Chapter 15: Political Organizations (3 KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF A STATE WILL BE ON THE TEST)

Learning Objectives

• What are the major types of political organizations?

• How does the leadership of each type organize social life?

I. Elman Service’s Typology (1962)

• Band

• Tribe

• Chiefdom

• State

Bands, tribes, and chiefdoms also survived into modern

times and exist in modern nation-states

Bands

Kin-based (related by kinship

or marriage) groups among

foragers.

• The basic social unit of foragers

• can consist of one to several extended families.

The band is a very mobile social unit

• Collecting Food

• Gathering food from different places

• The seasonal split of the band for gathering food

• Shift band membership

Bands

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

o 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.

Bands

• 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.

A Cheyenne sun dance gathering, c. 190

Its much larger than a band, there can be thousands of people in tribes

Economy

• Tribes typically have a horticultural or pastoral economy.

• It is the need to cope with external threats (wars), instead of economic necessity, that leads to the unification of the villages.

Well-defined leadership positions

exist

• Village heads (very clearly defined leader, not as influential as “big man” though)

Well-defined leadership positions

exist

• “Big man” (there can be multiple “big men”) (will have the support of multiple villages in the tribe)

• 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

• tends to be someone with a lot of money or power

tribes

Well-defined leadership positions exist

• Pan-tribal associations: various formal groups that cut across villages within a tribe and bring people together through common concerns, age, skills, or interests

(photos showing the pow wow of Native

American people)

Kayapo and the Belo Monte Dam Project

(1988-2019)

Leadership

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 relations

Primarily egalitarian with some tribes showing the

traits of ranking

• they have limited power, and they rely on influence

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

Formalized and centralized leadership, with a single hereditary

chief with full formal authority.

A Big Man vs. a Chief

• Differences:

• informal vs. formal

• achieved status vs hereditary status

• the first among equals vs. a position with authority

• work vs. being exempt from ordinary work

• Similarities: certain characters are emphasized (such as generosity,

kindness, and bravery)

Economy

Horticulture, pastoralism, and agriculture.

• A chiefdom consists of several economically interdependent villages;

• A tribe consists of several economically self-sufficient villages.

Social Relations

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.

Examples: ancient Mesopotamia, contemporary USA, China,

Germany

Characteristics of State Systems (1)

The Presence of a Bureaucracy

Chiefdoms: (1) the chiefs; (2) the commoners

States: (1) the ruling elite, (2) a bureaucracy; (3) the

populace

they can make themselves seem like Gods on earth or that they were chosen by God

Characteristics of State Systems (1)

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 (2)

Multiethnic Populations

The existence of different ethnic groups within a polity,

with one group being the politically dominant group.

Characteristics of State Systems (3)

Specialized Subsystems

• Population control

• Judiciary

• Law enforcement

• Fiscal systems

Population control

• Territories

• Census (even ancient societies collected data on how many people there are in their societies)

• Administrative subdivision

• Citizens and non-citizens

Judiciary

• All states have laws: oral or written

• All states have courts and judges

Law enforcement

• All states have agents to enforce judicial decisions

Fiscal systems

• States need revenues to support the government. Citizens turn over a portion of their harvest/income to the state

• States redistribute part of tax revenues for the general good

States offer advantages and also impose hardships.