Introduction
Political Science is one of the oldest among social sciences. Several Social sciences have tried to trace their origin back to the ancient Greece but not as successfully as political science. Ever since the Greek Philosophers spoke on political sciences, various scholars have tried to formulate principles which could accurately explain all these political institutions and processes that are essentially the same in all societies and periods. System theory is the creation of 20th century. This concept can be traced back to the writings of Lading von Bertallanfy. He invented this concept for the study of Biology and it was also adopted by other social sciences like Sociology. It was in the mid-sixties of 20th century that this theory became an important tool of analysis and mode of inquiry in political science. David Easton considers it as "the best possible approach to the development of a general theory in the field of national politics while Merton Kaplan considers its best in the field
of international politics. So the study of political science by applying system approach became popular particularly in America during late 1950s and early sixties. This approach discarded the traditional approaches-for example Historical Approach, Philosophical Approach and instead of it political scientist adopted system approached like Decision Making Approach, structural-functional approach, Game Theory etc. 'Political System' is a term which has gained wide currency in recent years
and has displaced the state from the centre of the stage. This is so because it offers
a better way of looking at political phenomena than the state. In fact, it helps to
direct attention to the entire scope of political activity within a society. It takes into
account not only the formal institutions but also informal structures and even non-
political ones growing in so far as they affect politics.

What is Political?.
It is necessary to pause here and consider what events, activities and aspects of behaviour we include in our conception of the 'political' as distinct from non-
political. We perform a variety of roles in our daily lives. Our interests and activities
are multifarious. For example: one looks after the family; works in the field or
factory or office; goes to a church or temple; participates in festivals, watches a cricket match and votes during elections. Again one may join a political party, participate actively in-an election campaign, organise or join a political party, participate actively in an election campaign, organise or join a strike or demonstration. But a political scientist is not concerned with all these activities.
Therefore, we must have some criterion for separating the political form the non-
political. A general view is that in the term 'political' we can include those matters
which are related to government and its functioning. Earlier political thinkers like
Aristotle felt that 'authority' or rule was the hall mark of a polity. In our own age,
Max Weber has taken the application or threat' of use of physical force as the
distinguishing feature of a political organisation. David Easton includes within the scope of the 'political' all such activities as are related to an 'authoritative allocation
of values.' This does not mean that a political system is concerned only with using force. Actually, the matters of major concern m a political system may be public welfare, economic growth, social justice, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual
and so on. However, a distinguishing mark of the political system is that whatever
decisions and rules are made in it, can be enforced if necessary, with the exercise
of coercive authority.

Meaning and Definition of Political System
System is a word with which most of us are familiar. It refers to "a set of elements standing in interaction." The nearest and most familiar example of a system is the biological system, for example, a human being. We know that the various organs of a man's body-the heart, the lungs, the liver etc. are interdependent parts of a whole. In their functioning or performance of their respective roles, they are inter-related. There is an understandable pattern in their functioning and in the variety of processes, such as the circulation of blood, the decay of old cells and the birth of new ones, which go in the human organism. In other words, there is a regularity in the behaviour of these parts and in their interactions. Similarly a
clock, a car engine, a computer are 'system'. The solar system may be cited as
another example, on earth there are systems of weather. In society there are social,
political, economic and cultural systems. Family is the example of a social system
where all the members are inter-called to each other in a sense of unity and welfare.

According to Max Weber, "Political System is a human community that claims
the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory." Almond criticises this definition on the ground that it appears to be a definition of state rather than of political system because it ignores the functional aspect of political
system.

Robert Dahl defines political system as "any persistent pattern of human
relationships that involves, to a significant extent, power, rule or authority." Almond
against takes this definition as too broad and holds that it does not distinguish
political system from other systems such as trade unions, religious organisations,
tribes, clans etc.

Three Characteristics of a Political System
1. Comprehensiveness: The political system is comprehensive in the sense that
it includes all type of interactions that take place among the various roles and
structures that the system contains. The Political system includes not only formal
governmental institutions such as legislature, executive and judiciary but also
informal institutions such as interest groups, political parties, riots and demonstrations
etc.

2. Interdependence: Means close connection in the components or elements of
the political system to the extent that a change in one produces changes in all the other subjects.

3. Boundary: Boundary implies the line of demarcation between the political
system and the other systems.

Functions of Political System
1. Input Functions

1. Political Socialisation: Political Socialisation refers to the process
of training in citizenship. All political systems perpetuate their cultures and structures through such agencies as family, church, schools, work groups and media of
communications. The process of Socialisation results in a set of attitudes or
orientations towards the political system.

2. Political Recruitment: Political recruitment starts where political
Socialisation leaves off. It is concerned with the recruitment of citizens into the
specialised role of political system.

3. Interest Articulation: The function of interest articulation is closely
related to the functions of political socialisation. Almond describes interest articulation as, "the process by which individuals and groups make demands upon the political decision-maker." If groups within a society do not find proper channels through which they may express their interests and needs, they will remain unsatisfied. Consequently, disaffection may erupt violently. It is through interest articulation that the conflicts inherent in the political culture and social structure come in the open.

4. Interest Aggregation : Interest aggregation means formulation of
general policies based on the reconciliation and combination of various interests.
The aggregation functions may, however, be performed by the legislative, the
executive, the bureaucracy, the media of communication, the interest groups as
well as by political parties.

5. Political Communication: Political communication, according to Almond is the crucial boundary maintenance function. Autonomy in the media makes for a free flow of information from society to polity and from one political structure to another as well as on open feed back output to input again.

2. Output Functions
1. Rule making-Legislative functions. Where the rules or laws are made
by government (or by non-government institutions within a limited sphere) like
parliament or legislative assemblies.

2. Rule application-Executive functions. Rules are generally applied by
executive for example the cabinet or govt. ministers or also by bureaucracy.

3. Rule adjudication-Judicial functions. What type of rules are constructed? Whether they are applied in their true sense-all is visualised by judiciary. Judiciary makes their implementation properly provided it is independent.

Dr. S.P. Verma holds that "There is a tendency on the part of the system analysis to forget that one political system can be as different from another political system as one kind of organisation from another kind." Still this approach is highly useful in political analysis, provided one clearly understands its limitations. The system theory in its functional aspects of application has proved extremely useful for the comparative analysis of political systems. This theory can be applied to any society in order to find out to what extent it is able to fulfil the demands of people.

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