The main intent to write this work derived, above all, from the needs of the students studying law, political studies, journalism, as well as public relations studies, organized as first cycle studies, and, of course, from the needs of the students in the second cycle, the master studies in the field of constitutional law and political system, and the master studies in political science. At the same time, given the goals of each university textbook, we believe that this work will be of benefit to all interested parties outside the universities that deal with or are interested in this important issue.
The textbook consists of six parts that explain more specifically the most important topics and concepts that are the subject matter of this scientific discipline.
The first part deals with the introductory questions, more precisely the concept, the subject matter and the sources of the political system as a scientific discipline; the classical and modern classifications of political systems are analysed; contemporary theories of the political system are exposed; the terms politics, political process and political power are defined; and the latest knowledge on the terms legality, legitimacy, power and authority is presented.
The second part of the textbook deals with the values of the political system. It sets out perceptions of democracy as a core value through its conceptual characterisation, definition and analysis of its most widely elaborated models. Furthermore, this section offers more precise elaborations on liberalism, the liberal state and liberal democracy, as well as on the rule of law. Finally, in the last, fourth chapter of this section, the terms nation and nationalism are thoroughly analysed as important components of the political system.
In the third part of the textbook, which refers to the systems of organization of the state government, the most important classifications are analysed more precisely, followed by a detailed review of the parliamentary, presidential, and mixed parliamentary systems.
The fourth part of the book deals with the civil society and the political system. In it, at the beginning, the relation between the political system and the civil society is explained more specifically, followed by a review of the relation between the political system and the citizen. The next three chapters analyse the political parties, the party and electoral systems as an important element of the modern political systems. Finally, the relations between the political culture and the political system are presented, as well as between the public opinion and the political system.
The fifth part of this work deals with the political system of the European Union. It contains reviews of theories on European integration, as well as the institutions of the Union.
The last, sixth part of the textbook is dedicated to the relationship between religion and the political system. It analyses the relations between religious systems and the state, and covers the most important classifications of these relations. This section explains the model of the religious state, the part of the state religion, as well as the model of the separation of the state from religions.
