Unit 3 Political Culture (AP Comparative Government and Politics) — Deep Study Notes

Political culture

Widely shared attitudes, beliefs, and values about politics and government that shape what citizens expect, view as legitimate, and how they use institutions.

Public opinion

More immediate, issue-specific views (e.g., approval of a leader or policy) that can shift quickly compared with deeper political culture.

Regime legitimacy (political legitimacy)

Belief that a regime and its institutions are rightful and should be obeyed; can be based on elections, ideology, religion, nationalism, performance, or charisma.

Political trust

Confidence that political institutions and leaders will follow rules, do what they claim, and act in the public interest.

Political efficacy

Belief that you can understand politics and that your participation matters; about your impact rather than leaders’ reliability.

Rule of law

Expectation and practice that laws are applied predictably and equally, shaping whether institutions function effectively in practice.

Clientelism

Pattern of politics based on personal exchanges (jobs, favors, services) for political support, often weakening impersonal accountability.

Patronage

Distribution of material benefits (jobs/resources) by political leaders to maintain support, especially when legitimacy is weak.

Political socialization

Lifelong process through which people learn political norms and develop political attitudes through repeated exposure to messages about authority, rights, identity, and civic duty.

Agent of political socialization

A source that transmits political norms and attitudes (e.g., family, schools, media, religion, peers, major events).

Generational effect

Lasting attitudes formed by cohorts who come of age during major political events like revolutions, crises, wars, or scandals.

State-controlled media

Media environment where the state dominates information and promotes a unified regime message, limiting competing viewpoints.

Pluralistic media

Media environment with multiple competing viewpoints that can shape diverse political attitudes and increase exposure to alternative narratives.

Political ideology

Coherent set of beliefs about the proper role of government and how society and the economy should be organized.

Democratic accountability

Principle that leaders can be replaced peacefully through elections and are constrained by competition and civil liberties.

Nationalism

Belief that a shared national identity should be politically recognized and protected, often tied to sovereignty, borders, and national pride.

Patriotism (in political culture context)

Attachment and loyalty to the nation that can be used to mobilize participation or support for government actions.

Secularism

Principle that law and government authority should be separate from religious authority and religious law.

Social cleavage

Deep, persistent division (e.g., ethnicity, religion, region, language, class) that can structure political competition.

Political entrepreneur

Leader, party, or movement that mobilizes identities or issues to build political support and shape competition.

Civil society

Voluntary organizations and associations between the state, market, and family (e.g., unions, NGOs, charities, advocacy groups, community organizations, social movements).

Social capital

Networks, norms, and trust that enable cooperation and make collective action (participation, monitoring government) easier.

Bonding social capital

Strong ties within a close-knit group (family/community/ethnic or religious group) that can provide mutual aid but may increase exclusion of outsiders.

Bridging social capital

Connections across different groups that reduce “us vs. them” politics and support cooperation in pluralistic democracy.

Co-optation (of civil society)

State strategy of absorbing or aligning organizations with the regime so they imitate independence but reduce genuine accountability.