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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.
Regional Culture
Even within the United States, political culture varies from place to place. For much of the twentieth century, southern politicians were reputed to be slow-acting and polite, whereas northern politicians were seen as efficient but abrupt and sometimes rude. This belief led President John F. Kennedy to once lament that Washington, D.C., had the charm of a northern city and the efficiency of a southern one.
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.
Aristotle and Citizenship
The Greek philosopher Aristotle was probably the first person to puzzle over what makes someone a citizen in his treatise Politics (c. 335–323 bce). He reasoned that living in a particular place does not automatically make a person a citizen because, in his day (as in ours) resident aliens and immigrants often lived in a country without becoming citizens. In the end, Aristotle defined a citizen as one who shares in the offices and power of a regime (even if only in a small way). So, a tyranny has one citizen, whereas a democracy has many citizens.
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
Stereotypes
Political scientists seem to be in a quandary. On the one hand, they make generalizations about politics and people in order to gain a broader understanding. On the other hand, political scientists do not want to rely on, or perpetuate, stereotypes. Finding a balance between these two is difficult. Scholars must carefully examine their use of language and data in an attempt to avoid stereotyping.
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.
Nation-Building and Political Culture
Political culture has presented great difficulties to the military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan engaged in nation-building during the early years of the twenty-first century. The United States is trying to build liberal democracies in these states, but in both places, long-held attitudes toward women and other ethnic groups, along with habits of obedience shaped by years of tyranny, have interfered. As a result, establishing democracies in these states could take a very long time.
