Chapter 7: POLITICAL INSTITUTION

 Politics refers to activities through which people make,

preserve and amend the general rules under which they
live. It involves the dynamics of conflict resolution and
cooperation, as well as the exercise of power.
 Power refers to the ability to do something in order to
achieve a desired outcome.
 Authority is legitimate power. It means that a person who
has authority has the right to exercise power.
 The ff. are several trends that have been observed
pertaining to the development of political structures and
institutions throughout the centuries:
 Increased population density
 Large surplus of resources and wealth
 Greater social inequality
 Less reliance on kinship relations as basis of
political structures;
 Increased internal and external conflict
 Increased power and responsibility of leaders
 Increased burden on the population to support
political leaders
 Legitimacy (Latin word “Legitimare” meaning to declare
lawful)- confers on an order or command an authoritative
or binding character, thus transforming power into
authority
 Max Weber studied the transformation of societies and
observed that the bases of legitimacy of rule vary in
different types of societies.
Three types of Authority: Traditional,
charismatic, and legal-rational.
 Traditional authority- authority is based on a system
that is believed to have “always existed”. Monarch
country usually practice this authority. Like what Queen
Elizabeth II did.
 Charismatic authority is based on the presumed special
and extraordinary characteristics or qualities possessed
by a certain individual.
 Historical figures who exemplified charismatic authority
include revolutionary Cuban leader Fidel Castro & Che
Guevara, Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Tse Tung, US
President John F. Kennedy, UK Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher, and Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay.
 Legal-Rational authority is the most type of authority in
modern societies. Power and authority in a legal-rational
 context are legitimized by a clearly defined set of
written rules and laws.
 Political Dynasties are believed to have always existed
even in advanced democratic states.
 Dynasty refers to a succession from rulers from the same
line of descent.
 Political Clientelism is defined by Susan Strokes as “
giving material goods in return for electoral support.
The relationship involves two parties: the patron
(Politician) and the client (voter).
 Nation consists of a distinct population of people bound
together by a common culture, history, and tradition who
are typically concentrated within a specific geographic
region.
 State is a political unit that has sovereignty over an
area of territory and the people within it.
 Political Liberalization refers to the emergence of
liberal-democratic regimes that are characterized by a
representative form of democracy where political office
is gained through formal, competitive elections in many
Western societies.
 Political Culture refers to the pattern of orientation to
political objects such as parties, government, and
constitution, expressed in beliefs, symbols and values.