Transcript Chapter 12 power point File

Chapter 12
Politics, Power, and Violence
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How Are Power and Political Organizations
Different?
How Are Social and Political Order Formed and
Maintained?
How Do Political Systems Obtain Popular Support?
Power and Political Organization
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Power is known as the ability of individuals or
groups to impose their will upon others and make
them do things even against their own wants or
wishes.
Political organization is the way that power is
distributed and embedded in society; the means by
which a society creates and maintains social order.
Kinds of Political Systems
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Every society will have some form of political
organization usually uncentralized or centralized.
Uncentralized systems
Bands
 Tribes
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Centralized systems
Chiefdoms
 States
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Band Organization
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Band- small group of loosely organized kinordered group that inhabits a specific territory
and that may split periodically into smaller
extended family groups that are politically
independent.
The least complicated and oldest form of
political organization.
Found among nomadic societies.
Small and egalitarian, numbering at most a few
hundred people.
Bands
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No need for formal political systems.
Decisions are made with the participation of
adult members, with an emphasis on achieving
consensus.
Those unable to get along with others of their
group move to another group where kinship ties
give them rights of entry.
May have leaders if a person hold an ability to
serve all in the group. They hold no real power.
Tribal Organization
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Tribes- refer to a range of kin-ordered groups
that are politically integrated by some unifying
factor and whole members share a common
ancestry, identity, culture, language, and territory.
Economy based on crop cultivation or herding.
Tribes
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Population densities generally exceed 1 person per
square mile up to 250 people per square mile.
Leadership among tribes is informal.
Political authority may lie with the clan, here clan
elders or headmen regulate affairs.
Chiefdoms
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A chiefdom is a regional polity in which two or
more local groups are organized under a single
chief, who is at the head of a ranked hierarchy of
people.
The office of the chief is usually for life and often
hereditary.
Passing from man to son or sisters son depending on
lineage descent pattern.
Chiefdoms
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The chief’s authority serves to unite his people in all
affairs and at all times.
Usually the chief controls the economic activities
including redistributive systems.
May attain a large amount of material wealth
which can be used to show and maintain status as
chief.
State System
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The state, in anthropology, is a centralized polity
involving large numbers of people within a defined
territory who are divided into social classes and
organized and directed by a formal government
that has the capacity and authority to make laws
and use force to defend social order.
The most formal of political organizations.
Commonly referred to as a civilization.
State
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Political power is centralized in a government.
Since the first state appeared about 5,000 years
ago, they have shown a tendency toward instability.
Not to be confused with a nation which is a people
who share a collective identity based on a common
culture, language, territory, and history.
Political Systems & Legitimacy
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Legitimacy in the political sense is the idea that
certain leaders have the right to govern, to hold,
use, and allocate power based on the values of a
particular society.
Legitimacy will vary cross culturally but it is an
established right that a person(s) must obtain.
Political Leadership and Gender
Women have enjoyed political equality with men in a
number of societies:
 There are many modern day countries which hold
women as their highest political leaders.
 Iroquoian tribes of New York State – women elect
men to high positions in office and can also remove
them if they chose.
 Igbo of Nigeria - women held positions that
paralleled and balanced that of the men.
Internalized Controls
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Many cultures have rules or laws that are not
necessarily “written” rather, “internal beliefs”
Beliefs that are self-imposed by individuals.
Cultural controls or control through beliefs and
values that are deeply ingrained in the minds of
each member of the culture.
These can act as control mechanisms for how
member should act as opposed to social control or
forced governmental control.
Internalized Controls
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Punishments for actions against the culture might
include the fear of shame, divine punishment, and
magical retaliation.
Although bands and tribes rely heavily upon them,
they are typically insufficient by themselves.
Therefore most societies will develop externalized
controls.
Externalized Controls
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In order to maintain order, externalized controls are
generally sanctioned- externalized social control
designed to encourage conformity to social norms.
Mix of cultural and social control.
Positive sanctions reward appropriate behavior
whereas, negative sanctions punish behavior.
Social Control by Witchcraft
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Among societies with or without centralized political
systems the usage of witchcraft may often be
employed to act as a social control mechanism.
This may be either internally or externally.
These types of groups will generally have a strong
respect and fear of the misuse of witchcraft, thus
making it a great tool for social control.
Functions of Law
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The law is comprised of formal rules of conduct
that, when violated, effectuate negative
sanctions.
There are three basic functions of law:
Defines relationships among a society’s members
and behavior under different circumstances.
 Allocates authority to employ coercion to enforce
sanctions.
 Redefines social relations and aids its own efficient
operation by ensuring it allows change.
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Crime
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In Western societies crime is viewed as either an
act against the state or an individual.
In non-state societies it is viewed as acts against
kin-groups or individuals.
Disputes or actions against crime can be settles in a
few different ways.
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Negotiation, mediation, adjudication
Settling Disputes
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Negotiation- The use of direct argument and
compromise by the parties to a dispute to arrive
voluntarily at a mutually satisfactory agreement.
Mediation- Settlement of a dispute through
negotiation assisted by an unbiased third party.
Adjudication- Mediation with an unbiased third
party making the ultimate decision.
War
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Over the past 5,000 years it is estimated that
humans have created and fought over 14,000 wars.
Reasons for war vary entirely upon the society in
which it is found. Each group will have its own
objectives, motives, methods, and scale of warfare.
Why War?
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Some anthropologists might argue that war is a
reflection of the aggressive nature of the human
male.
Others will suggest it is situation specific as opposed
to an unavoidable expression of biological
determination towards aggression.
Perhaps it is safer to assume warfare as a result of
misunderstanding and culture clash.
Suggested Activity
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Have the class attempt to compile a list of examples of
internalized control in their society.
Have them compare this to a general list of externalized
control in their society (one they make or you).
Organize students into small groups and then write their
examples on the board for discussion.
Make comparisons of our society to other’s they may have
learned about so far in the class.
Or have students discuss their reactions to control
mechanisms they may not have realized occurred in their
society.