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GV100 Week 8 Cultural Roots of Political Regimes - Coggle Diagram
GV100 Week 8 Cultural Roots of Political Regimes
Tenets of democracy
Important values of democracy
Respect
in tolerance, in democracy, in governmental institutions and egalitarianism
Belief
in democracy as the best form of government, compared to other forms like totalitarianism
Belief
in the peaceful transfer of power through turnarounds, despite being authoritarian or not
No
support
for one-man rule or military rule,
Belief in
equality
under law
Democratic Satisfaction vs., Democratic Support
Satisfaction - measure of happiness of how democracy is functioning and being implemented. Could be asked to people living in undemocratic countries
Support - level of commitment in supporting democracy as the best form of government
Political cultures
Consist of: attitudes, beliefs, norms, practices and rituals, widely shared by a society about government and policies
Supports: democratic institutions, principles of civil liberties, rule of law and human rights
Consolidates that democratic institutions and elections are legitimate.
Tolerate political opponents and differing views
Trust, both political and social trust
Types of trusts in democracy
Political trust towards politicians
○ Determined by government performance and mismanagement
○ Social media allows greater transparency for (mostly) criticism and praise (or lack thereof)
○ Sensationalism by media over scandals and corruption
The US and the UK have the lowest political trust
Social trust of friends, family, coworkers
, and others to ensure involvement in civic associations
○ Interpersonal trust is also dependent on social trust
Trust could be sold by effective propaganda
§ Political and economic stability might promote trust
§ Issue of social collectivism vs. individualism within China
○ Highest: China, India, Netherlands
Lowest: Brazil, Malaysia, Turkey
Political Viewpoints and how they are formed
Determining factors of political preference
The lack of good alternatives and performance
If democracy was suggested to a room of Ghaddafi supporters, there would be polarization and preference democracy over Ghaddafi
Socialization, upbringings and personality
Living in a socialist environment, people might turn up to be more complacent and/or obedient….?
Depends on the people you interact with and the ideas you share
Less obedient cultures are more likely to be democratic
Convictions and beliefs over critical thinking
Strong party identification in like-minded political parties or beliefs
Sometimes, convictions rule over critical thinking
The ability of express free speech
Limited by technology and printing; see the invention of the printing press and the World Wide Web. There was also the lack ways to suppress free speech
Sourcds of influence
Internal: Formed by educational systems, families, and repeated interactions with other members of society, passed slowly from generation to generation, albeit very slowly
External: Formed by the process of society's demands being translated into policies
Difficulty of change to democratic values
Citizens of authoritarian regimes might not change their beliefs overnight
Older demographics might be nostalgic; the are used to living in totalitarian regimes under one-strongman rule
Higher levels of attachment to nuclear families are more likely to be more authoritarian and blatantly obedient
Social capital
What is social capital?
Definition: the ability for individuals cooperate and function effectively within groups
Social capital facilities the collective action needed for a healthy democracy.
The theory is that higher levels of social trust between friends and family is important to build social capital, and hence a more sustainable democracy
Tocqueville's Theory of Social Capital
Participatory cultures are more likely to sustain democracy, as per the observations and ideas of Alexis de Tocqueville
More association-orientated ---> higher levels of social capital ---> trust and social trust ---> conditions conductive to democracies
Capacity to organize and gather into groups ---> better position to challenge powerful actors ---> pressure for democracy
Group memberships and Cross Cutting Cleavages
Lipset, 1960
: For some groups, ethnicities and beliefs may overlap each other and THESE BELIEFS crosscut into politically relevant affiliations
Putnam, 1993, 2000:
Higher levels of associational activity in one region or nation may explain why its democracy is more enduring
Lipset and Putnam
suggests that group memberships creates social capital that builds social trust, and hence improve the survival of democratic regimes.
Group memberships may range from political parties or bowling clubs, cooperatives, mutual aid societies, etc.
The Civic Culture
By Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba (1959)'
s survey data in the US, UK, Germany, Italy and Mexico
Definition of civic culture: high level of interest in politics, individual and collective process, and respect for the rule of law.
Almond and Verba suggests that civic culture is more likely to adopt and sustain democracy over time than countries with no civic cultures
Religion and Democracy
Religiousness and democracy
General Views on religious values and democracy
There has been links to authoritarian regimes and religion
Some scholars argue that religion promotes values that are incompatible with democracy
Some sects and interpretations inadvertently contain undemocratic values like intolerance, obedience, deference and authority
Cultural arguments have focused on the importance of secular values over traditional religious values
Secularism is often seen as important to forming democracy, and are often resilient to democratic backsliding
Religious beliefs and religious participation have different effects on democracies
People who participate in religious organizations are likely to be more politically involved/heightened and be more pro-democracy
Strong religious convictions are more likely to incompatible to democracy as they can undermine educational efforts to politically socialize citizens
Religious orthodoxy can be used to predict intolerance and support for non-democratic practices; ○ Conservatives are often aligned with traditional and/or religious values
Atheists and agnostics are more tolerant
Catholicism and democracy
Anti-democracy
The role of the Church is often pro-Catholicism, and sometimes esponsible for undemocratic nations
○ The Church was responsible in some authoritarian regimes in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay)
For example, Catholic Church was supportive of humans rights violations under Pinochet's regime
Pro-democracy
Other churches, however, are supportive of human rights and social justice
○ Good examples include Archbishop Oscar Romero during El Salvador's Civil War
○ The church also applies pressure and condemnation to end political violence.
See cases in Columbia, Guatemala, Mexico, Philippines and Poland
Empirical records and faces of Catholicism and Democracy
Lipset, 1959: Most enduring democracies were Protestant
Huntington, 1991: Catholic cultures tended to be more vulnerable to traditional styles of leadership
Lipset, 1994: The Catholic Church has evolved to be more democratic as it integrates human rights into its teachings
Huntington: the Third Wave of Democracy led to countries questioning compatibility of Catholicism and Democracy
The Third Wave: the spread of democracy from the 70s to the 90s, particularly in Latin America, Southern Europe and parts of Africa