Institutional model of Tajikistan's Political system: hierarchy and specifics of institutions

Khadyrov Ravshan Yunusovich PhD in Politics Postgraduate student, Department of World Political Processes, MGIMO 115764, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, ul. Moscow, 63, of. Moscow khadyrov.r.u@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Over the 30 years of independence, Tajikistan has undergone a transformation of the political system and the entire society. By the transformation of the political system, we will understand organizational, value deconstruction, the transformation of former institutions and the reproduction of new political and state institutions, values, norms and social relations. The socio-cultural heritage of the socialist way of life and Soviet authoritarianism, the consequences of the brutal civil war laid the specifics of the genesis of the political system of Tajikistan. The institutional transformation initiated and carried out by the regional elites who won the civil war led to the construction and functioning of a kind of political system synthesizing democratic institutions and authoritarian political and administrative practices of government institutions. This phenomenon arouses scientific interest, which determined the subject, purpose and methodology of the study – the definition of the institutional content of the political system of Tajikistan and the identification of the specifics of its design based on the structural component model.

The study of the political system based on the institutional model is one of the analytical tools of political science. The concept of "institutional model" is considered as an identified set of institutions (bodies, institutions, norms, relations) that form the institutional structure of the political system. The paradigm was adopted as the starting point of modeling: the political system consists of interconnected subsystems, institutions that form its structure. The model type is a static structural-component model that reflects the formal structure of institutions, their status hierarchy and interrelationships in the real political system of Tajikistan.

The structural-component model is fundamentally different from the well-known models proposed by D. Iston (dynamic model) ^[15], G. Almond (structural and functional model) ^[12,13], K. Deutsch (information and communication model) ^[14], explaining the universal system principles of the functioning of political systems, but not revealing their institutional structure. P. Hall's institutional model, based on a critical analysis of the varieties of institutionalism and including the power status of actors, the scope of their powers and responsibilities in creating new institutions, making political and managerial decisions affecting institutional design, brings the modeling problem closer to solving ^[17,18]. But in general, these conceptual models are abstract and do not consider the institutional components of specific political systems.

The works of Russian scientists T.V. Karaje ^[7], S.G. Kirdina ^[8], O.F. Shabrova ^[12] are mainly focused on the theoretical and methodological aspects of modeling political systems and processes. S.G. Kirdina justifies the limitation of the institutional model, which describes not the whole set of institutions, but only "the skeleton, the skeleton of the entire institutional structures of a society" ^{[8, 80]}. Let's build the genesis and modern institutional model on the example of the political system of Tajikistan. This is possible on the basis of a content analysis of the constitutional and legal framework that defines the main political and systemic institutions and their functions.

The political and systemic transformation began with the scrapping, transformation of the Soviet and the creation of new democratic institutions. The Constitution of the Tajik SSR was in force until 1991 and referred to the structure of the Soviet - type political system: 1) the socialist national state (Article 1); 2) Councils of People's Deputies, which form the political basis of the Tajik SSR (Articles 2, 80-84); 3) national referendums (Article 5); 4) the CPSU - the core of the political system, state and public organizations (Article 6); 5) trade unions, Komsomol cooperative and other public organizations (Article 7); 6) labor collectives (Article 8) ^[2].

In modern Tajikistan, the constitutional and legal basis for the construction and functioning of the institutions of the political system is the Constitution, constitutional and other laws regulating relations in the sphere of political life of society. During the content analysis of official sources (constitutional acts, laws, decrees of President E. Rahmon, government resolutions, regulations on executive authorities) the elements of the system (institutions), their functional purpose and interactions are revealed.

Let's consider the elements of the institutional model of the political system of Tajikistan in their system hierarchy (Figure 1). The macro–level includes republican institutions of state power and management, legislative, executive, judicial authorities, political parties; the meso–level is regional, district, municipal bodies of state elected and appointed power and management; the micro-level is a socio-political space for participation in the political life of non-governmental organizations, associations of citizens. The description of the model is limited to the macro level, which unites the institutions that determine the core and regime nature of the political system. Institutions of political mediation are conditionally divided into a group of institutions actively involved in political life and a group of institutions with limited influence on the political system - the church, trade unions, and the media. []

The highest level of the system hierarchy is the institution of the presidency. The Constitution of the Republic (Chapter IV) ^[1], legislation endow the institution of the presidency, or rather, President E. Rahmon with a high status, full power and extensive competencies ^[3]. This is the actual core of the political system of Tajikistan, which holds all other institutions of society in its constitutional, legal and charismatic fields. This institute implements communicative, institutional, normative, regulatory, cultural-ideological, functional subsystems. The specifics of the institution of the presidency is that the president is simultaneously the head of state, the chairman of the government, the Supreme commander-in-chief, the main diplomat determining the foreign policy course, the main legislator introducing bills to parliament, the main ideologue of the state, forming and broadcasting a new national ideology. In comparison with the Government, parliament, other branches of government and social institutions, the President of Tajikistan and his executive apparatus have a huge amount of rights and powers.

The institution of government, its functions are formed and implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution (Chapter V), and legislation. The main functions of the government are the management of economic, socio-cultural processes, the creation of conditions for the development of economic relations, market mechanisms based on all forms of ownership, the implementation, enforcement of laws, presidential decrees ^[4].

The transformation of the institute of Soviet power (the Supreme Soviet of the Tajik SSR and the system of Soviets) into the institute of parliamentarism was the most radical among the institutions of the political system of Tajikistan. From the highest authority in the Soviet republic, this institution was transformed into a legislative branch of government, a permanent professional parliament, but with radically reduced powers in the presidential republic. The Parliament includes the Supreme Assembly (Ma?lisi Olii) consisting of two chambers: the upper house — the National Council (Ma?lisi mill?), the lower — the House of Representatives (Ma?Lisi namoyandagon). Legislative activity of the Parliament: is reduced to the preparation, discussion and adoption of laws, approval of normative legal acts and candidates for appointment to the government, implementation of foreign relations and relations with parliamentary organizations and unions.

The Parliament has no rights, powers and control mechanisms, checks of the executive power, and control by voters of the activities of deputies is excluded. The executive branch, through an absolute majority of deputies in the parliament of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDPT), conducts the necessary bills, and the president and the government actively participate in the legislative process. Tajik political scientist H. This is how Khurramov assesses the position of parliament in the political system - the government passes bills, and the parliament passes them without offering any alternatives or amendments ^[10].

The institution of local public authorities, consisting of representative (regional, city, district majlises of people's deputies) and executive bodies of local self-government (LSG), is defined as a synthesis of authorities and public forms of government, while the bodies of LSG (jamoats) are not included in the system of state power, being intermediaries in the relations of the state and society. Self-government in cities is formed at the level of amateur organizations, mahalla councils within the boundaries of communities. In the LSG system, a local referendum, historically established institutions of traditional democracy, non-governmental organizations create democratic instruments of democracy. Special competencies and functions are legislatively allocated for rural communities to comply with national traditions and local specifics, to address important social, economic and cultural issues of local importance ^[6].

The institutionalization of pluralism and multiparty system based on constitutional provisions and laws in the political system allows the Tajik authorities to declare its democratic status. The political and legal institutionalization of multiparty system in the Legislation on Political Parties, Public Associations, and elections regulate the daily activities of political parties that reflect almost the entire political spectrum of society, allows them to be present and actively act in the political space.  The People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) has taken a strong position as the ruling party, and its candidates win all parliamentary and presidential elections. Other parties form the core of the "constructive" opposition - Agrarian (APT), the Party of Economic Reforms (PERT), Socialist (SPT), Communist (CPC) and are loyal to the government. There are only two parties in open opposition – the Democratic (DPT) and the Social Democratic Party (SDPT).

In the case of Tajikistan, we see a paradoxical phenomenon - the imbalance of institutions – the dominance of some institutions (the president, executive power) with the weakening of others (parliament, control of power by society) led to a certain equilibrium of the system. This is largely due to the fact that the syncretism of the institutions of state power and the political regime is firmly entrenched in the mass public consciousness of the population ^[9], electorally supporting the ruling PDPT and President E. Rahmon in the elections. But not the mass ruling PDPT (as previously – the CPSU), namely the president, his apparatus became the actual core of the political system of Tajikistan. 

Thus, the institutional model of the political system of Tajikistan reproduces the structure and hierarchy of power, political, and public institutions that have developed over the years of post-Soviet transformation and reflects the charismatic leadership of President E. Rahmon with the low status of other institutions of the political system. Constitutional and legal mechanisms and successful regime practices reduce instability in relations between the executive power and parliament in the conditions of a presidential republic.

Figure 1. Hierarchy of institutions of the political system of Tajikistan