signs of a unitary state:

1. A unified system of state apparatus on the territory of the country, extending its jurisdiction over all territorial units.

2. Administrative-territorial units usually have equal legal status in relation to the central authorities. Local authorities have a certain degree of independence. According to the degree of their dependence on the central authorities, the unitary state structure can be centralizedand decentralized... If local government bodies are headed by officials appointed from the center, then the state centralized (Finland, Czech Republic - local government is headed by a governor appointed by the president). IN decentralized In a unitary state, local bodies are elected by the population (Spain). Mixed systems characterized by signs of centralization and decentralization (France).

3. Single citizenship

4. A unified system of law is emerging, the basis of which is the only Constitution.

5. Unified judicial system.

6. One-channel tax system, when taxes first go to the center, and from there are distributed to the regions.

7. Interstate relations are carried out by central authorities.

8. Unified Armed Forces

A unitary state, on whose territory small nationalities live, allows national autonomy. In Great Britain, autonomous entities of Scotland, Northern Ireland (Ulster), Wales have been created, these autonomies have their own legislation, their own judicial system, local government and church. In addition, autonomies can be administrative, which are built purely on the basis of self-government (autonomy within the framework of unitary China) and political, with small signs of a state (Palestinian autonomy within Israel).

In Spain, all the highest administrative-territorial units are autonomies, which gives reason to single out a separate type of unitary state - a regional state.

With all other features, a unitary state is preferable to a federal one, since there are no barriers to economic development, a system of local self-government is developed, these states are mainly mono-national, and since they are united by a single nationalist idea, then there is no threat of decay or half-life. On the territory of a unitary state, there can be national autonomies (Sweden and the Alan Islands, Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the PRC is also a unitary state, although there are many national entities in it).

Federal state - This is a union state, parts of which have a certain state sovereignty while maintaining the integrity of the state. There are about 1/3 of such states in the world.

Features of a federal state:

The administrative-territorial structure of federations can be based on geographic, economic, national and political grounds.

Economic Principle takes into account the natural geographic and production characteristics of the country, the size of its territory, the size and density of the population, its attraction to certain economic centers, the direction and nature of communication routes, the location of productive forces, etc.

Political principle proposes to establish the administrative-territorial division of the country in such a way as to bring the authorities and administration closer to the population, to create a system of local self-government.

It is customary to distinguish national, territorial and national-territorialfederation.

National federations (Czech Republic, USSR) along with the general features of the federation have their own specifics:

a) the subjects of the federation are national and national-state formations, differing in national composition, culture, way of life, religion of the population;

b) national formations, in fact, have signs of state sovereignty: they have a parliament, an independent executive power, an independent judicial system;

c) the highest representative bodies are formed from representatives of the subjects of the federation, which reflects the interests of all nations and nationalities that make up its composition. The central government is called upon to coordinate general federal interests;

d) the legal status of subjects, which is associated with the right of nations to self-determination.

Territorial federation(USA, Brazil) is characterized by a significant limitation of the sovereignty of the subjects of the federation:

a) the subjects of the federation are not states, because their activity depends on the powers of the federal bodies. The delimitation of competence between the center and the subject of the federation is determined by constitutional norms. They establish a list of issues on which only federal bodies can issue normative legal acts. All other issues are under the jurisdiction of the subjects of the federation.

b) the subjects of the territorial federation are deprived of the right of direct representation in international relations;

c) the control of the armed forces is carried out by the federal authorities; the subjects of the federation do not have the right to create professional armed formations in peacetime.

National Territorial Federation - some of the subjects of such federations are created on a territorial basis. India has 28 states, which are created according to the territorial principle, and eight union territories, created according to the national principle. In Canada, all entities are created on a territorial basis, and one (Quebec) is created on a national basis. These countries also include Nigeria and the Comoros.

At present, there is practically not a single national-territorial federation where there would be stability, and there were no nationalist movements. Many authors adhere to the point of view that if the right of nations to self-determination is not eliminated, 3000 states will appear in a quarter of a century, a war of all against all will begin, peoples will devour each other in a completely senseless struggle, therefore the only principle should be territorial unity and the unity of power. This is a union state, and it unites the constituent entities of the federation. The territory of the federation consists of the territories of its subjects, which, while not being states in the full sense, have a certain degree of independence.

8. The supreme legislative (representative) body of the federation has a bicameral structure.

9. In federal states, both the federal Constitution and the constitutions of the subjects of the federation are in force.

10. There is a dual system of law: federal and federal subjects.

11. A citizen of a subject of a federation is at the same time a citizen of the federation as a whole.

12. Two-channel tax system.

13. The division of competence between the federation and its subjects is enshrined in the constitution on the basis of the exclusive competence of the federation, joint competence and exclusive powers of the subjects of the federation.

14. Nationality is determined only on the basis of citizenship, therefore in the United States there is one nationality - Americans, in some federations each citizen has the right to independently determine his nationality (Russia).

15. In a classical federation, only the federation as a whole has sovereignty. The unity of state power means that it belongs to one subject of power, only to the people.

16. Not a single federation of the world provides for the right of secession (the possibility of a subject of a federation leaving the union).

Voluntary and violent international state associations

Entering into relations with other states, subjects of international law sacrifice their own sovereignty in order to achieve common goals for these states. Distinguish voluntary and violent international associations.

Voluntary forms of unification of states include:

Confederation - a temporary union of states, formed to achieve political, military, economic and other goals. They establish political and administrative bodies, the authority of which is recognized by the member states. But the subjects of the confederation are completely sovereign states.

The confederation does not have sovereignty, because there is no central state apparatus common for the united subjects and a unified system of legislation. Within its framework, union bodies can be created, but only for those problems for the solution of which they have united, and only of a coordinating nature. The executive bodies are collegial in nature. The rules of law become binding if they are published by each state that is part of the confederation. The armed forces belong to each of the states, although formally they may be under general command. International policy is carried out jointly.

The confederation is a fragile state entity and has existed for a relatively short time; it either disintegrates (as happened with Senegambia - the unification of Senegal and Gambia in 1982-1989), or transforms into a federal state (as, for example, happened with Switzerland, which was transformed from the confederation of the Swiss Union (1815-1848) into a federation ...

Commonwealth- the unification of states characterized by a certain homogeneity, which is due to:

· Integration of economic ties (countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

· Linguistic unity (British Commonwealth of Nations).

· Commonality of the legal system, culture, religion (League of Arab Countries).

The basis of the commonwealth can be interstate treaties, declarations, etc. The supranational bodies of the commonwealth are created to coordinate the actions of the participating states. The lawmaking activity of the commonwealth is carried out in the form of normative acts, for example, the model Criminal Code of the CIS countries.

Community - the unification of states to resolve issues on which the viability of the state and its status in the world community depend. In the European Community, the goal is to equalize the economic, scientific and technical potential of the member states. And for this, customs and visa barriers have been simplified up to their abolition, even a single currency has been introduced - the euro. The order of joining and leaving the community is established by the community members.

Association - the unification of states on global world problems (preservation of peace, environmental protection, rational use of natural resources, etc.) The current Association of the Pacific Region Countries (ASEAN: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, etc.) is aimed at maintaining peace and order in the region.

Alliances - unification of states based on historical roots, economic feasibility, geopolitical factors, etc. The states are sometimes forced into unions, since it is more difficult for them to endure the pressure they are experiencing alone (the Baltic Union, the Union of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, etc. ).

In addition to the named forms of government, there have been some other specific forms of forcible unification of states in history - empires, protectorates, etc. So, empires are state formations, the distinctive features of which are a vast territorial base, strong centralized power, asymmetric relations of domination and subordination between the center and the periphery, a heterogeneous ethnic and cultural composition of the population. Empires (for example, Roman, British, Russian) have existed in different historical eras.

Protectorate - formal tutelage of a weak state by a stronger one, which, as a rule, leads to the loss of the sovereignty of the former and may be accompanied by its occupation. Thus, Great Britain occupied Egypt in 1882, and in 1914 established a protectorate over it.

State-territorial structure - the internal national-territorial organization of the state. authorities, dividing the territory of the state into certain constituent parts, their legal status, the nature of the relationship between the state as a whole and its parts, between central and local authorities.

State-Territory Form the device reflects: the constituent parts of the internal structure of the state; the position of these parts and the relationship of these bodies; how relations are built between central and local government bodies; in what state. the interests of each nation are expressed in the form.

Forms of state-territorial structure:

1) A unitary state is a single, centralized state formation, which is a combination of various administrative-territorial units that are subordinate to the central authorities and do not possess signs of state sovereignty.

Signs: on its territory there is one constitution, a single system of legislation, one citizenship, a single monetary system, credit and tax policies; supreme executive, representative and judicial bodies uniform for the whole state; does not include other states or state entities; constituent parts of the state. do not have sovereignty; consists of various administrative-terr. units (province, district, region); each of the parts of the state has the same rights and representation in the organs of the state.

2) complex states - represent a union of states or consist of separate state formations that have one or another degree of independence:

- empires - forcibly created complex monarchical states, headed by a ruler.

- Federated states - unified states, consisting of several state formations, uniting to solve common problems by the central government. Features: a state entity that is part of a federal state is a subject of the federation and has its own administrative-territorial division; there are two systems of the highest authorities of the federal authorities and the authorities of the federation members; as a rule, the subjects have their own constitutions, statutes, certain sovereignty and legislative competence; as a rule, the presence of general federal citizenship and citizenship of the subjects of the federation; the federal parliament is always bicameral, one of the chambers of which is of interest to the subject of the federation; the competence of the federal center and the subject of the federation is divided: exclusive federal jurisdiction, exclusive jurisdiction of the subject of the federation and joint jurisdiction.

Federation principles: national; territorial; mixed.

- Confederation - a state legal association, a union of sovereign states. Confederations are created to achieve certain limited goals within a specific historical period.

Features: are combined on the basis of a contract; the subjects of the confederation have the right to freely withdraw from it; do not have common legislative, executive and judicial bodies; do not have a unified army, a unified system of taxes and fees, a unified state budget; the subject of the confederation is a small range of issues clearly stipulated by the treaty; those bodies are formed that are necessary to achieve the goals set for them; the subjects of the confederation have the right to nullify, that is, the refusal to apply the act of the federal government; within the confederation, borders are established, customs between the subjects, there is no union citizenship.

According to the territorial structure, states are divided into unitary, federal and confederations.

A unitary state has a single constitution, territory, single citizenship, and administrative-territorial units lack independence. At the same time, all unitary states are very peculiar. They are conventionally divided into three groups.

The first group consists of states with a centralized system of government, in which local authorities are a continuation of the central (vertical of power), do not have any independence and implement the decisions made by the "center" (Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal).

The second group is made up of partially decentralized states, in which territorial units (lands, provinces, etc.) have autonomy, have their own self-government bodies, their own budget, but they have a limited influence on the policy of central governments (Italy, Spain, France).

The third group of states is semi-centralized states. In the states of this group, local authorities enjoy significant autonomy in areas such as health care, education, public order, construction, and utilities. In a number of other areas (taxes, financing, etc.) (UK, Netherlands).

Federated states differ from unitary states in that the territorial units included in it are subjects of state sovereignty. It is a stable union of states, independent within the limits of competence distributed between them and the center and having their own authorities. Translated from the French language federalism (federalisme) means union.

The criteria for federalism are: uniform state policy and government control over all territories included in the federation; the exclusive right of the federal government to conduct foreign policy; the ability of the subjects of the federation to have their own constitutions, which should not contradict the federal one.

Practice has shown that federations created on a territorial basis (USA, Mexico, Germany, Austria) turned out to be more viable than federations created on a national-territorial basis (Soviet Union, Yugoslavia).

Confederation - a union of independent states for the implementation of specific joint goals. Its members transfer to the competence of the union the solution of a limited range of issues, most often in the field of the military, foreign policy, economic system. Confederations existed in the USA (1776-1787), in Germany (1815-1867) and in some other countries. This form of state unification is fragile, then either develops into a federation, as in the case of the United States, or disintegrates after achieving the set goals. The union of states, in which the elements of the confederation are visible, is the European Community, transformed into the European Union. It has supranational bodies with considerable powers, coordinates politics, and has a common economic space. Such associations include the CIS, the Union of Russia and Belarus.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation considers the federation as a form of state structure in Russia, and also as one of the fundamental foundations of the constitutional system.

In Russia, federalism acts in two ways - as a form of state organization of national relations and a form of democratization of state administration.

Russian federalism ensures the sovereignty of the nations living on the territory of Russia. National sovereignty means independence and independence of a nation in resolving issues of its internal life and relations with other nations, as well as free expression of will in choosing the form of its national statehood. This was reflected in the creation of various forms of national statehood of peoples - republics, autonomous oblasts, autonomous okrugs.

Russian federalism ensures the decentralization of state power and its distribution across regions by delineating the subjects of jurisdiction and powers between the Russian Federation, its constituent republics, territories, regions, cities of federal significance, an autonomous region, autonomous districts and local self-government. The federal structure of Russia is based on a number of principles determined by its democratic essence:

1. State integrity of the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation is a union of a number of states (state-territorial and national-territorial entities), created to achieve common goals with the help of federal authorities.

2. The unity of the system of state power is one of the guarantees of the state integrity of the Russian Federation and is expressed in the presence of a unified system of bodies that make up the highest state power.

3. Delineation of jurisdiction and authority between the state authorities of the Russian Federation and state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The Constitution establishes the framework of powers for each type of federal bodies, beyond which they are not entitled to go, as well as the nature of their relationship with the authorities of the subjects of the Federation.

4. Equality and self-determination of peoples in the Russian Federation means the equality of their rights in all matters of state building, in the development of culture and other areas. The peoples of Russia enjoy equal rights to self-determination, i.e. first of all, on the choice of the form of their statehood. However, this right can be exercised either only within the framework of the Russian Federation, or in any other form, but only with the consent of the Russian Federation.

5. Equality of subjects of the Russian Federation in relations with federal bodies of state power means that all subjects of the Russian Federation have the same rights in their relations with federal bodies of state power, that there can be no subjects within the Russian Federation that have any advantages over other constituent parts of it. subjects. In this sense, all subjects that are part of the Russian Federation are equal.

Form of state (territorial) structure

Form of government characterizes the administrative-territorial and national-ethnic structure of the state, revealing the nature of the relationship between territorial entities, in the aggregate, constituting a single territory of the state, as well as between central and regional bodies of state power and, in addition, between national and ethnic communities inhabiting the given state. Thus, within the framework of the form of state structure, one should distinguish: administrative-territorial and national-ethnic structure.

By the form of the administrative-territorial structure all states are divided into unitary (simple) and federal (complex).

Unitary states (UK, Japan, Finland) - these are unified states in which state power is centralized and indivisible. The unitary state is the simplest and at the same time the most widespread form of government.

Signs unitary state:

• powers of power are concentrated in the highest bodies of state power, which exercise these powers on behalf of the entire state;
• a unified system of state bodies;
• unified system of legislation;
• the procedure for creating, changing and liquidating administrative-territorial entities, as well as the principles of their interaction with each other, are determined at the highest state level.

The largest units into which the territory of a unitary state is divided are called regions, provinces, lands, provinces (regional, top-level units); units of the district level (middle) are called districts, districts, counties; municipal districts and rural administrative-territorial units (the lowest level) often have the names of communities, communes, volosts, etc. Cities are sometimes allocated to special administrative-territorial units.

As a rule, unitary states are divided into centralized and decentralized ones.

In decentralized unitary states, local governments and heads of local administrations are elected by the residents of the respective territory (Great Britain, Japan, Spain, Italy, etc.). In centralized states, heads of local administrations are appointed “from above” by acts of the “central” state authority (Netherlands, Indonesia, Thailand, etc.).

Along with administrative-territorial units, unitary states can include autonomous entities, the creation of which is associated with the peculiarities of culture, history, traditions, and the way of life of the population living in them (Corsica in France, Iraqi Kurdistan, etc.).

Depending on the presence or absence of such entities, unitary states can be subdivided into simple and complex ones. Simple unitary state consists only of administrative-territorial units (Poland, Thailand, Colombia, etc.), complicated has one or more autonomous entities (France, Denmark, China, etc.)

The word "autonomy" (from the ancient Greek, "own law", means independence, self-government) in modern conditions presupposes taking into account national, cultural, historical, geographical, everyday and other peculiarities in state building. Such features can be taken into account by allocating special territories, which are provided with a specific regime for managing issues of local importance, that is, territorial autonomy is created. Most often, this takes into account the ethnicity, therefore in the domestic literature such autonomy is called national-territorial.

Depending on the competence of the territorial autonomous entities, they can be divided into two groups: political and administrative. Political autonomy has the right to issue normative legal acts regulating issues of local importance, administrative autonomy does not have such rights.

There are many different definitions in legal science federation. This form is understood as “a single state, consisting of several state formations, united to solve the tasks common to all members of the federation by the central government”; as a “form of government organization that seeks to reconcile regional diversity with a certain level of collective cohesion and does so in a way in which regional governments play a very specific role”; as such "the structure of the political system of the state, where the sovereign will of the people is embodied in the constitutional or contractual creation of a single state, where the interests of the entire federal state, its subjects and citizens of this state are harmoniously combined."

According to the authors of the textbook, a federal state is a complex state, which is an indissoluble union of separate political-territorial entities (subjects), endowed with a certain amount of state power. Federations (USA, Russian Federation, Mexico) are more complex and less common (compared to unitary states) forms of government.

Among the most significant signs federal state should include the following:

• the territory of the federation is a set of separate and autonomous territorial entities - subjects;
• state sovereignty is concentrated at the federal level. The subjects of the federation are not sovereign entities and do not have the right of secession (the right to unilaterally secede from the federation);
• the system of state bodies of the federal state is characterized by a two-tier structure and unites the state authorities of the federation and the state authorities of the constituent entities. Interaction of federal government bodies with government bodies of constituent entities is carried out in accordance with the principle of delimitation of jurisdictions (subjects of exclusive jurisdiction of the federation, subjects of joint jurisdiction, subjects of jurisdiction of subjects) and distribution of powers;
• the interests of the subjects at the federal level are implemented by one of the chambers of the legislative assembly (in Russia - the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation), formed from representatives of the subjects;
• in a federal state there is a two-tier system of legislation - the legislation of the federation and the legislation of the subjects. The legislation of the subjects should not contradict the federal one. The highest legal force is vested in the federal Constitution, which is the core of legislation both at the federal level and at the level of subjects.

National, political-territorial and mixed federations are distinguished by the method of constituent entities formation.

The basis national federations the procedure for the formation of the subject is laid down on the principle of allocating the titular nation (USSR, in the modern period - Belgium).

The political-territorial approach to the creation of a federation is based on political, economic, historical and cultural ties that unite the population of the subjects (USA, Germany).

IN mixed federations subjects can be formed both on the national and political-territorial principle (in the modern Russian Federation, republics are national subjects, and regions are political-territorial).

The structure of the various federations is not the same. Depending on the legal status of the subjects, all federations are subdivided into symmetrical and asymmetric.

In the simplest version, a federal state consists of identical (in the sense of possessing a political and legal status) subjects (states, provinces, lands, etc.). Such federations are usually called symmetrical (USSR).

Legally asymmetrical the federation proceeds from the inequality of its constituent parts.

Along with federations, complex forms of government are often referred to as confederation. but it is more accurate to consider this type as a kind of transitional form of territorial structure, which combines both the features of a single state and the features of a union of sovereign states.

In particular, to the signs that make it possible to classify the confederation as a single state, relate:

• the presence of functions common to the entire confederation, implemented both in the internal and external spheres;
• the presence of a unified legal framework; common customs space;
• the existence of confederal authorities and a confederal system of legislation;
• the presence of a single currency;
• the presence of a single language of interstate communication;
• the presence of a unified armed forces under a common command.

In turn, to the signs of confederation, characteristic of the union of sovereign states, should include:

• preservation of the national currency; national citizenship; state language; territorial isolation;
• legal acts adopted by confederal bodies acquire legal force in the subjects of the confederation only if they are ratified (approved) by the national parliaments;
• the subjects of the confederation have the right of nullification - the right to invalidate an act adopted at the confederation level;
• the subjects of the confederation have the right of secession - the right to unilaterally secede from the confederation. Naturally, this right can only be exercised on the basis of an appropriate agreement.

It is the high degree (in comparison with the federation) of the independence of the subjects that determines the unstable nature of the confederal form of state structure. Having emerged to achieve certain goals (usually a military or economic plan), after solving a common problem, confederations are most often transformed into more stable forms (unitary, federal) - the United States or break up into sovereign states - Austria-Hungary.

Examples of confederations are the United States from 1781 to 1789, Egypt and Syria from 1958 to 1961, Senegal and Gambia from 1982 to 1989, and others.

Comparing a confederation with a federation, even at the beginning of the 20th century. B.F. Kistyakovsky noted that, firstly, the confederation is based "on the international obligations of the united states arising from the treaty", and the federation "on the joint law established by universal agreement and law or custom." Second, that the states that are part of the confederation retain their sovereignty, while the members of the federation lose sovereignty and submit to the sovereign authority of the "complex whole that they form." Thirdly, that a federation is a state, "a legal entity of public law," while a confederation is a subject of law "only in international life, but does not have public rights of power." And, fourthly, that the members of the confederation are recognized the right to withdraw from the union, while the subjects of the federation do not have such a right. The members of the federation “cannot, by an act of their unilateral will, sever their connection with the whole. Their secession is considered legally as an act of rebellion or insurrection against the federal government and may entail repression for them in addition to those that accompany the war. "

Confederations should be distinguished from coalitions, which are essentially defensive or offensive alliances of independent states (the anti-Hitler coalition during the Second World War, the anti-Iraqi coalition during the war in Iraq in 2002).

Unlike the forms of the administrative-territorial structure, which characterize the structure of the state territory, as well as the procedure for the formation and interaction of administrative and political-territorial entities, through the form ethnicity the social structure of the state is characterized. Until recently, this issue has not been raised or considered from this perspective, despite its obvious importance both in theoretical and practical terms. It seems that all states (both federal and unitary) can be divided into mono-ethnic and multi-ethnic according to the form of their national-ethnic structure.

IN mono-ethnic states (USA, FRG) the principle of ethnic unity is being formalized at the official level. At the same time, such unity can be based on either the definition of the titular nation (FRG), which implies the acquisition, along with citizenship, of the corresponding national status (any citizen of the FRG is considered a representative german people); or cultural unity (USA). At the same time, in both cases, the creation of administrative-territorial autonomies formed on a national basis is not allowed.

IN polyethnic states (Russia, Spain, Ukraine, etc.), the separation and territorial isolation of social groups formed on a national basis (national subjects in the Russian Federation, national autonomies in Spain and Ukraine) is allowed.

Empire as a special form of state-territorial structure is characterized by the following main features.

At first, empire is a state in every sense of the word, which has much in common with other forms of state. She possesses all its elements and characteristics. In its external aspect, the empire has its own territory, over which it exercises sovereignty, which makes it possible to delimit the sphere of its rule from the sphere of power of other states and to resist them. Accordingly, there is no other higher political whole that embraces it and cannot stand above it. Internally, it has its own supreme power, state apparatus, legal system, treasury, and a complex territorial structure.

Secondly, Unlike other states, which are a form of existence of separate nations and peoples or ethnic groups related in origin and blood, an empire often acts as a state-territorial form of a local civilization, which is a historical organism or a historically cultural type, that is, such a community of nations and peoples , which occupies a certain geographical area, "part of the world", has a common history, traditions, organization of life, mentality, social and moral values \u200b\u200band attitudes, a way of life and, thus, belongs to a single historically formed culture and exists in it.

Thirdly, an empire is always a state with a large territory. Spatial dimension is an integral element of the idea and practical organization of the empire. Naturally, this space turns out to be very diverse in its ethnic, religious, economic and similar characteristics, due to which the main goal and purpose of the empire is to streamline and bring to the unity this motley and chaotic diversity, while maintaining a certain originality and originality of its constituent parts. ...

Fourth, the territorial space of the empire itself is unequal, heterogeneous both in its ethnocultural and socio-economic properties, and in the political and legal qualities and status characteristics of its territorial parts. An empire is not just a state that is large in its spatial parameters, but one whose territory includes regional formations of different status, which are in varying degrees of political, administrative and legal dependence on the imperial supreme power, while preserving in some cases their political autonomy and even their own statehood.

The fundamental feature of the territorial organization of the empire, which distinguishes it from all other types of statehood, is a peculiar combination of unitarianism, federalism, confederalism, self-government and decentralization. It also uses a form of protectorate, where the imperial center has military leadership and representation in international affairs. There are also allied territories and semi-sovereign state formations dependent on the empire with their own government bodies.

Fifth, the sovereign center of the empire, embodied in imperial political institutions, territorially and ethnosocially forms an autonomous unit with its own special status, possessing hegemony or dominating it in the exercise of imperial power and control.

Effective imperial leadership is possible only with more or less voluntary complicity in the exercise of power and control of regional elites, which implies their regular co-optation into the central elite. At the same time, the latter forms its own "footholds" in peripheral nations within their traditional elites. Thus, the imperial aristocracy is formed from representatives of all nations and nationalities that make up the empire, which significantly affects the stability of the imperial states, gives them huge social resources to resist political cataclysms and regenerate with territorial and demographic losses.

At sixth, an empire is always a state that has its own system of basic values \u200b\u200b(ideology). And this main, dominant feature largely determines the rest of the features and characteristics of the imperial state organization.

The empire becomes possible and exists as long as the overwhelming majority of its citizens have a certain worldview unity, common spirituality, which, ultimately, allows achieving political integration of territories that are heterogeneous in many respects. It is from this that the diversity and variety of statuses of various peripheral parts of the empire, significant decentralization in government, as well as special forms and methods of exercising imperial supreme power.

Seventh, these are the features of imperial sovereignty, which are manifested in the ways of organizing and legitimizing the supreme power, as well as in the distribution of sovereign powers between the supreme power and peripheral entities.

A characteristic feature of imperial sovereignty is that it is almost always formed and implemented within the framework of the culturally dominant national spiritual and political-legal tradition, whose fundamental ideological attitudes are perceived by almost all nations and peoples that entered the empire.

Thus, the empire is a territorial organization of the state that combines various principles of state structure (autonomy, federalism, confederalism) with a persistent tendency towards centralization of power.

A unitary state has a form of administrative-territorial administration, in which there is a single legislative and judicial power in the country. Such a state does not include self-governing entities. It is subdivided into administrative-territorial units: departments, regions, districts, etc. Most of the states of the modern world are unitary.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Territorial structure" is in other dictionaries:

Greater German Empire Main article: Third Reich Admin ... Wikipedia

The division of the territory of a unitary state or subjects of a federal state into certain parts: regions, provinces, provinces, departments, etc., in accordance with which the system of local bodies is built and functions. May be… … Legal Dictionary

- ... Wikipedia

Moscow region is a territorial organization of the Moscow region, which is a system of administrative territorial units established to carry out the functions of state administration, taking into account historical and cultural traditions, ... ... Official terminology

Administrative territorial structure - division of the territory of the state into certain parts (administrative territorial units), in accordance with which the system of local bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government is built. A. tu. exists in any state, ... ... Encyclopedia of Law

ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE - (DIVISION) division of the territory of a unitary state or the territory of subjects of a federal state into certain parts: regions, provinces, provinces, departments, etc., in accordance with which the system of local is built and operates ... ... Legal encyclopedia

ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE - dividing the territory of the state into parts of administrative territorial units, within which the management of state affairs and (or) self-government of the population (local self-government) is carried out, bodies of state power are created ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Constitutional Law

ADMINISTRATIVE AND TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE OF A SUBJECT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION - the territorial organization of the subject of the Federation, in accordance with which the system of its state authorities and local self-government bodies is built and functions. The concept of A. tu. used in state studies and in political ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary "Constitutional Law of Russia"

administrative-territorial structure - administrative-territorial division the division of the territory of a unitary state or subjects of a federal state into certain parts: regions, provinces, provinces, departments, etc., in accordance with which it is built and ... ... Big Law Dictionary

Division of the territory of the state into parts: regions, provinces, provinces, departments, etc. any state is conditioned by its class nature, tasks and functions; its goal in the most effective organization and ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Books

• The territorial structure of Russia. Constitutional and legal problems, I. V. Leksin. The monograph is devoted to topical constitutional and legal problems of the modern territorial structure of the Russian Federation and the prospects for its reform. The book reflects how ...
• State-territorial structure of Russia, Kistanov V. Grishina V. The book was prepared by the staff of the Council for the Study of Productive Forces. An optimal model of the administrative-territorial organization of modern Russia is proposed, ...