What do you mean by political culture?

A political culture is a set of attitudes and practices held by a people that shapes their political behavior. It includes moral judgments, political myths, beliefs, and ideas about what makes for a good society. A political culture is a reflection of a government, but it also incorporates elements of history and tradition that may predate the current regime. Political cultures matter because they shape a population’s political perceptions and actions. Governments can help shape political culture and public opinion through education, public events, and commemoration of the past. Political cultures vary greatly from state to state and sometimes even within a state. Generally speaking, however, political culture remains more or less the same over time.

Example: The United States and Great Britain are both democracies, but each has a distinct political culture. The American government derives its powers from a written constitution drafted by men who feared monarchs and strong central governments, which is why they divided the federal government into three distinct branches. Also, the American political system is dominated by two political parties. Great Britain, in contrast, has a long history of monarchy and has never had a written constitution. Even though the current monarch holds the official title of head of state, her powers are nominal, leaving Parliament—the legislative body—as the dominant element of the government. And unlike the United States, Great Britain currently has nearly half a dozen political parties that regularly seat candidates in Parliament.

Citizenship

Political culture is connected to notions of citizenship because political culture frequently includes an idea of what makes people good citizens. A citizen is a legal member of a political community, with certain rights and obligations. Because each country has its own requirements for citizenship and attendant rights, the definition of “citizen” varies around the world.

Example: Not surprisingly, different countries have different criteria for citizenship. France automatically bestows cit-izenship on anyone born in French territory via jus soli (Latin for “right by territory”). Germany grants citizenship via jus sanguines (Latin for “right by blood”) to people who have a German parent. Israel’s Law of Return, meanwhile, allows any Jew to move permanently to Israel and become a citizen. The United States grants citizenship rights both to people who are born in American territory and to people who have an American parent.

Characteristics of Good Citizens

A good citizen lives up to the ideals of the regime and embodies much of what a particular political culture considers important. An American who lives an exemplary life but who does not work to help the community will probably be viewed as a good person but not as a good citizen. Instead, Americans expect good citizens to help others and to make the community a better place through active participation in public life. In the United States, a good citizen is often expected to do some or all of the following:

• Vote in elections
• Obey all local, state, and federal laws
• Pay taxes
• Be informed about political issues
• Volunteer to help less fortunate people
• Demonstrate patriotism by respecting the flag, singing the national anthem, and knowing the Pledge of Allegiance
• Recycle
• Help the community when needed

Political Culture and Change

Political culture changes over time, but these changes often happen slowly. People frequently become set in their ways and refuse to alter their attitudes on significant issues. Sometimes it can take generations for major shifts to occur in a nation’s political culture.

Example: One example of the ways in which American political culture has been slow to change concerns the rights of minorities. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 authorized federal troops to supervise balloting in federal elections in the South in order to protect the voting rights of black Americans. Even though the bill passed forty years ago, many government officials fear that racial tensions in the South could still threaten the political freedoms of blacks, which is why Congress and President George W. Bush reauthorized the Voting Rights Act in 2006.

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In order to gain legitimacy, the proper management of the authority of any political system and the empathy of the people with a positive and supportive view of that authority are required. In some political systems this view is seen, but lacking in some places. Somewhere, citizens support the political system unconditionally, and somewhere they want a radical change of the political system.

To get a real picture of the political system, a proper analysis of the attitudes of the people is needed. In this context, discussion of political culture is very important to understand the attitudes and beliefs of people on their political system.

What is Political Culture?

Political culture is the view, aspirations, and beliefs of most citizens of the country towards political systems. It can be said to be a psychological matter of the people. It is also the type of people’s mentality in relation to political activities, not political activities itself.

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Different types of political cultures exist among the people of different states. In this context, it is to be noted that the tradition of British citizens, the protests among French nationals and the patriotism among American citizens are strongly present. These are one of the characteristics of the political culture of those countries.

The concept of political culture is changing oriented, but this is change slowly. Persons’ perceptions change as new experiences unfold. Depending on the city-life experiences of people coming from village to city and living in the city, there are rapid changes in attitudes. But cultural attitudes or values ​​change very slowly. Hence, the attitude towards political action reflects fairly permanent aspects of political culture.

Features of Political Culture

1. The views of the people regarding the world of politics are the subject of political culture, but not the various events organized in world politics. So it can be called the psychological dimension of politics.
2. In the political culture, the attitude of both the political ideal and the effective system of the state is expressed.
3. It consists of empirical concepts of political life and values that are worth pursuing in political life, and they can be emotional, perceptive.
4. If there is a kind of attitude among the people about important political issues in the political culture, then there is political stability. It is easy to get rid of the crisis if people’s attitudes are favorable to political institutions during the crisis period of the country.
5. Political culture does not remain unchanged. It is also constantly reorganized in terms of cultural change in society. With the arrival of foreigners to live, the revolution, the war, or any other major change can completely change the political culture of a state.

Types of Political Culture

The nature, existence, and importance of different aspects of political culture vary from one society to another. So the political culture of all countries is not one. These are classified on the basis of these questions whether members of society take an active role in political activities, expect to benefit from public dialogue, whether people can take part in government processes or know government activities.

Almond and Verba classified political culture into three types. These are:

1. Parochial Political Culture
2. Participatory Political culture
3. Subject Political Culture

1. Parochial Political Culture

Generally, in the underdeveloped countries and in the traditional social system, there is a lack of consciousness and interest or widespread indifference among individuals regarding political issues.

In the context of the political way of life and the national political system, there is a strong disregard for the countrymen which leads to the formation of a parochial political culture.

To end such a culture, the need for a wide spreading of education and the spread of political communication is necessary. There are still many regions in Asia and Africa where parochial political culture can be seen.

2. Participatory Political culture

In a participatory political culture, every citizen actively takes an active role in political affairs. Individuals consider themselves an active member of the country’s existing political system.

The participation and evaluation of the individual in the traditional political system is very deep and important in such political culture. Here the individual is always aware of his rights and duties. Great Britain and USA are great example of participatory political culture.

3. Subject Political Culture

In this kind of political culture, the role of the people in political affairs is significant. The public is fully aware of the political system prevailing here and the effect of state action on their way of life.

Despite the existence of enthusiasm for political life, the people here make no attempt to influence the decision-making process. Rather, most of the government’s decisions are accepted without authority. This tendency in public affairs for public interest is attributed to this kind of inactive political culture.

Is the political culture inherited?

The individual does not inherit the political culture by birth. That means, it is not a matter of birthright. It is created within the individual through political socialization. The social and political systems in which the person is born, the particular political values ​​and attitudes that transcend the individual.

Individuals are connected with the political parties, other political organizations or institutions, the pressing groups, the state structure and its functions, within the existing political system.

In this way, the individual becomes increasingly connected and united with the symbols and values ​​of the existing society and political system. This process continues throughout the life of the individual. And this is how political culture emerges within the individual.

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What is the Relation between Political Systems and Political Culture?

The interaction between the political system and the political culture is very close. There can be broad consensus among the people regarding the existing political system and its basic structure. In that case, the political system is strong and stable.

On the contrary, the structure of the existing political system, with disagreement among the people in the context of the tasks, poses a serious hostility to the political system. As a result, the foundation of that political system weakens.

Importance of Political Culture

In any country’s political system, political culture is regarded as important. The political values, beliefs and attitudes of the country or nation are reflected through the political culture. Social culture is especially important in people’s social lives. Similarly, the importance and significance of the political culture of the people is immense.

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