Transcript Political culture and political socialization

Political
culture
Political Culture
& Political Socialization
1
This week
1.
Political culture and how to study it
2.
Political socialization
3.
The media and politics
2
Political culture
World Values Survey database
(based on Ronald Inglehart’s work)
3
Definition of political culture
• “Set of attitudes, beliefs, and values that underpin
any political system”, McLean and Wood, Politics: An
Introduction, p. 187
• Refers to dominant characteristics
• Explains people’s views about political issues
• Explains political behaviours
• Explains policies adopted by rulers
4
The first study
of political culture
Sidney Verba, 1932-
• Gabriel Almond & Sidney Verba, The Civic
Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in
Five Nations* (1965)
• Question: what kind of political culture
makes democracy possible?
• Conducted through interviews & polls
West Germany*
United States
United Kingdom
Mexico
Italy
5
Gabriel Almond ,1911-2002
3 dimensions of political culture
produce 3 types of political culture
Dimensions
of political culture
1. Knowledge
2. Feelings
3. Judgment
Types
of political culture
1. Parochial (traditional)
2. Subject
3. Participatory
• The three types of political culture don’t exist in pure form
• Most societies exhibit a mix of the three types
6
The 3 types of political culture
Parochial
• No awareness of
a central
government
• No separation
between local
government &
society
• Minimal
specialization is
social roles
• Acceptance of
social order
Subject
• Awareness of
central gov.
• Clear separation
between gov. &
society
• Specialization in
social roles
• Hierarchy of rulers
& ruled
Participatory
Always
mixing
• power flows
downward
• obedience
• no questioning &
expectation of
change
• Awareness of central
government
• Clear separation
between government
& society
• Specialization in
social roles
• Expectation of
society members to
influence rulers
• as individuals
• as groups
• State acts as a neutral
actor
7
Ideal culture according to them:
the “civic culture”
• A mix of participatory culture…
• … and subject culture
• The civic culture is a pre-condition to a
functioning democracy (not its cause)
8
More recent studies of political culture:
the rising post-material culture
• Ronald Inglehart, The Silent Revolution: Changing
Values and Political Style among Western Publics (1977)
• Material values on the decline
• Post-material values
• self-expression
• identity politics
• pleasure-seeking
Ronald Inglehart, 1934-
• Not necessarily a one-way progression, not
irreversible
9
Materialist vs.
post-materialist values
• Using Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs
Post-materialist values
Possible overlap?
Materialist values
10
Subcultures & post-materialism
• Subculture have always existed
• Proliferating since ’60s
• Dissatisfaction with dominant culture
• From “voice” to “exit”
•
•
•
•
wanting & seeking more responsive rulers
tuning out when rulers fail to respond
less voting, less attention to (political) news
other forms of social engagement
11
Politics in a post-material age
• From citizens to consumers
• “I pay taxes”
• “what’s the government doing for me?”
• Rise of political marketing
• market research & data collection
• pinpointing potential voters
• targeted policies
• Appeal to lifestyle
• May or may not have coherent vision
12
Political socialization
13
Defining political socialization
“Process through which individuals are educated
and assimilated into the political culture of a
community”, MacLean and Wood, Politics: An
Introduction, p. 190
• Multiple agents of socialization
• Dependent on social settings, news sources, etc.
• Happens unconsciously
14
State-driven socialization
• The “official” culture & history
• Politicians’ speeches
• Content of policies & justifications given
• The measure of success
• how many people repeat the “official” line?
• does the official line change to placate (some of)
the people?
15
The educational system
• Very important
• Disputes over curriculum
• Nature of teacher-student relations
• May lose out over time
16
Family
• First site of socialization
• Direct
• Indirect
• Crucial early, then less so, then significant
again
17
The media and politics
18
The mass-media
• Reach mass audience
• news: television, radio, major newspapers
• entertainment: TV shows, books, movies, music
• all-you-can-eat buffet: what about the World Wide
Web?
• Select, filter & represent “reality”
19
A great show: On the Media from National Public Radio (US)
Representing “reality”
• “Reality” cannot be represented
• “Objectivity” & “facts”
• “An image is worth a thousand words”, or is it?
• Choices must be made, but which choices?
20
Limits of journalism
Marginal views
& unacceptable
options
Legitimate controversy & room for options
Consensus
• Freedom of speech & freedom of the press
The “doughnut model”
of journalism
• Journalists are workers in a corporation
• Heavy workload: news cycle & tight deadlines
• The Web & the fragmentation of news
journalism: not one doughnut, but many
“Freedom of the press exists for those who own one”
—Benjamin Franklin
21
Media, advertisers,
and viewers
• Media’s revenues
• advertising
• Subscriptions (cable TV, mags,
newspapers)
• Selling viewers to advertisers
• entertaining & “informing” audiences
• … without upsetting advertisers
• Media concentration: few sources & limited
range of views
Canadians & their
news
38% television
8% radio
23% newspaper
1% mobile phone 22
30% computer
Source: Canadian Media
Research Consortium
To conclude
As a set of understandings, values, attitudes, and
principles, political culture is shaped by numerous
agents of socialization who transmit to their audience
their views of what the society is or should be like.
The resulting political culture is thought to explain
the political behaviour of individuals and groups in
the society and their relations with the political
system. The mass media have a particularly
important role in shaping political culture and public
opinion.
23