upheld. One version of this theory has come to be known aspolyarchy, and
later writers have tried to show that the realities of power in most societies,
including supposedlytotalitarianstates like the Soviet Union before the
collapse of communist power, are essentially pluralist. The most important rival
theory of power in capitalist societies, apart from theMarxisttheory, is that
rather broad set of theories described as ‘power e ́lite’ theories, often associated
with writers such as C. WrightMillsand Ralph Miliband. Pluralism seems to
be a development from the earliere ́litism, and is connected with a parallel
development in the theory of elections associated with political economists
such asSchumpeterandDowns.
Police
The police are the specialist corps recruited to enforce the law, especially the
criminal law, in a state. Most European countries began to develop such
forces at the beginning of the 19th century, and their precise role in any
political system naturally varies with the character of that system. Two political
issues have always been controversial with respect to the role of the police. The
first relates to policeaccountabilityand to the level of government which is
thought to be appropriate to control the operations of a police force. In the
United Kingdom, where the political role of the police has been relatively
minor, it has always been thought preferable to place responsibility for the
police in local authorities, although since 1964 the number of police autho-
rities has been reduced, and the British central government subsequently
acquired additional responsibilities for training and recruitment which to some
extent balance the local nature of policing.
By contrast European systems have generally assumed that a centrally-
organized police force would be more efficient. As a result the police in such
countries as France have been seen as much as an arm of the state as a neutral
instrument for upholding the laws and protecting the individual citizen.
The second issue which recurs in any discussion of the police is the extent to
which they may use force or are constrained by the rules of law orcivil
liberties. In the UK, for example, the police are generally unarmed, although
the experience of street riots in the 1980s forced them to experiment with new
techniques of crowd control. (In Northern Ireland, of course, policing is on a
quite different basis.) By comparison the USA, France and many other
countries allow their police to be armed and to use a variety of modern
methods approaching those ofparamilitary forces. However, in the serious
rioting in Los Angeles of 1992 police, and indeed the National Guard, were
unable to restore order even with this level of force, and President Bush was
obliged to summon the federal army.
Police