POLITICAL CULTURE

- Akom Bomnuk Don

MEANING
Political culture refers to the set of shared views and normative judgements
held by a population regarding its political system. Political culture does not
refer to the formal or informal structures of political interaction, i.e., the study
of governments, political parties or pressure groups. Instead, it refers to the
system of beliefs about patterns of political interaction and political
institutions. It does not refer so much to what is happening in politics as much
as what people believe is happening or ought to be happening. Political
culture, therefore, is an important link between political events and people's
reactions to those events. It studies the fundamental political beliefs of the
people because these are particularly relevant to understanding social change
as well as political stability.
Political Culture is unique to nations, states and other groups. It is often
seen as the foundation of all political activity, or at least as a factor
determining the nature, characteristics and level of political activity.
The concept of political culture was based on the observation of Gabriel
Almond that 'every political system is embedded in a particular pattern of
orientation to political actions'. The concept of political culture, thus suggests
that the traditions of a society, the spirit of its public institutions, the passions
and the collective reasoning of its citizenry, and the style and operating codes
of its leaders are not just random products of historical experience but fit
together as a part of a meaningful whole and constitute an intelligible web of
relations. For the individual, the political culture provides controlling
guidelines for effective political behaviour, and for the collectivity it gives a
systematic structure of values and rational considerations which ensures
coherence in the performance of institutions and organizations.

DEFINITIONS:
Almond and Verba: 'political culture is the pattern of individual atitudes
and orientations towards politics among the members of a political system'.
Lucian Pye describes political culture as 'the set of atitudes, beliefs and
sentiments that give order and meaning to a political process and that
provides the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behaviour in the
political system'.
A.R. Ball defines political culture as 'the set of the attitudes, beliefs and
values of society that relates to the political system and to the issues".
Dennis Kavangh, ‘political culture may be defined as the shorthand
expression to denote the emotional and attitudinal environment within which
the political system operates'.
Patrick O’Neil defines political culture as ‘the norms for political activity in
a society. It is a determining factor in which ideologies will dominate a
country’s political regime; it is unique to a given country or group of people.’

HISTORY
Intellectual antecedents of Political culture approach can be traced to the
works of Montesquieu, Tocqueville and Walter Bagehot. Its genesis in modern
comparative politics can be traced to the seminal work, “The Civic
Culture”(1963) by Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba. Here, they studied five
democratic societies and concluded that a nation's political culture exerted an
independent influence on social and political behaviour.
In 1965, a group of area specialists published their comparative study of
the political systems of select countries in Africa (Egypt and Ethiopia),
America (Mexico), Asia (india, Japan), Europe (England, Germany, Italy) and
Eurasia ( Soviet Russia and Turkey) in the form of a book “Political Culture
and Political Development”. It was edited by Lucian Pye and Sidney Verba and
dedicated to Gabriel Almond, who was the guiding force behind the
endeavour. This work epitomized the ‘political culture’ approach.

DETERMINANTS/COMPONENTS OF POLITICAL CULTURE

The political culture of a system is a result of several factors. These
factors/ components over the period of time shape or reshape the political
culture. Listed below are some very important components.

1. Internalized Political Orientations:

1. Cognitive Orientation:
It refers to the people’s level of understanding and awareness of of
the political system, as well as its objects, inputs, and outputs. It refers
to how much and what kind of information people have about political
issues and events, whether exact or not.
2. Affective orientation:
This refers to people’s level of commitment and interest in the
political system. It is the feeling of attachment, involvement and
rejection that people have towards the political system. It can also mean
the feelings and emotions that people have about political objects.
3. Evaluative orientation:
This entails making decisins and evaluating the political system. It
involves making judgments and opinions towards political objects and
comparing them to those in other systems. It involve applying value
standards to political objects and events.
For example : while evaluating their political system, people try to
know if the political system has achieved the objective that it had sought
to achieve.

Objects of Targets of the orientation:

The above cognitive, Affectiveand Evaluative Orientations are directed
towards the following objects:
1. The System as a whole
2. The input objects only i.e., those structures, which convey the opinions
of the people to the decision makers like political parties, etc.
3. The Output Objects only, i.e., those involved with applying and enforcing
authoratitative decisions like the bureaucracy, courts etc.
4. Orientation towards the self, i.e, the knowledge of, attachment to, and
ability to evaluate one’s role in the political system.

It is by taking into account the above three dimensional orientations, i.e.,

cognitive, affective and evaluative, with regards to the above four objects that
one may understand the prevailing political culture of a given society.

2. Other Factors: Historical Factors- e.g britain is conservative and believe in

slow and gradual change; Geographical Factors, Socio-economic factors,
Ethnic Factors, Religion, Ideology of the political system.

TYPOLOGY OF POLITICAL CULTURE

‘The Civic Culture’ by Almond and Verba (1963) is based on their surveys
conducted during 1959-60 in the USA, Britain, West Germany, Italy and
Mexico. This study which pioneered the study of political culture as a subfield
has identified three pure types of political culture. These are as follows:

1. Parochial Political Culture:

This refers to a political culture where citizens are only distantly
aware of the existence of central government - as with remote tribes
whose existence is seemingly unaffected by national decisions made by
the central government. Further, there is no political orientation
towards political objects. People have neither knowledge nor interest in
politics. They have no orientations towards all components of politics.
This type of political culture is compatible with a traditional political
structure. This type of orientation is found in a passive society where
there is hardly any specialization of roles, and therefore, people are
indifferent towards governmental authority. Thus, in this type of
political culture people have low awareness, expectations and
participation.

2. Subject Political Culture:

In this political culture, citizens see themselves not as participants in
the political process but as subjects of the government - as with people
living under a dictatorship. In other words, citizens under this political
culture have a passive orientation towards a political system and
conceive themselves as having a minimum influence on the political
process. In this type of political culture, citizens are aware of the central
government, and are heavily subjected to its decisions with little scope
for dissent. The individual is aware of politics, its actors and institutions.
Citizens have orientations toward the output aspects of the system.
People know about decision-making mechanisms. There is a political
awareness but no confidence to air political views, thus there is an
absence of participatory norms. This type of political culture is
compatible with a centralized authoritarian structure. In this model, the
people have a higher level of awareness and expectations, but low
participation.
Example: North Korea, China and Cuba (Communist countries)

3. Participant Political Culture:

In this political culture, citizens believe that they can contribute to
the system and that they are affected by it. They, therefore, respond
positively to all political objects and have an active orientation to
political activities. Here citizens can influence the government in various
ways and they are affected by it. The individual is oriented toward the
system towards all four components of politics, i.e., input, output,
political system, and self-role. This encourages more and more
participation and participation is the highest value. There is an ability to
criticize the authority and hold a positive orientation towards the
political system. In this model, people have a high level of awareness,
 expectations, and participation.
Example : Western liberal democracies.

Almond and Verba argue that there is never a single political culture. The
three categories of political orientations which they have identified are not
always present in a pure form; rather they are intermixed in many situations
of political culture. Thus, they re-classified political culture into three sub-
types. These are discussed below:

1. Parochial and Subject:

This type of political culture represents a shift from parochial
orientation to subject orientation. Here the parochial loyalties gradually
get weathered and the inhabitants develop a greater awareness of the
central authority.

2. Subject and Participant:

This type of political culture represents a shift from subject political
orientation to participant political orientation. In such a political culture,
people generally on the one hand develop an activist tendency and
participate in the process; but on the other hand, there are those
individuals too who possess passive orientations and remain at the
receiving end of the decision-making process.

3. Parochial and Participant:

This type of political culture represents the parochial orientation in
the individuals whereas the norms introduced require a participant
political orientation. In such type of political culture, there emerges a
problem of harmony between the political culture and political norm.
However, Almond and Verba suggest that a participatory political
culture fits a liberal democratic regime. The participant political culture
is the type of political culture that is congruent with a democratic
political structure and the same has been called by them as ‘Civic
Culture’.

IMPORTANCE
Political culture serves as the bedrock upon which a stable and effective
political system is built. Its importance lies in its pervasive influence on
virtually every aspect of a nation's political and social life. It acts as a silent
conductor, orchestrating the interactions between citizens and their
government, shaping institutions, and influencing policy outcomes. Let's
explore the key reasons why political culture matters:

1. Framework for Political Action:

• Sets the Rules of the Game: Political culture defines the acceptable
norms of political behavior, shaping how citizens engage with the
political system, how leaders conduct themselves, and how conflicts are
resolved.
• Guides Political Participation: It influences whether citizens actively
participate in politics or remain passive observers. A participant political
culture encourages engagement through voting, activism, and
community involvement.
• Shapes Political Institutions: The design and functioning of political
 institutions are deeply rooted in the prevailing political culture. For
example, a culture valuing individual rights and limited government is
likely to have a system of checks and balances and a strong emphasis on
constitutionalism.

2. Foundation for Political Stability:

• Legitimizes Authority: A shared political culture fosters trust and
confidence in the government, leading to acceptance of its authority and
legitimacy. This acceptance is crucial for maintaining order and
preventing social unrest.
• Promotes Conflict Resolution: When citizens share core values and
beliefs, they are more likely to find common ground and resolve
differences peacefully through established political processes.
• Ensures Continuity and Change: Political culture provides both stability
and adaptability. While core values may remain constant, the
interpretation and application of these values can evolve over time,
allowing for peaceful adaptation to changing circumstances.

3. Fostering Social Cohesion and National Identity:

A common political culture provides a sense of unity and belonging, even
amidst diverse populations. Moreover, Political culture contributes to a
nation's identity by defining its core values and principles. This shared identity
can strengthen national unity and foster a sense of patriotism.

4. Promoting Economic Development and Prosperity:

A culture of trust and cooperation facilitates economic activity. Businesses
thrive in environments where contracts are honored, property rights are
protected, and the rule of law prevails.

5. Impacting International Relations:

• Foreign Policy: A nation's political culture influences its approach to
foreign policy. Democracies tend to cooperate with other democracies,
while authoritarian regimes may prioritize power and control in their
international relations.
• Global Image: A nation's political culture shapes its image on the world
stage. Countries with strong democratic values and respect for human
rights are often viewed more favorably by the international community.

6. The approach of political culture has heightened the ability of political

scientists to examine the psychological environment of the political system
broadly and scientifically. It has codified and synthesized into a style, a well-
developed concept, all that was studied in an abstract and crude fashion
through such traditional concepts as national morale, national character,
national psychology and the like.

7. Political culture approach has made it easier for political scientists to

systematically and comprehensively analyze the social, psychological and
sociological environment of the political system; thereby has contributed to
conducting both micro and macro studies of political systems as well as to
explain the gap between micro-macro politics. Further, through the political
culture approach, political scientists can systematically explain the differences
in the behaviour of different political systems, particularly the differences in
the behaviour of similar political institutions working in different societies.

8. Political culture approach has also fortified political scientists to conduct

studies in the process through which the political culture of society passes
from one generation to the next generation, i.e., the process of political
socialization. This can be used for analyzing the path of political development
of a political system. The political culture approach has also been used by
several political scientists to investigate the nature and dynamics of possible
political changes, violent changes - revolutions and coups, in numerous
political systems.

In conclusion, political culture is the lifeblood of a healthy and functioning

society. It shapes citizen behavior, fosters social cohesion, promotes economic
prosperity, and influences a nation's role in the world. Recognizing its
importance and understanding its nuances is crucial for building strong and
resilient democracies.

CRITICISMS
One of the important criticisms against the political culture approach is
that it cannot be described as a very precise variable for presenting a
morphological study of the modern political system. The approach cannot be
taken as a correct barometer of individual behaviour because of the very
distinguishing and varied nature of the same.
Lucian Pye criticizes this approach by stating that in no society there is a
fundamental distinction between the culture of the rulers and that of the
masses. Therefore, any attempt to distinguish them may not bring any
productive result. Others argue that the approach is ambiguous. The political
culture is itself a subsystem of the culture in general. In fact, the political
culture approach is a by product of modernization and development theories.
It is not certain whether they regard it independent variable or dependent
variable, a cause or an effect. As such, the whole perspective happens to
become conservative, static and anachronistic. On the other hand, some
others question the very assumption of the approach that a system of
government continues because it is in tune with a country’s political culture.
Many descriptions of a political culture are often little more than an exercise
in stereotyping which invariably ignores diversity within the country
concerned.
In some cases, descriptions of political culture tend to be static as well as
simplistic, lacking sensitivity to how a culture continually evolves in response
to political experiences. The approach is not progressive but reactionary in
chcharacter.

CONCLUSION
Studying political culture is critical for every political system because it
influences the beliefs, views and attitudes of the people towards the political
system and political issues.