A political system is a cultural universal and a social institution formed in every
society. Each society must have a political system because politics is
deciding who gets what, when and how.
Power is at the
heart of a political system, for it is defined as the ability to exercise one's
will ever others. Power relations can involve large organizations, small groups,
or even people in an intimate association.
There are three basic sources of power within any political system —
force, influence and authority. Force is the actual or threatened use of
coercion to impose one's will on others. When leaders imprison or even execute
political dissidents, they are applying force; so, too; are terrorists when they
seize an embassy or assassinate a political leader. Influence, on the
other hand, refers to the exercise of power through a process of persuasion. A
citizen may change his or her political position because of the newspaper
editorial, an expert testimony, or a stirring speech at a rally by a political
activist.
The United Nations is an organization of sovereign nations
representing almost all of humanity. It has as its central goal the maintenance
of international peace and security. Additionally, its purposes call for the
development of friendly relations among nations based on equal rights and
self-determination of peoples and, through international co-operation, the
solution of problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian
nature.
The United Nations is the meeting-place where representatives of all
member states — great and small, rich and poor, with varying political views and
social systems — have a voice and an equal vote in shaping a common course of
action.
The United Nations has played, and continues to play, an active role
in reducing tension in the world, preventing conflicts and putting an end to
fighting already under way.
Additional
material to Unit 4 (The World Community) and Pupils’ Press
Releases
People set up different
organizations for various purposes. What do you know about these
organizations? Are you a member of any organization? Which organization would
you join? Why?
The
20th century is characterized by/the creation of international organizations:
only a small number of the international organizations now in existence were
formed before 1850, and about 90% were organized in the period 1900-1956. In
the 1980s there were more than 2500 international organizations, of which
about 750 were formed after World War II. This number included more than 130
intergovernmental agencies, of which the most notable were the United Nations
and its affiliates.
Politology Unit
5. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Text
1
The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a
charter of civil and political rights drawn up by the United Nations in 1948.
These rights include the right to life, liberty, education and equality before
the law; to freedom of movement, religion, association, and information; and
to a nationality. Under the European Convention of Human Rights of 1950, the
Council of Europe established the European Commission of Human Rights
(headquarters in Strasbourg, France), which investigates complaints by states
or individuals, and its findings are examined by the European Court of Human
Rights (established in 1959), whose compulsory jurisdiction has been
recognized by a number of states, including the UK. In 1988 the European Court
condemned as unlawful the UK procedure of holding those suspected of terrorism
for up to seven days with no judicial control.
I. Read the text and
translate it with the help of dictionary
Text 1
Ten Facts about the
US Army
1. The
Armed Forces of the USA include the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and
Coast Guard. The regular components are manned by both men and women who make
the military life their profession. Under the Constitution of the United
States the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The
President is assisted by several agencies. At the top is the US Security
Council which gives advice to the President. This Council is composed of the
President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of
Defense. Under its supervision is the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Скачать весь спецкурс "Religion" одним файлом можноздесь
Religion
Unit I
Religion
Ex. 1. Read the text and
discuss it with your partner
PEOPLE
BELIEVE
Many religions exist on our
planet. Among them there is Christianity, the Orthodox, Buddhism, Islam,
Judaism and others. But God is unique for every confession.
The science says that there
are physical laws that govern the physical universe. The Church says that
there are spiritual laws which govern our relationship with God.
The universe, the world and
man came into existence in the beginning when God created heaven and earth and
all creatures. The Bible presents a true and historical account of Creation.
Man was created by God in his
own image. He was created perfectly and without sin. Man can talk with God by
praying with his mouth or simply his heart since God knows man's heart.
The
people of Western Europe were all Roman Catholics, but by AD 1500, many were
unhappy with the way the Church was being run. The Popes and many of the
priests seemed interested only in wealth and power and set a bad example in
the way they lived their lives. This led to a movement, which became known as
the "Reformation", to change and reform the Christian Church. People who
joined the movement were called "Protestants" because they were protesting
about things that they thought were wrong.
In 1517 a
German monk called Martin Luther nailed a list of 95 complaints about the
Church and the way priests behaved, to the door of Wittenberg church in
Germany.
What is beauty? Well, it's a rather difficult question for
discussion, as it's a very extensive notionand there are many
opinions about it. As for me, I have never thought about it from a philosophical
point of view. For me "beautiful"means "wonderful", "excellent"
and"pleasant for the eyes";and I think that beauty can't be only
in person's appearance, but also in his soul, nature and arts.
Very often we speak about beauty in a person's appearance. Usually
when we see somebodywho is attractive, has modern and cool clothes, we
saythat he or she is a beautiful person. It's the appearance that
attracts people (us).I think such beauty is important in modeling, show
business, advertising, and on television. And I am sure it's right because I
don't think you'll enjoy an ad, a concert, a TV program or a magazine, if it
shows a careless, unattractive and casual person. No doubt you know that many
people, especially teens, listen to songs or watch TV pro-grams because they are
performed by apretty singer or a nice host. But sometimes it happens
that when a good-looking person opens his mouth he begins to say such silly
things, that very soon you are sorry to have started talking to him. And now you
realize that it's not his appearance that is important, but his inner side. I am
sure all of you have heard the proverb "Beauty is only skin deep". I agree with
this proverb related to a person's communicative, ability to hold conversation.
But on the other hand, it is not so pleasant to be always laughed at, to feel as
if you are an ugly duckling. That's why I can't say what is better: to be
beautiful inside or outside. Of course it will be wonderful if these two
beauties are combined in one person. Of course it happens, but not so often as
one would like.
After studying
this unit you should be able to understand that the attitude of people to a
person depends on many things: his age, body, mind, manners, behaviour,
abilities, character and appearance.
Text
1
Age
"How old are you?" It's a simple question, and there is usually a
simple answer: "sixteen years old," "twenty years old," "fifty-five," etc. But
if someone is described as young or middle-aged or old, then how old is that
person? It's difficult to know because these are words that have different
meanings for different people. Except for the word teenager, which describes
someone whose age ends in the syllable "teen" (such as fourteen, fifteen or
sixteen), words which describe age are not exact. When, for example, does a baby
stop being called a baby and become a young child? When does a boy become a
young man and a little girl become a young woman? At what age does middle age
begin? When do you call someone elderly and not simply old? At what age does
someone become an adult? In some countries, it is when the government says a
person is old enough to vote. Is that really the difference between a child and
an adult? The answers to these questions partly depend on how old you are. There
is a saying that old age is always ten years older than yourself. If you are
fifteen, then you think someone of twenty-five is old. At thirty, forty seems
old. If you are seventy, then you probably think someone of eighty is old. A
recent survey showed that there was some truth in the old saying. People were
asked. "What is middle age?" Those in their early twenties usually answered,
"Between thirty-five and fifty," and people in their thirties answered, "Between
forty-five and sixty."
