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Political Culture & Civil Society (Political culture (Inglehart's…
Political Culture & Civil Society
Political culture
Shared values, moral norms, beliefs for political activity. Culture is the content of the institutions that help define a society.
Over time, shifted focus away from religion (bcos ideologies and secular regimes grew in power), towards modernisation theory (that every society would wind up looking like Western Europe). God returned as a subject of study, and culture is interlinked with religion (Huntington's).
Affects our level of trust in the govt and society; attitudes towards the state (redistribute more or rely on markets); attitudes towards gender equality and progressive issues (e.g. gay rights, abortion)
Comes from: political socialisation (people socialised into political views), formative influences (friends, family, church), formative events (Asian Financial Crisis, 9/11, Donald Trump).
Inglehart's World Values Survey: poor countries associated with traditional (religion, family values) and survival values (economic and physical security, low levels of trust).
But once societies develop, they don't all move towards higher degrees of secular-rational and self-expression values. They move towards shared cultural heritage.
Modernisation and political-culture theory both right. As societies modernise, impt political institutions and values likely to undergo transformation. But other social values may be much more resistant to change.
Rise of postmaterialist values in Europe is changing elections. More interested in quality of life. Rise of new issues such as the environment has led to growth of new parties (e.g. Green Party).
Huntington: western culture of individualism is compatible with democracy, but democracy does not resonate with other cultures. LKY thinks so too - Western-style democracy not applicable to East Asia (culture differences between Confucianism and Western values).
Huntington's Clash of Civilisations (impact of culture on conflict)
Resonated with US i.r.t. bin Laden, 9/11, election of Trump.
Critics:
While we might share a religion with others, cultures can be different in many other ways.
Culture of different civilisations is not static.
Civilisations not more powerful than states.
There may be splits on the local level between groups of the same religion.
Importance of civil society to the consolidation of democracy (Putnam's Bowling Alone)
Advanced Western democracies typically taken as models to be emulated. But vibrancy of American civil society has notably declined.
Decline in voter turnout during elections, fall in direct engagement in politics despite increasing levels of education, lower trust in govt, may be due to political tragedies and scandals, decline in religious affiliation and membership in civic organisations. Decline in social capital.
Countertrends: replaced by new organisations. Increase in membership in environmental and feminist organisations (tertiary associations), as well as non profit organisations (third sector), and support groups.
But net effect is still erosion of social capital. Drop in membership in civil society, reduced social trust. Loosening of family bonds.
Why?
Movement of women into labour force, less resources for building social capital.
Other demographic transformations: fewer marriages, more divorces, fewer children, lower real wages, etc. Married, middle-class parents generally more socially involved.
Privatisation of tech and individualising of use of leisure time.
Undercut capacity for mutually beneficial collective action.
Foley, Michael and Edwards: Putnam's assessment of the state of civil community in US underestimate the ability of newer organisations and of political associations such as social movements and political parties to foster aspect of civil community and advance democracy. E.g. Green Party.
Tocqueville: Americans' propensity for civic association as key to their unprecedented ability to make democracy work. As well as education, urban poverty, unemployment, the control of crime and drug abuse.
Affect the performance of representative govt. Historical analysis suggested that these networks of organised reciprocity and civil solidarity were a precondition for modernisation. Political discourse, more tolerant of other views.
Social capital: networks, norms and social trust that facilitate coordination and communication for mutual benefit.
Dense network of interaction broadens participants' perception of self, developing the "I" into the "we", enhancing taste for collective benefits.
Foley, Michael and Edwards: talks about networks of civic engagement glosses over the real / sharp conflicts among groups in civil society, which may spill over into civil disruption and violence. Civil war?
Civil Society I
: Civil society argument: dense network of civil associations is said to promote the stability and effectiveness of the democratic polity through both the effects of association on citizens' "habit of the heart" and the ability of associations to mobilize citizens on behalf of public causes.
Civil Society II
: civil society as a sphere of action that is independent of the state and that is capable of energising resistance to a tyrannical regime. Counterweight to the state. e.g. Egyptian blogging community - secular civil society organising online before the Arab spring.
Digital media driving a shift away from formal organisations and movements.
New networks quickly form, that do not rely on centralised coordination, but based on voluntary self-expression. Connective action instead of collective action. e.g. Arab Spring and #MeToo
In order to foster wide cooperation, Putnam suggests that associations must not be politicised.
Foley, Michaels and Edwards: How can associations shape political participation without engaging specifically political issues and without representing compelling social interests.
Thailand protests by red and yellow shirts against incumbent govts (Hewison). Lessons? (How civil society may present more dangers to society)
Conservative elites unwilling to accommodate the rise of electoral democracy and subaltern claims for political voice. Majority of electorate has repeatedly voted for pro-Thaksin parties that are then thrown out by allies of royalist elite.
Civil society not the ballast (support / structure) for democratisation as sometimes portrayed in modernisation accounts. Thailand's civil society has been dominated by middle-class interests and aligned with royalist elite's agenda.
Fukuyama: Middle-class people do not necessarily support democracy. They also want to protect their property and position. They may feel threatened by the redistributive demands of the poor and end up supporting authoritarian govts (China and Thailand).
Huntington: a cause for democratic reversal was "conservative middle-class and upper-class".
Capacity for so-called independent institutions and agencies, created as checks-and-balances to be captured. Judicial branch captured by anti-Thaksin political activists and has become an instrument of the royalist elite. Prevent constitutional change, throw out PMs and a govt, dissolve pro-Thaksin political parties.
Inequality does not mean political rebellion will necessarily follow. Rather, inequality has to be politicised to become a highly combustible fuel for political dissatisfaction. Narrative of the protest has been of relatively poor, rural-based, pro-Thaksin red shirts opposed by relatively well-off and urban-based royalists.
Thaksin was the only PM elected under 1997 constitution, then pro-Thaksin parties continued to win substantial election victories. Multiple military coups. 2006 coup led by People's Alliance for Democracy (loose alliance of civil society, businesses, elite and royalist groups) formed yellow shirts, and red shirts were pro-Thaksin United Democratic Front Against Dictatorship.
Civil society may also be political and divisive (civil society groups helped mobilise groups to engage in the genocide in Rwanda). And may also be political and anti-democratic (Pre-Nazi Germany had a very active civil society that helped undermine democracy and bring Hitler to power).