Chapter 8 – Tuesday, June 30th Political Science 100

 Nations ◦ Shared experience of history, religion and culture (among other things)  Culture ◦ shared beliefs surrounding clothes, religion, ethics, food, relationships, music, literature

 “collection of values, understandings, attitudes and principles of a community or society that relate to its political organization, processes, disputes and public policies.”  *Deep breath*  “Out of a society’s political culture come important beliefs and values that structure the citizens’ attitudes and expectations toward such basic concepts as legitimacy, power, authority and obedience.” - Dr. Andy Heard

 Civic culture was thought to be both the attitudes and belief systems that led to democracy (The US) Almond and Verba  Types of political culture: ◦ 1. Parochial culture  Citizens uninformed, uninterested in politics ◦ 2. Subject culture  Minimal consultation, minimal interest in politics ◦ 3. Participant culture  Dynamic engagement, active interest in politics  On the UK and US

 Attitudes within countries ◦ Who do the people trust? ◦ Is the government trustworthy?  Attitudes between countries ◦ The role of women in the workplace ◦ Immigrants ◦ Gun Control  The Economist (2014)

 The universality of culture?  Most countries have many subcultures  “cluster of people who share the same basic political values and attributes that are distinct from those of other groups in society or from the predominant values… of the whole” - Heard  Liberal Democracy and Majoritarian Rule

 Political Socialization: “The process through which individuals are educated and assimilated into the political culture of a community” – Maclean and Wood  “attitudes toward and knowledge about political matters are passed within a society” – Heard  Replication of political norms in a society

 Primary socialization occurs in youth, but experience continues forever.  Overt (right or wrong) or Internalized (role models)  Are we free to form our own opinions?

 Definition: “groups, individual or institutions that convey attitudes and values to others” – Heard  Family, School, Religion, Peers, the Workplace  The State (patriotism, symbols)

 Public Opinion polling ◦ Key component of determining attitudes towards politics ◦ Driving the debate? ◦ Driving governance?  The Media (and the internet) ◦ A check on power? ◦ Ubiquitous in western political culture ◦ Bias, advertising and “boring content”  Youtube, twitter and TV News ◦ Concentration of the Media

 Elections ◦ What do people want?  Public Policy ◦ What do governments do?  Inputs ◦ Who has a say in what government does?

 Policies are the strategies governments create to achieve goals  Inputs often can include public opinion polling (other described on the following slides)  Often characterized as a battle between groups, often government, business and labour

 Interest group: “a group that brings together people with common interests or a common sense of identity for the purpose of changing the political process” – Smith ◦ Formal organization ◦ Not interested in getting elected  Means for citizens to express their views to government (aggregation), participate ◦ Provide an alternative to established political parties ◦ Focused comments on policy issues ◦ Offers a voice in between elections  A threat to democracy?

 “an integral part of modern politics” Maclean and Wood  Significant sums of money to lobbyists, to try and convince politicians of alternatives ◦ A route towards bribery?  Often hired by Interest Groups, Corporations, or groups of corporations

 Wide-ranging stakeholder consultation is common ◦ Too much power to wealthy groups?  Policy Communities: “A collection of actors who have direct or indirect interest in an issue” – Maclean and Wood ◦ Casts a broad net to identify actors in the process

 Alternative to contentious politics  A system where government, business and labour work together ◦ Seems great (and maybe it is), but a few interesting outcomes: Manufacturing, women in the workplace  Strong concern that each group may stop working for their members, without competition to hold them in check