POLITICAL ORGANIZATION AND SOCIAL CONTROL

Casquejo, Honeyvie V. Pahimnayan, Sarah Jane S. Querido, Michael T. BsArchi III-3 Mr. Rolando T. Herrero

Political Organization/Social Control

Political Organization Variations in power, authority and legal

systems Means a human group uses to maintain social order and reduce social disorder Universal Systems of Equality and Inequality Wealth, power, prestige Social control Formal/informal means to organize and control the actions of its members

Three Dimensions of Political Organization

1.

2. 3.

Extent to which political institutions are distinct from other aspects of the social structure Extent to which authority is concentrated into specific political roles Level of political integration (the size of the territorial group that comes under the control of the political structure)

Types of political organization

Sociopolitical typology---ideal types or levels

Band
Tribe Chiefdom

State
Established by Elman Service

Band
Food foragers, nomadic, territorial unit
Small group of related families in a region
No formal, centralized political system

Informal leadership

Nuclear family and band; 50 individuals Kin based bilineal Personal relationships link the family and the band Fairly egalitarian May have gender stratification Lack formal law Band leader: use persuasive power Example: the San (Bushmen) of the Kalahari Desert

the San (Bushmen) of the Kalahari Desert

the San (Bushmen) of the Kalahari Desert

Tribe
Horticultural/pastoral/foraging, intergroup trade Group of communities in a region, sharing a

common culture, and integrated by a unifying factor Higher population density than bands Informal leadership Village life and/or descent-group membership clans Lack social stratification, formal government

Tribe
Regulatory officials: village or intervillage councils;

the big man

Persuasive power Act as a mediator offering opinion or advice

Some small-scale warfare intervillage raiding May have gender stratification

Examples: Yanomami of Brazil and Venezuela; The

Tboli Tribe of South Cotabato; Aetas

Yanomami of Brazil and Venezuela

The Tboli Tribe of South Cotabato.

Aeta

Tribal Organization
Kinship organization

Clan elders or heads

Segmentary lineage system Age-Grade organization

Specific age grades given political functions

Association organization Common-interest associations

Military societies serve to integrate tribe

The Big Man

Elaborate version of a village head supporters in

several villages Status is achieved through hard work Characteristics: wealthy, generous, eloquent, brave, and can use supernatural powers Convert wealth to prestige

Chiefdom
The most succinct definition of a chiefdom in

anthropology belongs to Robert L. Carneiro: "An autonomous political unit comprising a number of villages or communities under the permanent control of a paramount chief" Horticulture (gardens/groves) or agriculture (fields)
Produce surpluses to redistribute chiefly

redistribution
Regional polity under a ruler from a ranked hierarchy

of people

Chiefdom
Redistributive system

Usually unstable
Economy is regulated Production: religious taboos Distribution: rituals Consumption: obligation/sharing Chief and his lineage elevated responsibility to

kin and community

Chief has limited coercive power

Chiefdom
Differential access to resources (power, prestige,

and wealth) tied to kinship Permanent political regulation of territory Pantribal sodalities

State
Autonomous political units with social classes A centralized government based on law Labor specialization Regulation of social relations, marriage, and family Integrative networks of

communication/transportation Power centralized in a government Legalized use of force Tendency toward instability and transience Usually multinational Difference between nation and state Examples: ancient Mesopotamia, the U.S.

 Characteristics of a state:

Population control
Judiciary Enforcement

Fiscal

Nation and State

Nation
A group of people who share common symbolic

identity, culture, history, and often religion

communities of people who see themselves as

one people
Today, 181 states and 5000 nations

State
A type of political structure

 Nation-State
A group of people sharing a common cultural

background nationality Unified by a political structure Role of nationalism

Political Leadership and Gender

Women rarely in top political positions Women have power in a number of societies Bands Iroquois Igbo

Political Organization and the Maintenance of Order

Chiefdoms and states
Authority with power to regulate peoples actions

Bands and tribes

No centralized authority

Depend upon gossip, criticism, and fear of

supernatural forces

Internalized Controls
Cultural control
Control due to internalized beliefs and values
Effective deterrents to antisocial behaviour
Disgust of incest Fear of deformity, disease, or death Fear of ghosts or hell

Social control
Social norms are normal, proper, or expected

ways of behaving
Deviance is a violation of social norms

Sanctions are institutionalized ways of

encouraging people to conform to the norms

it is not the act itself but rather how people

define the act that determines whether it is deviant (Ferraro 2006:322).

Social Norms in the U.S. pg. 322

Informal mechanisms
Socialization Social norms Internalize the moral necessity to follow them Public opinion Approval by society Use of gossip, rumor, sarcasm, and scorn corrective measures Degradation ceremonies publicly humiliate a deviant Corporate Lineages Small-scale societies members know what everyone else is doing

Informal mechanisms
Supernatural belief systems Ancestor worship: dead ancestors are fully functioning members of the descent group
Ghost invocation: wrath of ancestor gods Ghost vengeance: ancestor gods can inflict illness

on their own without having to be invoked

Witchcraft

Misfortune is not the result of natural causes Fear of witches/witchcraft encourages conformity

Formal mechanisms
Song duel

A means of settling disputes over wife stealing

among the Inuit involving the use of song and lyrics to determine ones guilt or innocence
Intermediaries

Mediators of disputes among individuals or

families within a society Leopard-skin Chief among the Nuer

Formal mechanisms
Moots

Informal hearings of disputes for the purpose of

resolving conflicts, usually found in small scale societies

Council of elders

A formal control mechanism composed of a group

of elders who settle disputes among individuals within a community

Formal mechanisms
Courts and codified law

Judiciary: laws, legal procedure, and judges Enforcement: permanent military and police

forces

Social Control Through Law

Definition of law under contention

Malinowski and Hoebel

Use of overt coercion

Need to consider each case in its cultural context

Laws are formal negative sanctions

Functions of Law
Defines relationships among society members Allocates the authority to employ coercion in the

enforcement of sanctions
Redefines social relations and ensures social

flexibility

Crime
Distinction between crime and tort Settlement of disputes Negotiation Mediation Adjudication

Formal mechanisms
Warfare Armed conflict between nation-states or other

politically distinct groups Not a universal phenomenon

Causes of war Social problems Perceived threats Political motivations Moral objectives

Political Systems and the Question of Legitimacy

Allegiance necessary for society to work
Uncentralized systems have it freely given
Centralized systems rely upon coercion

Legitimacy is the right of leaders to rule

Based on social values Grants the rights of power May be withdrawn

Religion and Politics

Intimately connected

Religion may influence laws

Religion

may legitimize the political order Supernatural is reflected in political organizations European kings ruled by divine right Iran became an Islamic republic U.S. introduction of God to Pledge of Allegiance