POLS301 Comparative Politics

Lecture 11

Political Culture

Dr Ersun N Kurtulus
Social Sciences University of Ankara (ASBU)
 Today’s Lecture
• the concepts of political culture and civic culture
• political trust
• Putnam’s groundbreaking study of “social capital”
• generational change and postmaterialism
• elite versus mass political culture
• relationship between political culture and
political stability
• Lijphart’s groundbreaking study of
“consociational democracy”
 What is “political culture”
• the difficult concept of “culture”
• political culture:
– “overall pattern of beliefs, attitudes and values in
a society towards the political system” (Hague and
Harrop)
– “…the sum of the fundamental values, sentiments
and knowledge that give form and substance to
political processes” (Pye)
• the role of beliefs and attitudes in politics
 Political Culture
• sentiments and world-views can be an independent force in
politics (compared to the views of liberals and Marxists)
– “political values, feelings and beliefs are not simple reflections
of social and political structure …the political content of the
minds of citizens and political elites is more complex, more
persistent and more autonomous than Marxism and liberalism
would suggest.” (Almond)
• it might be just about the form of politics rather than the
substance of politics (for instance, class struggle finding two
different form in two distinct political cultures; the
substance is the same: class struggle)
• political culture or the culture of the political elite or the
dominant social class (Gramsci’s notion “hegemony”)?
 Civic Culture
• The Civic Culture (Almond and Verba, 1963)
• the research question: in what kind of political culture is
liberal democracy most likely to develop and consolidate?
• cultural source of stable liberal democracy
• civic culture:
– many citizens are active in politics, but they are not too involved
in a manner that they would refuse to accept decisions which
they disagree
– a passive majority stabilizes system by preventing it from
overheating
– resolution of the tension within democracy between popular
control and effective governance by allowing citizen influence
while retaining flexibility for the government.
 Civic Culture
• survey results (1959-1960): Britain and USA came
closest to civic culture ideal; the citizens felt that they
could influence the government but chose not to do so
• two criticisms:
– the whole notion of national political culture is inherently
vague; the focus on subcultures of race and class is needed
– no detailed account of the origins and evolution of civic
culture; a country’s political culture should not be seen as
fixed and stable but rather should be regarded as a
dynamic entity which is at least partly shaped by the
operation of politics itself (interaction between politics and
culture)
 Political Trust
• political culture as a historically determined, dynamic
phenomenon
• research question: Have liberal democracies experienced a
decline in political and social trust?
– public trust in political institutions (such as parliament, the civil
service and armed forces) have declined between 1981-1991
(Norris, 1999)
– in Europe, public has less trust in representative institutions
such as parties than the military and the police
– support for democracy as a political system remains unchanged.
• fluctuations in “political trust” – Are we really measuring
“trust” which per definition has to be something stable?
 Social Capital
(Putnam)
• direct link between trust and political
effectiveness
• trust encourages solidarity between strangers
• declining trust leads to citizens not engaging in
politics or social projects
• a culture of trust enables collective action and
individual engagement in political and social
projects
• a supportive political culture directly enhances
the performance of a political system
 Social Capital – the Case of Italy
(Putnam)
• the case of Italy; creation of 20 regional governments in 1970s
enables test of various theories about political trust
• in regions (mainly North) where there are high levels of political
trust (or what Putnam calls “social capital”), the newly established
regional governments have been effective; in regions where
political trust was weak (mainly in the South) the regional
governments achieved very little
• at one level, the study invalidates the results of Almond and Verba’s
study which found Italy a country where the culture was
“distinctively uncivic, lacking positive and supportive attitudes
among the majority.” Political scientists have to be sensitive
towards variations within a country.
• at another level, Putnam’s study coined the concept of “social
capital” as an explanatory variable
 Social Capital
• “Social capital refers to a culture of trust and cooperation
which makes collective action possible and effective. …A
political culture with a fund of social capital enables a
community to build political institutions capable of solving
collective problems.” (Hague and Harrop)
• existence or not (or degree of) social capital can only be
explained with reference to historical developments.
– in Italy regions which had a tradition of communal self-
government (going all the way back to the 12th century)
displayed higher levels of social capital.
– regions characterized by long periods of feudal, autocratic or
foreign rule possessed lower levels of social capital.
 Political Culture and Political
Generations
• an attempt to capture changes over time
• “political generation” – “age cohort sharing distinctive
experiences and values which shape its outlook
throughout its life course” (Hague and Harrop)
• formative experience of a generation as it matures
• …but also gradual change with each generation
embracing different causes and values
• the life cycle effect – gradual change of values with
age, which has implications for comparison: capturing
generational divide requires long term data
 Materialism versus
Postmaterialism
• a case of change of political culture over generations
• “postmaterialism” – a move towards “radical quality of life issues,” such as
environment, among affluent and well-educated individuals, via non-
traditional, “elite-challenging promotional groups”
• unprecedented economic growth between 1950s-1960s, combined with
relative international peace and emergence of welfare states in Western
Europe
• a gradual shift of attention from economic achievement to “quality of life”
(Inglehart), expressed in emphasis of issues related to ecology, gender
equality, nuclear disarmament, sexual freedom etc.
• a move from “elite sustaining politics” through elections and voting for
political parties to “elite-challenging politics” through activism in single-
issue groups
• more affluent a democracy higher proportion of postmaterialists among
its citizens - a growing trend
 Elite Political Culture
• distinction between mass political culture and elite
political culture
• research question: how does elite political culture
effect political stability?
• elite culture: “beliefs, attitudes and ideas about politics
held by those who are closest to the centers of political
power.” (Verba quoted in Hague and Harrop)
• a degree of overlap but also significant divergence
between elite and mass cultures; elite political cultures
tend to be more tolerant and more liberal (Stouffer)
 Impact of Elite Political Culture on
Political Stability
• two types of influence:
– a political order is more likely to survive if the ruling elite
believes in its right to govern (elite self-confidence)
– a willingness to compromise among the leaders
representing different groups in divided societies can
contain intergroup hostility and minimize the risk of
disintegration
• consociational democracy: agreement and tacit understandings
between leaders representing different segments of the society
(pillars) help to secure political stability (ex. the Netherlands,
Austria, Belgium)
• distribution of resources should reflect the relative population size
of groups and each group retains a right of minority veto over
issues which it judges to be vital to its own interests
 Consociational Democracy
• weaknesses
– it is more than an institutional arrangement, given the
key role played by the elite culture; there are many
examples of failed consociationalism (such as
Lebanon)
– elite accommodation is a kind of elite cartel which
may not be compatible with a basic understanding of
democracy
– similarly to federalism, it may reinforce divisions
within the society and slow the long-term integration
process
 Conclusions
• political culture is a key concept in understanding stability
and efficiency of democratic systems
• one form of political culture conducive to stability is civic
culture, which requires “moderate” levels of popular
engagement in politics
• another key concept is “social capital” which captures a
clear connection between political trust and effectiveness
• materialism and postmaterialism refers to generational
changes in political culture
• elite political culture differs from mass political culture;
consociational democracy in plural societies is the outcome
of a specific elite culture which emphasizes cooperation
and consensus among the leaders of different segments
 Seminar Question (Next Week)
• “The concept of political culture is little more
than sterotypes about nations or social
classes.” Discuss.