Political culture, socialisation and development

Political Science · Comparative politics and political change. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Political culture is the pattern of beliefs, values and attitudes that people hold about their political system. Almond and Verba described three types: parochial, subject and participant. They argued that stable democracy rests on a mixture of these, the civic culture.

Political socialisation is the lifelong process by which people learn these attitudes from family, school, peers, religion, media and parties. Public opinion is the body of views held by the public on matters of common concern.

Political development means growth in the capacity of a political system to meet demands. Modernisation theory links it to economic and social change. Huntington warned that change can also bring instability when institutions stay weak.

Rules to remember

Almond and Verba, The Civic Culture (1963): parochial, subject and participant cultures.
Parochial: little awareness of the national system. Subject: aware of government and obeys it, but takes no part. Participant: aware and active.
Civic culture: a mixed culture in which participation is balanced by trust and deference to authority.
Agents of socialisation: family (first and most influential), school, peer group, religion, mass media, political parties.
Modernisation: industrialisation, urbanisation, literacy and mass media change society and raise political participation. Voting is the most common form of participation.
S. M. Lipset: the more prosperous a nation, the greater its chance of sustaining democracy.
Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies (1968): when participation grows faster than institutions, the result is instability and political decay. Institutionalisation is how organisations acquire value and stability.

Common mistake

Do not assume that modernisation always brings stability. Huntington's point is the opposite: rapid social mobilisation without strong institutions produces disorder, so political decay is as possible as political development.

Worked example

In a country, literacy and city populations rise quickly. People make many new demands, but parties are weak and parliament is often suspended. Protests and unrest follow. Which theorist's argument explains this best, and what term describes the outcome?

Rising literacy and urbanisation are signs of social mobilisation, so participation is increasing.
Weak parties and a suspended parliament show low political institutionalisation.
Huntington argued that participation outrunning institutions causes instability.

Answer: Samuel Huntington; the outcome is political decay.

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