Culture and Political Culture

  • Political Culture Defined: A collection of understandings of political organization, processes, disputes, and public policy.

  • Impact of Political Culture: Influences institutional structure, decision-making processes, and policy types within a political system.

  • Categorization of Political Culture:

    • Affective: Emotional response to political values.

    • Cognitive: Factual analysis of political information.

    • Evaluative: Combination of emotional and factual responses.

  • Key Measurements of Political Culture:

    • Trust: Confidence in the governmental system.

    • Efficacy: Belief that the population can impact political decisions.

    • Political Alienation: Low trust and efficacy, potentially leading to extreme thought or revolution (e.g., Arab Spring).

  • Development of Political Culture: Primarily through civil society (building common interests and values) and political socialization.

  • Levels of Political Culture:

    • System Level: Legitimacy of the political system (e.g., democracy, social contract).

    • Process Level: Expectations regarding political processes and democratic aspirations.

    • Policy Level: Appropriate role of government, intervention on social/moral issues, and government size.

  • Types of Political Cultures:

    • Consensual: General agreement on most political issues.

    • Conflictual (Adversarial): Significant differing perspectives on political issues.

  • Why Culture Matters: Political culture is a strong variable influencing voice, accountability, and emancipation values.

  • Agents of Political Socialization: Family (most important), schools, social groups, interest groups, mass media, political parties, government.

  • Contemporary Issues Affecting Political Culture: Democratization, marketization, and globalization.

  • Foundational Work: Developed by Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba in the 1960s.