Overview
This lecture explores political culture, tracing its development as a concept in political science, its methodological approaches, major subcultures in the U.S., and critiques of the field.
Defining Political Culture
- Political culture is the collection of beliefs, values, and attitudes that shape political behavior and ideas about governance.
- It influences ideas about legitimacy, justice, enforcement of laws, and who should govern.
- Political culture evolves slowly through social interaction, but can change rapidly due to major events.
Historical Development in Political Science
- Before WWII, culture was mainly studied by sociologists, with sporadic attention in political science.
- In the 1960s, studies like Almond and Verba's The Civic Culture brought systematic, scientific methods to cultural analysis in politics.
- The Cold War and decolonization increased the need to understand diverse political cultures.
American Political Subcultures (Elazar’s Model)
- Individualistic subculture sees government as a tool to serve peoples’ needs, prioritizing economic development and tolerating some corruption.
- Moralistic subculture treats government as a force for societal good, values regulation, and expects high public participation with low tolerance for corruption.
- Traditionalistic subculture preserves established hierarchies and limits political participation to elites.
Shifts in Political Culture
- Inglehart's The Silent Revolution described a shift toward postmaterialistic values (e.g., environmentalism, feminism).
- The "New Political Culture" emphasizes democracy, social issues, and individual evaluation of the welfare state, influenced by educated, affluent youth.
Key Features of U.S. Political Culture
- Core values include individual liberty, free will, private property, human rights, and checks on state power.
- Equality and broad political participation are central, though voter turnout is low.
- Bipartisanship does not fully represent America’s diversity, contributing to apathy.
- Other traits: segregation, consumerism, and wealth inequality.
Methodology in Political Culture Studies
- Political culture analysis uses interpretative, fieldwork-based methods like surveys, interviews, and participant observation.
- Researchers engage directly with subjects to understand motivations and actions, resulting in intersubjective exchanges.
Criticisms of Political Culture Studies
- Critics note vagueness, lack of clear variables, and difficulty building strong theories.
- Subjectivity complicates measurement and verification, so cultural explanations may be seen as explanations of last resort.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Political Culture — Shared attitudes, beliefs, and values about politics and government within a society.
- Postmaterialistic Values — Prioritization of quality-of-life issues (environment, equality) over economic or physical security.
- Subculture — Distinct cultural patterns within a larger culture, often with different beliefs about politics.
- Hermeneutic Approach — Interpretative method focusing on understanding meaning from participants’ perspectives.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review case studies of political culture, such as Almond and Verba's The Civic Culture.
- Prepare examples of American subcultures for discussion.
- Read about methodological approaches in political culture research.