Politics in the Mind

SSC1025 Introduction to Political Science

Prof. Dr. Roberta Haar

University College Maastricht
roberta.haar@maastrichtuniveristy.nl
What is Political Culture?

• A psychological orientation that helps individuals relate

to political objects
• all attitudes, beliefs, emotions & values that relate to
the political system & to political issues and the degree
to which citizens feel they can influence & participate in
the decision-making process
- Not nature
- Not public opinion
Elements of political culture
1. held communally by the people, which form the basis of their
political behavior
-may not be consciously held
2. varies a good deal from one state to another & is responsible for
major differences in how politics is conducted in states
3. hard to analyze; it is too easy to lapse into stereotyping &
oversimplification
-subcultures may exist
4. a political culture can be generational, i.e. Baby Boomers or
younger Germans as opposed to their parents & grandparents
 subcultures

• some of the attitudes are similar to the

main culture & some are distinctive

• examples: the regional subcultures of

Belgium & the different parts of Spain (i.e.
Basque, Catalan & Galician)
Elements of political culture
1. held communally by the people, which form the basis of their
political behavior
-may not be consciously held
2. varies a good deal from one state to another & is responsible for
major differences in how politics is conducted in states
3. hard to analyze; it is too easy to lapse into stereotyping &
oversimplification
-subcultures may exist
4. a political culture can be generational, i.e. Baby Boomers or
younger Germans as opposed to their parents & grandparents
What factors contribute to establishing a
particular political culture?
1). history
2). geography
3). level of homogeneity
4). socio-economic structures
5). political symbols
6). myths & heroes
Gabriel Almond & Sidney Verba
1963 The Civic Culture
• used opinion surveys to analyze
political attitudes & democracy in
5 countries
- USA, UK, FRG, Italy & Mexico

• investigating the collapse of

representative gov’t in interwar
Italy & Germany & the failure of
democracy in many newly
independent & developing
countries after 1945
How do you acquire a political culture?

Through a process of “political socialization” or

the learning of political values & assumptions
• Indoctrination that takes place throughout a
person’s life
• Through the transmission of values from
one generation to the next, largely
accomplished during childhood
The major “agents of socialization”

• Family
• Education
• Church
• mass media (see next slide)
• voluntary groups
• government & party agencies
• military
The major “agents of socialization”

• Family
• Education
• Church
• mass media (see next slide)
• voluntary groups
• government & party agencies
• military
What is civic culture?

The political culture of liberal democracy

1. Characterized by participation on the part

of citizens
2. along w/ their respect for government

Liberal democracy requires citizens who will do more than simply

obey & follow government.
The idea that a sense of civic responsibility helps
sustain democracy “Americans of all ages, all stations
in life, and all types of
disposition are forever forming
associations. There are not only
commercial & industrial
associations in which all take
part, but others of a thousand
different types—religious,
moral, serious, futile, very
general and very limited,
immensely large and very
minute…Nothing, in my view,
deserves more attention than
the intellectual and moral
associations in America.”
In the 1960s Almond & Verba identified the best mix of
political cultures to support civic culture

3 general types of political culture

1). Participant culture = citizens pay close attention to
politics & regard popular participation as both desirable
& effective
2). subject culture = citizens are more passive, believing
that they can only have a very limited capacity to
influence gov’t
3). parochial culture = an absence of a sense of
citizenship, w/ people identifying w/ their locality rather
than the nation & having neither the desire nor the
ability to participate in politics
The best civic culture = a blend of all 3

Democratic stability
is underpinned by a
political culture
that is
characterized by a
blend of activity &
passivity on the
part of citizens
1980 Study found shifts

• UK & U.S. =
decline in
national pride

• FRG = rise in
civic inclinations
Is civic culture declining?

Modern societies
appear to be
suffering from a
decline in social and
political capital
What is social capital?
The core idea is that social networks have value for society
• the level of trust & cooperation in a society—its social
connectiveness—relates to the effectiveness of society
• civic virtue in individuals is most powerful when embedded in
a dense network of reciprocal social relations
• trustworthiness lubricates social life & trusting communities
have an economic advantage
2018 Corruption Perception Index
Trust in fellow men, 2008
2017 World Happiness Index
The basis of America’s decline in social capital
1. 25-50% drop in the number of
voluntary clubs & associations in
the USA since 1965
2. sharp declines in attendance at
public, town & school meetings
3. declines in the membership in, &
work for, political parties
4. Even American religious
participation was dropping off
5. Decline in informal social
connections
Causes of the decline in social capital are multifold

1. Baby boomers less likely to vote

2. Growing influence of TV & its tendency to
privatize leisure time
-TV also tends to misshape social
perceptions
3. Changes in family structure
4. Urbanization
5. Suburbanization
6. the shift in “free time” from the professional
class to the working-class
The UK gap in the participation in voluntary organisations by
educational qualification (right) and by ethnic background (left) is
growing.

Source: Community Life Survey 2020, Centre for Social

Investigation, Nuffield College, Oxford
How to reverse the trend?
1. In late 1800s
many new
associations
2. Also re-newed
ideas on active
citizenship

The challenge today

is re-create social
capital
Putnam identifies 6 key spheres where
attention is most warranted
1. Youth & schools
2. The workplace
3. Change urban &
metropolitan design
4. Encourage religious
faiths to be tolerant &
focus some of their
energies on civic
projects
5. Arts & culture
6. Politics & government
Brighter Future?
Building the “software of democracy”
• 2004 & 2008 saw reversals of
voting decline in America
- 2012+ 2014 declines again
- But, 2016 lowest in 20 years
- 2020 66.4% the highest since 1900

• Tea party movement, Occupy

Movement, Resist Movement,
Indivisible
• Emerging social networks in North
Africa & Middle east during Arab
Spring
• Russia: in 2012 a growing middle
class that wanted greater political
liberty & a say in governing
- building the “software for
Estimated state by state distribution of U.S. social
capital, Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone, (2000), p. 293.
The U.S. Senate’s Joint Economic Committee 2018 Social
Capital Index.
Thank you for your attention