A.A. Borisenkov New Research Paradigm in Political Science

Abstract: The subject of the article is the paradigm that presents an innovative approach to studying politics in the context of political integrity and the relevant political system. This is a paradigm that defines the nature and direction of research on politics. Its content and conclusions are based on research into the structure of the political reality. This research is aimed at discovering the components of this reality, and providing an understanding of their details and purpose, and of their interconnections and interdependencies. As a result, we provide conclusions on the requirements for further analysis of the systematic elements of political reality, for the future systematization of existing political knowledge, and the development of theory.The methodology of the research is based upon understanding the essence and existence of different types of politics, and the place and role of politics in society. This methodology consists of a number of ideas. One of these is that politics is considered to be a specific public activity, which is created by, functions as part of, and plays a leading part in, social management. The leading part that politics plays is to define the direction of executive activities, which influences social management itself and the activities of the managing instrument. Another important concern is the analysis of how a specific type of politics can, by its very nature, develop the political system. This refers to government policy, which, as an independent component within the structure of a government, represents a significant issue when research of any political reality is carried out. This is an element of politics that has been developed by a government over a long period of time, so that, today, it is characterized by a high level of complexity and development. It is in this context that certain laws of politics are being recognized and interpreted. Therefore, government policy, being an instrument of management, provides a fundamental back-drop to any research into politics. The third idea relates to the development of the political structure, which influences the direction of political analysis. It is a well-known fact that the division of a whole entity into parts, and the study of the separate elements, is a universal principle of learning about anything. This is the principle that is used in many different sciences; and its importance has been repeatedly demonstrated in research. This is the principle that provides the basis for explaining the structure of political reality, and, above all, that defines the logic of political theory development, and, therefore, of the whole study of politics. The division of politics (i. e. political reality) into separate components is a unique philosophical technique that creates the necessary conditions for the understanding of politics, and, as a result, contributes to the further systematization of political knowledge.The innovation of the research lies in the way that it reveals the structure of political reality, as represented by a political system that is characterized by components that are independent, yet at the same time interconnected. The political system divides political reality into its component parts, which are united, directly connected and correlated, but also different from one another.Analysis of the political system recognizes three elements of political reality, which relate to the most common political phenomena and represent methods due to their contents. These are: political life, political influence and political culture.Political life relates to the independence of politics; it is part of the functionality of the political organism. Politics cannot exist and fulfill its purpose without the functionality of its organism. Therefore, political life, as with any life, is connected with the political organism. Political life may be defined as an aspect of political reality that is based on the functionality of the political organism. In fact, the essence of political life is associated with the structure of the relevant political organism, and is defined by the organism\’s components. For instance, under a democratic regime, political life consists of, first of all, a number of political relationships, above all the relationship between the government and the opposition, which are the fundamental components of the political organism. Political life also consists of the interconnections that constitute the system of this organism (the political system). The purpose of political life, as a component of political reality, includes providing a medium for the formation of polycies. Based on the existence, and the functionality, of political life, decisions are made, and thus conditions are created for the role of the politicswithin the social management system, i. e. pre-formation of political influence. This is its specific role within the political structure.Another aspect of political reality is political influence, which relates to the political purpose of the social management tool. Unlike political life, political influence is affected by the overall mission of the politics. Political influence is derived from the adoption of government resolutions, and relates to the fact that, through these resolutions, executive actions and the whole essence of management are defined. Political influence is a component of political reality that defines the direction of executive activities.Political influence as a term, and as an entity, has not been studied in the political studies, and that is why it requires special consideration. It devours the instrument and the direction of this influence and recognized by means of more frequent phenomena such as, for instance, the political regime and the political process. When defining the direction of executive activities, political influence is the main instrument of social management, and one on which other functions within the system depend. Because of the part that political influence plays, it is characterized as a primary type of political reality.Another element of the political structure is political culture, which influences the way in which political power is used, and thus the way in which political life and political influence are implemented. Basically, this refers to the order of implementation, which is defined through the means by which political power is used, and represented by protocols for adopting government resolutions. Political culture is an aspect of political reality that is associated with the rules for the adoption of government resolutions. This aspect of political reality may be characterized as being technological.The essence of each of the above elements of political reality is defined through the combination of other, more specific, political elements, which together form particular groups. Each of these elements is related solely to «its own» group of the political elements. Political life develops as a function of influences which include political relations and the political system, which characterize the functionality of the political organism. Political influence is implemented through the political regime and the political process, which define the instrument and its means of influence. Finally, political culture is defined by the means by which political power is used, and is represented by protocols for the adoption of government resolutions. For instance, democratic political culture is associated with the adoption of government resolutions through polling which is based on the majority principle. As a result, it is noted that the new research paradigm can be used in the study of a number of aspects of political science, which are fundamental to political knowledge. The new paradigm also lays the foundations for the establishment of relationships and hierarchy between them.

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