David Easton developed system theory to analyze political processes. He defines a political system as a set of interactions that allocates values for society. According to Easton, a political system has two components: inputs and outputs. Inputs include demands from the public and support mechanisms that provide legitimacy. The system processes inputs and produces outputs like policies and rules. The environment, including other social systems, shapes the political system through this input and output process.

1. DAVID EASTON’S SYSTEM THEORY
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The system theory is an important theory in comparative politics. A system is defined as set
of related units, which interact with each other on a continuous basis. The overall inter
actions within the units of the system allows the system to function and an equilibrium is
attained.
David Easton is the first political thinker to use the system analysis to understand the
political process. He has explained system theory in his book ‘A Framework for political
analyses’.
Easton defines political system as ‘a set of interaction as abstracted from the totality of the
social behavior, through which values are authoritatively allocated for society.
Easton said that any political system has two components -input and output. The input
comprise of demand and support. Demand refers to a set of claims, desire, needs and
wants made by the general public or a particular group before the government. The
demand can be in form of appeals, agitations, elections etc.
Like demands there is also support mechanism that sustains the system. Supports refer to
political obedience or values or ideologies or belief system that people have towards the
system. The support mechanism provides legitimacy to the system. It may be symbol
symbolic like waving the flag or singing National Anthem or substantial like attending
political meeting or voting regularly.
Easton argues, out of the political system there exist another system that constitute the
environment of the political system. This environment can be divided into two parts - intra
societal and extra societal.
The intra societal system includes economy, culture, social structure or personalities. These
segments are the part of the society of which the political system is itself a part. They shape
or influence the conditions under which a political system itself must operate.
The extra societal system includes all the systems, which lie outside a given society. They are
the component of emerging International society which may be called Supra society. The
International political system and international economic systems would be in the category
of extra societal system, which also shape political system of a society.
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2. Eastern argues political system is separated from other system by means of boundaries. But
this boundaries are difficult to identify as political system interacts with other system
through means of exchange and interaction.
David Easton argues a political system begins functioning as a result of inputs receives from
the environment. Once input is received by the system it begins processing the inputs which
is known as conversion process. The conversion process convert input into output in the
form of rules to be enforced and policies to be implemented. The output affects the
environment and even modifies the input. Not all that goes as input, flows in the output
unit. In every political system there are certain gatekeepers’ mechanism that decides what
valid and invalid demand is. In democratic system political parties play the role of
gatekeepers, they choose certain demands made by public as valid and legitimate and other
demands gets rejected.
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