Political Order and Social Control

1
Political Order and Social Control
Power and Authority Forms of Political Systems
Uncentralized Political Systems Band
Societies Tribal Societies Kinship
Organization Age-Grade Organization Association
Organization
2
Political Organization in human societies takes
many forms, of which the State is but one. One
reason states generally do not last very long is
that they are often controlled by members of one
nationality who try to repress (or even
exterminate) other nationalities within the
State. This is what Serbs tried to do in Bosina,
even in the face of UN intervention. Can you
name others?
3
What is Political Organization?

• Political organization refers to the means a
  society uses to maintain order internally and
  manage its affairs with other societies
  externally.
• Such organization may be relatively uncentralized
  and informal, such as bands and tribes, or
  centralized and formal, as in chiefdoms and
  states.

4
How Is Order Maintained Within a Society?

• Social controls may be internalized-"built into"
  individuals-or externalized in the form of
  sanctions.
• Built-In controls rely on deterrents such as
  personal shame and fear of supernatural
  punishment.
• Sanctions, by contrast, rely on actions other
  members of society take toward specifically
  approved or disapproved behavior.
• Positive sanctions encourage approved behavior,
  while negative sanctions discourage disapproved
  behavior.

5
How Is Order Maintained Between Societies?

• Just as the threatened or actual use of force may
  be employed to maintain order within a society,
  it also may be used to manage affairs among
  bands, lineages, clans, or whatever the largest
  autonomous political units may be.
• Not all societies, however, rely on force,
  because some do not practice warfare as we know
  it.
• Such societies generally have views of themselves
  and their place in the world quite different from
  those characteristic of centrally organized
  states.

6
How Do Political Systems Obtain People's
Allegiance?

• No form of political organization can function
  without the loyalty and support of those it
  governs.
• To a greater or lesser extent, political
  organizations the world over use religion to
  legitimize their power.
• In uncentralized systems people freely give
  loyalty and cooperation because everyone
  participates in making decisions.
• Centralized systems, by contrast, rely more
  heavily on force and coercion, although in the
  long run these may lessen the system's
  effectiveness.

7
Power and Authority

• Power is the ability to influence people or cause
  them to do things they would not do otherwise.
• coercive-involves the use of force
• persuasive- involves the use of argument,
  reciprocity, wealth, reputation, and other
  personal attributes
• Authority is the exercise of legitimate power.
  Members of the society have accepted the right of
  the rulers to rule.
• What are some examples of authority?

8
Forms of Political Organization and Leadership

• Evolutionary-Ecological Model (Service 1978)
• A starting point to examine the various aspects
  of human culture.
• Three Dimensions/Features of Political Adaptation
• The type of authority within the system and the
  way it is focused with specific roles.
• The degree to which political institutions are
  distinct within the structure of society.
• The amount of political integration the number
  of individuals and size of the territorial group
  that must be managed by the political structure.
  
• How people make decisions

9
Types of Political Structure
10
Uncentralized Political Systems Band Societies

• The band is a small group of politically
  independent, though related, households (extended
  families) and is the least complicated form of
  political organization.
• Found among foraging societies
• Egalitarian Social Structure (but remember
  diversity)
• No social stratification
• Equal access to status mechanisms
• No central leadership (informal)
• Individual persuasion
• Group decision making
• No separation between politics and social life
• Ex Aché, !Kung, Washo

11
Band Societies continued
Because of their small size, no real need exists
for formal, centralized political systems.
Everyone knows everyone. Conflicts are settled
informally through gossip, ridicule, direct
negotiations, or mediation. If all else fails,
the disgruntled individual can leave the group.
Decisions affecting a band are made with the
participation of all its adult members.
Leaders become such by virtue of their
abilities and serve in that capacity only as long
as they retain the communitys confidence.
12
!Kung Headman-- Toma
13
Case Study !Kung
composed of a group of families who live
together, linked to one another and to the head-
man or, less often, headwoman through kinship.
The head, called the kxau or "owner," is the
focal point for the band's theoretical ownership
of the territory. The headman or headwoman does
not really own the land or resources but
symbolically personifies the rights of band
members to them. The head coordinates the !Kung
bands movements when resources are no longer
adequate for subsistence in a particular
territory. Leader's chief duty is to plan when
and where the group will move. The leader
chooses the site for the new settlement and has
the first choice of a spot for his or her own
fire. The head has no other rewards or duties.
14
(No Transcript)
15
Tribal Societies
The term tribe is used in different way and is in
some cases problematic. Among the general
public, it is used commonly to label people who
are not organized into states, irrespective of
whether or not they constitute what
anthropologist would call bands, tribes, or
chiefdoms. So, what do anthropologist call
tribal organizations? A tribal system involves
separate bands or villages integrated by
factors such as clans that unite people in
separate communities or age grades or
association that crosscut kinship or territorial
boundaries. Typically, the economy base is
some sort of farming or herding. As a result,
more food, larger populations.
16
Intergraded Patterns of Exogamous Tribal Societies
17
Case Study Melanesian Big Man
Leaders of localized descent groups. The Big Man
combines a small amount of interest in his
tribes welfare with a great deal of
self-interest. His authority is personal he
does not come to office in any formal sense,
nor is he elected. His status is the result of
acts that raise him above most other tribe
members and attract to him a band of loyal
followers. Typical of this form is the Kapauku
of west New Guinea. One must be male, wealthy,
generous, and eloquent physical bravery and
skills dealing with the supernatural also are
essential.
18
Kapauku culture places a high value on wealth.
Not only material wealth, but also wealth in
the form of generosity. Wealthy men who refuse
to lend money are ostracized, ridiculed, and in
extreme cases, executed by warriors. Political
support comes from kinsmen. He represents his
group when dealing with outsiders, acts as
negotiator and/or judge. Wealth comes in the
form of pig herding, which is the focal point
of the Kapauku economy. Kapauku political
structure shifts frequently as one man loses
wealth and with it power, while another gains it.

19
Big Man form New Guinea wearing his official
regalia.
20
Faces of Culture Political Organization

• As you view the movie, look for and answer
• What is the role of the clan Big Man, and
  interest
• association among the Mendi of New Guinea?
• What is the population size and political
  structure of a
• !Kung band?
• 3) The power of the paramount chief of the
  Kpelle of Liberia.