Political Systems

Kinds Of Political Systems Uncentralized systems Bands Tribes Centralized systems Chiefdoms States

Bands Small group of politically independent, though related, households. The least complicated form of political organization. Found among nomadic societies. Small, numbering at most a few hundred people.

Bands No need for formal political systems. Decisions are made with the participation of adult members, with an emphasis on achieving consensus. Those unable to get along with others of their group move to another group where kinship ties give them rights of entry.

Tribes Tribes consist of small, autonomous local communities, which form alliances for various purposes. Economy based on crop cultivation or herding. Population densities generally exceed 1 person per square mile. Leadership among tribes is informal.

Tribes The Big Man Big Man from New Guinea wearing his official regalia. Has informal authority, but “can’t tell people what to do”

Question Bands and tribes are both centralized. associated with industrialism. dependent on age groups for political organization. uncentralized and egalitarian. hierarchical in social organization.

Answer: D Bands and tribes are both uncentralized and egalitarian.

Question In the band, disputes are settled informally through ___________ gossip. ridicule. direct negotiation. mediation. all of these choices

Answer: E In the band, disputes are settled informally through gossip, ridicule, direct negotiation and mediation.

Question The form of social organization typical of hunter-gatherers is the _________, whereas horticulture and pastoralism are usually associated with the form of social organization called the _________. tribe/chiefdom tribe/state tribe/band band/chiefdom band/tribe

Answer: E The form of social organization typical of hunter-gatherers is the band, whereas horticulture and pastoralism are usually associated with the form of social organization called the tribe.

Chiefdoms The chief is at the head of a ranked hierarchy of people. The office of the chief is usually for life and often hereditary. The chief’s authority serves to unite his people in all affairs and at all times. Highly unstable as lesser chiefs try to take power from higher ranking chiefs.

Chiefdoms A Kpelle town chief in Liberia, West Africa, listens to a dispute in his district. Settling disputes is one of several ongoing traditional tasks that fall to paramount chiefs among Kpelle people.

State The most formal of political organizations. Political power is centralized in a government, which may use force to regulate the affairs of its citizens and its relations with other states. Since their first appearance 5,000 years ago, states have shown a tendency toward instability and transience.

A Nation without a State The Kurds, most of whom live in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, are an example of a nation without a state. Nation (review): A people who share a collective identity based on a common culture, language, territorial base, and history

Gender and Politics Above Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf inspects members of the Liberian police after taking the presidential oath in January 2006. The first female president on the African continent, Sirleaf is a Harvard-educated economist who took the world by surprise when she won the head office in her war-torn and poverty-stricken country.