For a long period, a traditional view prevailed among a large number of political scientists and legal scholars that treated the political system and the system of government as synonymous. The term political system was often used to mean the system of government, and vice versa. However, later developments in political science led to a clear distinction between the two concepts. According to modern approaches in political studies, the system of government refers to the structures of authority, which include the three branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches—that is, the formal governmental institutions. The term political system, however, refers not only to these formal structures but also to non-governmental institutions such as political parties, interest groups, and all forms of civil society organizations. Accordingly, the system of government is considered one component of the broader political system. According to David Easton, the political system is “a set of interactions and overlapping, interconnected roles concerned with the authoritative allocation of values.” For Gabriel Almond, it refers to interactions “involving the actual use or threat of legitimate physical coercion in order to achieve the integration and adaptation of society at both the internal and external levels.” (1) Most scholars who have used the concept of the political system in this sense regard it as an analytical construct developed to understand and examine political interactions within society. They also identify the following characteristics of the political system:

• Continuous interaction among the components of the political system on the one hand, and between these components and the environment of the political system on the other.
• The relationship among the various components of the political system is based on interdependence, meaning that the actions of each component influence the actions of the others.
• The political system seeks, through various means, to preserve itself. ⁽²⁾.

The functions of the political system can be summarized as follows: political recruitment, political socialization, interest aggregation, interest articulation, political communication, rule-making, executive functions, judicial functions, safeguarding the state’s national security, and distributing resources among the various groups within society. ⁽³⁾These functions will be briefly explained below.

• Political Recruitment:

Political recruitment refers to the process of selecting suitable individuals to assume official and leadership positions within the state. It is a function performed by all political systems without exception. However, the bases and criteria for recruitment—or selection—vary according to the nature of the political system. Recruitment may be based on ethnic considerations or religious affiliation. It may also be based on the competence and political capabilities of leaders, regardless of ethnic or religious factors. In other cases, selection may be based on regional or geographical considerations, or it may involve a combination of all these criteria.

• Political Socialization:

Political socialization is the process of transmitting political culture. It may seek to bring about partial or comprehensive changes in the political culture of society. It is defined as “the formal and informal, planned and unplanned transmission of knowledge, values, patterns of political behavior, and politically relevant personality characteristics at every stage of life.”⁽⁴⁾ This function is carried out by various institutions, including the family, schools, peer groups, political parties, civil society organizations, the media, and others.

• Interest Aggregation:

This function is considered one of the most important functions of the political system. It refers to the process by which the political system receives demands from its environment and formulates them into a specific program for consideration and implementation in accordance with the system’s priorities and available resources. This process takes place in three ways: A. Pragmatic Bargaining: It aims to reconcile conflicting interests through compromise and negotiated settlements. B. Guidance by an Absolute Value: This means favoring the interests of one group over those of other groups in society. This approach can become a source of political conflict because it provokes resentment among groups whose demands the political system does not seek to fulfill. C. The Traditional Approach: This means relying on historical precedents in aggregating interests and formulating them into specific alternatives in order to achieve long-term objectives. ⁽⁵⁾.

• Interest Articulation: It means providing the various groups that make up the national community with the opportunity to express their interests and communicate their demands, views, and proposals. This requires open channels of communication between the political system and the various elements of its environment, enabling all segments of society to convey their demands easily and effectively.
• Political Communication: It refers to the degree of interaction among the various components of the political system. In general, the ideal situation is for this communication to operate in two directions: from the governing authority to the citizens, enabling the transmission of government policies, positions, and directives; and from the citizens to the governing authority, allowing their demands, views, and proposals concerning political affairs to be communicated. Political communication also refers to the openness of relations among the various social groups within the state and the continuation of peaceful dialogue among them.
• Legislation: This is a function performed by all political systems. Through institutions that vary according to the nature of each political system, the system enacts the legislation, policies, and decisions necessary to manage the affairs of the state and enable it to serve the interests of the various groups within society.
• Implementation: It refers to the implementation of the policies, legislation, decisions, directives, and orders adopted by the legislative authority with the aim of improving the economic, social, political, and cultural conditions of the state. The importance of the executive function lies in the fact that legislation has little value unless it is actually implemented and has a tangible impact on people’s lives.
• Judicial Function: Every political system has a judicial apparatus responsible for resolving disputes that arise among citizens or between citizens and the political authorities. The judiciary also interprets legal rules and applies them to individual cases.
• Defending the State’s Borders and Safeguarding Its National Security :-

This function is considered the most important function of the political system, as it is directly related to the survival and continued existence of the state itself.

• Resource Distribution Function: The political system seeks to distribute available resources—which are often insufficient to meet the demands of all groups—according to objective, fair, and acceptable criteria that take into account the various segments of society.

Indicators for Measuring the Effectiveness of the Political System: With regard to the political system’s performance of its functions, Gabriel Almond identified a number of indicators for assessing its actual level of performance. These capabilities are as follows:⁽⁶⁾: (1) Extractive Capability ) Extractive Capability) : It refers to the ability of the political system to obtain resources from its environment in order to ensure its continuity, as well as its capacity to mobilize and utilize those resources both internally and externally. (2)        Regulative Capability (Regulative Capability ) : It refers to the ability of the political system to coordinate individual and collective activities; in other words, its capacity to regulate and control social behavior. (3) Distributive Capability ( Distributive Capability ) : It refers to the ability of the political system to distribute the resources available to it from its environment among the various groups in society. (4) Symbolic Capability: ) Symbolic Capability) : It refers to the political system’s commitment to the values of society, thereby building a reservoir of public support and approval among citizens. (5) Responsive Capability Responsive Capability) ) : It refers to the ability of the political system to respond to demands arising from its environment—that is, its capacity to respond to new and emerging inputs. (6) International Capability  (International Capability) : It refers to the ability of the political system to influence other political systems and shape their policies through the provision of grants, loans, and technical assistance. Footnotes and References: (1) For further details, see: Adel Thabit, Political Systems, Dar Al-Jami‘ah Al-Jadidah, Alexandria, 2007, pp. 7–12. (2) Muhammad Mahmud Rabi‘ and Ismail Sabri Muqallad (eds.), Encyclopedia of Political Science, Kuwait University, Kuwait, 2003, p. 515. (3) Muhammad Saad Abu Amoud and Al-Sayyid Muhammad Al-Sayyid Omar, Introduction to Political Science, Applied Science University – Kingdom of Bahrain, Political Science Book Series No. (1), Manama, 2011, pp. 102–107. (4) Muhammad Mahmud Rabi‘ and Ismail Sabri Muqallad, op. cit., p. 478. (5) Ibid., p. 469.

(6) Gabriel Almond and Bingham Powell, Comparative Politics: A developmental Approach, Little Brown and Company,(Inc.), Boston,1966, pp. 22-27.