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Political Culture and Political Participation
Political Culture and Political Participation
Chapter 2
This culture influences the relationship between polity and society1. The
relationship between polity and society can be analyzed on the basis of political
culture and political participation. “The political culture of a society is one of the
socialization in a society shapes the political culture and determines the nature of
political participation. “It implies that political socialization is that process through
which the political culture of a nation is developed and transmitted to the future
generation. This therefore means that political socialization is the process by which
attributes which people learnwhile interacting with one another, via the media and
individuals that result in the acceptanceof thepolitical culture of the nation. The
development of political values and attitudes in different ways, but they all
Political Culture and Political Participation 64
understanding of politics.”3
The orientations of the people are directed towards political objects. “Political
objects include the political system as a whole, political parties, interest groups,
legislature, executive, judiciary, individual or group roles, ministers etc. They also
include the self as a political actor. The political objects are classified under four
categories:
• System as a whole: It includes the political system, its history, its size,
about and judgments on the political system and it is these orientations that
channel flow of demands and supports into the political system. They affect
the decision making process like political parties, pressure groups, media
etc.
• Out Process: It includes the work of the bureaucracy, the courts and other
Thus political socialization is associated with orienting the members of the society
which in turn influences political socialization. Both are directly related to each
social order which is responsible for inculcating certain types of political behaviors
conformity with the changing political system they live in.”5 It is essential that a
society should maintain its culture through the process of political socialization in
individual to accept a certain role within the framework of the political system and
polity and society interface can be discussed in terms of political culture and
political participation.
Political culture implies that the all individuals generally have the same level of
awareness of their rights, duties and expectations from the government and society
as citizens.All societies imparts their own specific set of norms6 and values to the
members who develop their own perception about the functioning of political
system and the responsibility of government towards the citizens. They also
develop their own ideas about their own roles and responsibilities. This complete
set of beliefs, symbols, and values associated with the political system comprises
nation. The studies related to political culture make an attempt to expose the deep-
that have been analyzed through opinion surveys conducted by some agencies.”8
deep rooted, well established political traits which are the characteristics of a
particular society. It takes into account the attitudes, values and beliefs that people
in a society have about the political system, including standard assumptions and
Political culture is the “aggregate of attitudes, beliefs, norms and values which
develop towards objects within their political system. These orientations have
• Cognitive Orientation
political objects, beliefs and familiarity with the working of the political
system .
• Affective Orientation
political issues confronting the nation. It also refers to the parameters which
shape the attitude and judgment of people towards the political systems.
• Evaluative Orientation
“On the basis of participation level of citizens the political culture can be classified
and expectation but low participation on part of the citizens. In this typethe
citizens have cognitive orientations only towards the output aspect of the
action from government but they themselves are not politically active and
type the citizens have cognitive orientations towards both the input and
output aspects of the political system. The societies which possess this type
system.”13
Thus in parochial culture the citizens tend to be passive and do not take any part in
the decision making process. In subject political culture the citizens perceive
system of the nation. “In participant political culture the citizens actively
participate in the politics of the country. The masses play a major role in
democratic system.
They are of the view that entire population of a political system may not have the
same culture. Some sections of the society may have developed participant
political culture while others may not. Political sub cultures may grow on the basis
and like. When a particular set of political orientation is distinguished from the
etc.”14
Thus different types of political culture are based on participation level of citizens.
Political Culture and Political Participation 70
• Historical factors
Historical facts and truths have their impacts on the general attitude, beliefs,
continuity of India is due to the fact that the old values of its people have
• Geographical factors
Geographical factors also help to fashion the political culture of the people
annexations were followed one after the others. As a result there was
massive influx of foreign races that stayed and settled here permanently.
That was why there developed the values of secularism or secular political
culture.
making process may provoke a change in political values and beliefs. In this
• Political Continuity
• Symbols
National flag and national anthem, political rituals like ceremonial opening
like observance of different martyrs day and many other symbols are
culture of a nation. This in turn influences the political participation of the citizens.
Political participation is that process through which the citizens of a country exert
influence on the political system of the country. Singh opines that “political
participation does not imply only the right to vote but also means power sharing by
the citizens in political life of the country. According to Almond and Powell
Political Culture and Political Participation 72
society in the decision making process of the political system. The citizens can
depend on the type and organizational abilities of the citizens who participate, the
way in which they conduct their activities, the level of pressure they can exert on
the government and the reaction of the system towards their activities. Political
participation is more than just voting during the time of elections and involves
citizens.
Voting during the elections is just one aspect of political participation. Verba and
Nie have outlined four types of activities which can be used as indicators of
political participation. According to them “the other activities through which the
citizens can participate in politics of the nation are voting, campaigning activities,
and communication by arguing that these will relate the individuals to local
politics. Members of the society can be grouped into four categories on the basis
of their political participation. Firstly, politically apathetic who are not aware of
the political world around them, secondly, those involved in spectator activities,
which include voting and taking part in informal discussions about political issues,
Political Culture and Political Participation 73
making a financial contribution to a political party and lastly, those who enter the
elections and holding public and party offices”19. In India since politics has been
considered to be the sole domain of men a large percentage of women can be put
under the category of politically apathetic. Only a few women take interest in day
to day politics and still fewer have shown the courage to enter into the political
types of activities which include “running for or holding public or party offices,
participation of men and women in any society be assessed on the basis of above
gender cleavages. The traditional patriarchal norms play a dominant role in Indian
society which also have marked effect on political socialization and political
factors.
Political Culture and Political Participation 74
socialization is well established. Many studies have reported that the girls show
less interest in political affairs of the country this is because of differential levels
of socialization. The girls have lower levels of political socialization. The political
analysis of these parameters reveals that women in Indian society are lagging far
voting. The voting behavior of the women is also influenced by male relatives in
the family since they lack understanding about political and developmental issues.
and leadership in the political system and concrete steps have been taken by the
structures. The 73rd& 74th amendment act in the constitution provides reservation
of a minimum of one-third of seats for women in the panchayati raj system &
into the local politics the women continue to face several institutional, social and
Social barriers include lack of proper education and respect for women in
panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies, violence against women,
reveal that after the introduction of the seventy-third amendment act the rural
women are participating in large numbers in the rural grass-root level institutions
but they still remain largely outside the realm of power sharing and decision
making. The gender difference in rural participatory politics is obvious and still
very high. There are many interrelated factors which affect the women’s ability to
participate in politics. The social hierarchies and inequalities that exist in Indian
society play a major role in excluding the women from active politics and for
decades have restricted the women from playing an active role in the social life
for women have resulted in increase in number of women in politics but effective
role in decision making is yet to seen. The social and cultural environment of any
politics since the societal norms for success in politics are stereotypically
Political Culture and Political Participation 76
masculine. Nirmala opines that “the traditional power hierarchies are skewed
infavour of men and show great resistance in giving any kind of space or
Although there are a number of women sarpanches who have taken initiatives on
their own and have made remarkable changes in their constituencies yet it is
discrimination”.22
women and also de-motivate others for entry into the political world. Desai &
Thakur argue that “one of the main reasons for political non-participation of
women is that they do not take initiative on their own which results in large scale
parameters. One is related to the aspect of feminity in the private sphere where
certain qualities are attributed to women like sensitive, caregiver and a passive
actor who is subordinate to men in the house. The other aspect relates to public
spheres where she is expected to be active, rational, modern in outlook and having
participation of women”.23
Moreover, day to day political activities require long working hours and lack of
participation.
Political Culture and Political Participation 77
stems mainly from political party competition, as national political parties and
regional parties in the states discriminate not only in terms of seat allotments in the
electoral fray. This could be attributed to a large extent to the party competition
dominance and a patriarchal mindset that excludes women from the electoral
process.”24 The caste and patriarchal norms prevalent in Indian society pose major
constraints and also there is lack of respect for the opinion of women and their
ability to take decisions in the male dominated political world. Apart from this
several factors play an instrumental role in limiting the participation of women like
gender based division of labour , lack of family support, gender roles and cultural
political violence and criminalization of politics. Thus several key factors like
international issues and are able to analyze situations in from a holistic perspective
elected women political leaders lay stress on priorities and preferences that are
different from men, although these priorities largely remain within the framework
infrastructural facilities. These priorities only serve the general gender needs and
do not serve the strategic gender interests. The general gender needs are immediate
perceived needs which have been identified by the majority of women such as
potable drinking water and healthcare needs, which actually fall within the
all spheres, particularly inthe political sphere for advancement towards the
principles are the equality between women and men, the right of women towards
with the power to access, control and to make informed choices.”26 Thus together
with mass participation of women in politics it is also essential that women are
able to take rational decisions and contribute to the overall development of the
socialization whereby the females are not socialized into political culture of the
nation. The gender roles and gendered division of labour does not leave any space
At the same time since it is not mandatory. There is no compulsion for the citizens
to participate in the political activities of the nation. In almost all societies have to
deal with political non-participation. Several factors are attributed to this there are
“Non-participation is the absence of citizens from the political process. The central
choose not to, which is measured by ‘turnout’. However, other forms of non-
groups. It is also true that sometimes high participation means that there is a high
amount of discontent, with many people feeling that they need to protest. Non-
makes it more likely that people use non-peaceful and undemocratic methods of
perhaps forcing the state to rely more on coercion. Finally, it can allow
then they are likely to loose the rights and freedoms that have been established.
factors.
Political Culture and Political Participation 81
have any knowledge about politics and are not bothered about the political
religious norms.
feel that no one in authority gives importance to their views and that the
country .
dirty business’, that politicians are not to be trusted, that the individuals are
Conclusion
, affective and evaluative orientation. The culture of any society can be classified
into parochial culture, subject culture and participatory culture on the basis of
canvassing, holding party positions etc. In context of women there are several
traditional and patriarchal sources prevalent in the society. Along with less
participation of women the contemporary societies are also facing the problem of
political non-participation in the form of apathy, alienation and cynicism. This can
Reference
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6. Norm – Today the word norm frequently functions as a generic term for all
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14. Mahajan, Dhar. V. (2001), Political Theory, S. Chand & Company, New
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15. www.encyclopedia.com
18. Verba and Nie. (1972), Participation and Political Equality”, University of
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19. Milbrath, and Goel. (1965), Political Participation: How and Why Do
Delhi.
23. Desai &Thakur (2007), Party Politics and Democratic Governance, Rawat
26. Fadia (2014), Family and Peers: Linking Two Social worlds, Lawrence
27. www.tutor2u.net