Political Organizations

Elman Service’s Typology (1962)

• Bands

• tribe

• Chiefdom

• State

Bands, tribes, and chiefdoms also survived into modern times and exist in minder nation-states

Bands

• Kin-based groups among foragers

  • the basic social unit of foragers

  • a band can consist of one to several extended families

• Bands are egalitarian societies: equality, sharing, open
  resources

  • Egalitarian relations had characterized the human social
    life for most of our history

• Bands have two types of social distinctions:

  • A division of labor division based on gender

  • Social distinctions based on age.

The band is a very mobile unit

• collecting food

  • gathering food from different places

  • the seasonal split of the band for gathering food

• shift band membership

Band’s Leadership

• Family head leadership; informal

• Decision making through consensus

Tribes

A form of political organization encompassing a number of economically self-sufficient villages that are united and defined by common descent, language, or culture

Economy—Tribes

• tribes typically have a horticultural or pastoral economy

• it is the need to cope with external threats, instead of economic necessity, that leads to the unification of the villages

Different well-defined tribal leadership position

• Village head

• “Big man”

• Pan-tribal associations

Tribes—“Big Man”

• leadership is based on influence, not authority

• not a hereditary position

• the status doesn’t involve a formal office

• having the support of multi-villages

Pan-tribal associations

Various formal groups that cut across villages within a tribe and bring people together through common concerns, age, skills, or interests

What was the Kayapo and the Belo Monte Dam Project?

People of the Kayapo tribe protested against the Belo Monte Dam, a massive hydroelectric dam complex on the Xingu River in Brazil, that would’ve affected the natural lands of the Kayapo people.

Leadership—Tribes

Although leadership positions (village heads, big men, and pan-tribal associations) exist, there is no central government to impose rules or punishment; leaders have no sure means of enforcing political decisions

Social relationships—Tribes

Primarily egalitarian with some tribes showing the traits of ranking

Chiefdoms

A form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families. These elites form a political aristocracy relative to the common people

• a lot of chiefdoms still survive today, modern anthropologists actually were able to study them in real life by living with them

Leadership—Chiefdoms

Formalized and centralized leadership, with a single hereditary chief with full formal authority

A Big Man vs. a Chief:

• Big man

  • informal

  • achieved status

  • first among equals

  • works with the people

• Chief

  • formal

  • hereditary status

  • position of authority

  • exempt from ordinary work

• Similarities: certain characters are emphasized (such as generosity,
  kindness, and bravery)

Economy—Chiefdoms

• horticulture, pastoralism, and agriculture

• A chiefdom consists of several economically interdependent villages

• A tribe consists of several economically self-sufficient
  villages

Social relation—Chiefdoms

Unlike a band or tribe, a chiefdom is not an egalitarian society, but a ranked one

States

A politically organized unit with a large population, which occupies a definite territory and has a formal central government that maintains a monopoly of the legitimate use of force

• Ex.) ancient Mesopotamia, contemporary USA, China, Germany…

Characteristics of State Systems— the presence of a Bureaucracy

Bureaucrat: a person to whom a political leader delegates certain authority and powers

• Acts on behalf of and depends on the political leaders

• Carries out the day to day governing of the polity

• Facilitating the expansion of the size of a polity

Characteristics of State Systems—Multiethnic Population

The existence of different ethnic groups within a polity, with one group being the politically dominant group

Characteristics of Stats Systems—Specialized Subsystems

• Population control

• Judiciary

• Law enforcement

• Fiscal systems

Population Control

• territories

• census

• administrative subdivision

• citizens and non-citizens

Judiacary