ICOM 892 Session 2

1
ICOM 892Session 2

• Political Cultures Public Opinion

2
Recent Events

• We will be discussing recent events as examples.
  Please make sure you read newspapers and watch tv
  commentaries and that you understand what is
  going on. Focus on the public/diplomacy/p.r.
  aspects.
• The recent World Youth Pilgrimage in in Sydney
• China and the Olympics
• Russia and Georgia plus US statements.
• Israel/Palestine clash

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Turnitin

• Your assignment should be submitted both in a
  hard copy to me and also electronically through
  Turnitin.
• You will receive an email from the SCMP ID
  coordinator early in the semester telling you how
  to register. Please keep a copy and refer to it
  when the time comes.

4
Readings

• The work by Bluhm is interesting and those of you
  who are also doing ICOM815 will find it relevant,
  especially to our consideration of Western ideas
  on power.
• You do not have to memorise everything in the
  readings. Just get the basic ideas.
• For next week, pay particular attention to
  Mannheims model and agenda setting.

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What do we mean by Political Culture?

• There are many ways of organising human
  communities and the kind of political culture you
  have will affect both the states sending the
  message and those receiving
• Political Culture is the way in which a community
  is organised politically and the ideology which
  supports that form of organisation. Bluhm (Ch,1
  is interesting on the relationship between
  ideology and political culture)
• This is related to hegemonic ideas and concepts
  of leadership who is entitled to lead and why
• People may take their ideas from political,
  social or religious leaders, sporting figures,
  pop stars and various forms of media. There may
  be others.

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Some Political Cultures

• Empires, kingdoms, dictatorships, oligarchies,
  democracies of various kinds may be based on
  personal, legal, religious or traditional values
  of one kind or another
• Smaller entities may be contained within larger
  ones, eg Roman Empire, Ottoman Austro-Hungarian
  empires
• Primitive communities are small and may take
  decisions on consensus. Leaders are often war
  leaders or like Melanesian big men. As
  communities grow, leaders may be appointed
  through some form of inherited authority eg
  China, Europe. Larger societies may employ
  organised force through police or soldiers.
• Economic systems can vary considerably and may or
  may not be related to the political culture

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Authoritarian models

• Most human societies throughout most of human
  history have been authoritarian democracy is
  rare and new
• Personal rule through force, the threat of force
  and/or traditional hegemonic values is probably
  the most common most people obey the law because
  they think it is right to do so only sometimes
  through fear
• The classic model is the King or President
  surrounded by courtiers and appointed officials
  in the capital and the provinces. Challenges may
  come from others and the ruler must stay alert to
  stay alive.
• Such rulers cannot ignore public opinion as Louis
  XVI of France and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
  found out
• Rulers can be murdered, dethroned in a
  palace/military coup or, less commonly,
  overthrown by a popular revolt

8
Closed societies

• Where force, especially combined with ideology,
  is the major source of power, rulers are very
  sensitive to outside interference which may
  destabilise their rule. The people are fed like
  artificially grown mushrooms
• North Korea (DPRK) and Stalins USSR are modern
  examples of closed societies where domestic
  propaganda is pervasive and foreign propaganda
  banned. Saudi Arabia probably is too
• PRC and Vietnam began that way but are modifying.
  We will discuss PRC later.

9
Secular Dictatorship

• Some examples are Saddam Husseins Iraq,
  Suhartos Indonesia, military rule in Burma,
  Latin American dictatorships
• These tend to be low on ideology but the ruler is
  a father figure and saviour of the nation they
  are usually based on force but people have some
  access to foreign ideas
• Excellent fictional accounts are those by Latin
  American novelists such as Mario Várgas Llosa,
  Miguel Angel Astúrias Gabriel García Márquez.
  Sometimes, as in the case of Iraq the ruler
  favours and is supported by an ethnic or other
  group (Sunni from Saddams tribe).

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Fear and Force

• The importance of political freedom to ordinary
  people can be overestimated.
• People may be kept in check by force and fear but
  often they accept the system so long as it is not
  too oppressive.
• The Roman formula of bread and circuses works
  just as well today. Security prosperity are
  often seen as preferable to freedom and honest
  government. Frances Fukuyama was wrong.

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Religion

• Many dictatorships have been underpinned
  ideologically by religion but some are
  essentially theocratic states eg Iran (perhaps?),
  Saudi Arabia, the Papal States (Vatican), Tibet
  (before the Chinese takeover)
• In others, religion has a special status, eg
  Israel, Francos Spain. Some of these accept
  differences within the society but not threats to
  the mainstream religion. UK has an established
  religion
• Obviously any PR directed towards these places
  must take account of the dominant religion and
  its values or else it will be censored
• Christian countries have traditionally been
  intolerant but the growing influence of
  secularism in Europe and its offshoots since the
  Enlightenment has greatly weakened the power of
  Christians. Nevertheless, they cannot be ignored
  eg while there is no legal reason why the
  president of the US must be Christian, all except
  one have been and I doubt that an avowed atheist
  could get elected.
• What do the Americans in the class think of this
  last idea?

12
Islam

• The Islamic notion of community or ummah has no
  equivalent in either Western thought or
  historical experience. The concept of ummah is
  conceived in a universal context and is not
  subject to territorial, linguistic, racial and
  nationalistic limitations Sovereignty belongs to
  God and not to the state, ruler or people
  therefore the concept of ummah is not synonymous
  with the people, the nation or the state
  which are the vocabulary of modern international
  relations (Hamid Mowlana)
• This is a traditional view of Islam but, in
  practice, it is not always how it works. Turkey
  and Indonesia, for example, are secular states
  where most people are Muslim. Shiite Muslims do
  not accept Sunni views on who is the rightly
  guided Caliph.
• Like every other system of belief, Islam is not
  monolithic.

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Islam (2)

• It is, however, important to understand the view
  that where (Western?) universal human rights
  clash with Gods law, then God must prevail over
  mans law. This is also a traditional Christian
  view despite the theoretical difference implied
  in the Gospels (Render unto Caesar what is
  Caesars). Separation of Church State in
  reality is something quite new in Western
  societies
• Moore I am the Kings good servant, but Gods
  first
• How can unbelievers influence Muslim groups and
  societies? Should they try? Why?
• Muslims or those from Muslim countries might talk
  to this item.

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Marxism

• Karl Marx preached the dictatorship of the
  proletariat where the exploited masses would
  overthrow the exploiting capitalists this was
  historically inevitable but revolutionaries like
  V.I.Lenin and Mao Dze Tong helped the process
  along a bit.
• The first Communist state, the USSR, failed. Cuba
  and DPRK exist but have been left behind. China
  and Vietnam are adapting their theoretically
  Marxist systems to a kind of hybrid capitalism.
  Where this will end up is not clear
• Marxist systems have an ideology which in
  practice has tended to change into a kind of
  oligarchic dictatorship where propaganda reigns
  supreme

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Marxism(2)

• Marxist states tend to be strongly influenced by
  the traditional culture of that society.
• China is the most interesting of these. The Red
  Guard phenomenon was a frenzied outburst like the
  French Revolution or Pol Pots Cambodia. The Tian
  An Mien incident showed that the government would
  brook no opposition to its rule
• Marxist cultures have command or supply driven
  economies instead of demand ones like capitalist
  societies the market does not decide
• Chinese students might like to lead discussion on
  China today

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Democracy

• Democracy was invented by the Ancient Greeks,
  failed, and then reappeared in France and the USA
  around the 1780s. It evolved in Britain before
  and after this and was taken up by a number of
  other countries early in the 1900s and then by
  many more in the second half of the 20th Century.
  Many of these later became dictatorships.
• There are many models and it is probably better
  to speak of democratic features rather than
  democracy as if it were like pregnancy. For
  example, the USA shared with its Greek
  predecessor things which most modern democracies
  would find unacceptable slavery, franchise
  restricted to men and an inferior status for
  conquered peoples (Indians aka native Americans)

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Democracy (2)

• Today, we tend to distinguish between
  presidential models like the USA and Westminster
  parliamentary models like UK Australia. There
  are, however, many other models, eg France,
  Germany.
• Another distinction is between federations of
  various sorts and unitary states
• Most people have lived under non-democratic
  governments for most of human history and most
  probably still do. Many democrats believe in a
  kind of social Darwinism wherein Democracy is the
  most advanced and evolved form of government but
  this is not necessarily so

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Features of democracies

• The essential features are free elections at
  regular intervals which produce a government that
  rules according to a set of known rules. The
  judiciary may be appointed or elected but should
  be independent. The executive may or may not be
  separate from the lawmaking body. Freedom of
  expression and a free press are essential. In
  economics, they can be capitalist or socialist or
  a mix. They may or may not have a written
  constitution
• Some people mix up democracy and modern views on
  human rights and other issues democracies can
  be oppressive and aggressive

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Features of Democracies (2)

• The will of the majority can lead to persecution
  of minorities and views can change, eg
  homosexuality used to be illegal in Australia
  now it is not. Divorce is illegal in some
  countries.
• Lobby groups, religious beliefs, ethnic
  minorities, cultural values must all be taken
  into account.
• Anyone who wants to influence democracies must
  understand how each system works. They are by no
  means all the same either in theory or in
  practice.

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Mixed Systems

• Many scholars (e.g. Harold Crouch) and others
  refer to countries like Singapore and even
  Malaysia as mixed systems. They are authoritarian
  in tone but not oppressive. They have widespread
  popular support or, at least, acquiescence
• They have elections which are more or less free
  but there are restrictions on how oppositions
  parties can operate
• The media is free on some issues but guided on
  others
• In wartime, most democracies give up some
  freedoms if the country is threatened
• In Malaysia you have a kind of voluntary
  apartheid where the races are separate but by
  agreement and consent.

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General comments

• Political cultures can be complex and can change.
  Military coups may take place or authoritarian
  systems may gradually democratise. eg UK USA
  evolved from oligarchies to democracies
• Ethnic and regional groups can be important even
  in nominally unitary states. In federations, you
  have to know what powers are where
• Although we are talking about political
  cultures, the economic system can be an
  important feature of the political culture both
  in practice and in myths
• The techniques you must use will vary from place
  to place depending on all the things we have
  looked at today. We will come back to this
  question in considering how to plan a campaign.

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Political Culture Public Opinion

• There are probably fewer differences than we
  imagine but the expression of public opinion does
  vary in different political cultures
• Each political culture tries to channel public
  opinion different ways and people may look at
  government differently
• We will now turn to public opinion

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What is Public Opinion?

• There are many publics and many opinions even in
  the one country.
• If we want to influence public opinion we must
  first decide what public we want to influence and
  what we want them to do
• In authoritarian societies public opinion is less
  openly expressed but it still exists.
• Now we look at attempts to define and measure
  public opinion and at the views of some very
  effective practitioners of the art of
  manipulating the public. Some of these
  practitioners were not very nice people, but they
  understood public opinion.

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Some Comments

• Public opinion is an ill-defined, fluid,
  unmeasurable phenomenon Michael Kunczik
• Government is nothing unless supported by public
  opinion Napoleon Bonaparte
• You can fool all of the people some of the time
  and some of the people all of the time but you
  cant fool all of the people all of the time.
  Abraham Lincoln
• The Public has neither shame nor gratitude
• William Hazlitt
• When people have no other tyrant, their own
  public opinion becomes one. E.G Bulwer-Lytton
• Homines libenter id quod volunt credent (People
  believe what they want to). Julius Caesar. De
  Bello Gallico

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Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)

• The receptive powers of the masses are very
  restricted, and their understanding is feeble. On
  the other hand they quickly forget. Such being
  the case, all effective propaganda must be
  confined to a few bare essentials and these must
  be expressed as far as possible in stereotyped
  formulas. These slogans should be persistently
  repeated until the very last individual has come
  to grasp the idea that has been put forward.

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Hermann Göring (at his Nürnberg trial)

• Naturally the common people dont want war But
  after all it is the leaders of the country who
  determine the policy and it is always a simple
  matter to drag the people along, whether it is a
  democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a
  parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or
  no voice, the people can always be brought to the
  bidding of the leadersAll you have to do is to
  tell them they are being attacked, and denounce
  the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and
  exposing the country to danger. It works the same
  in any country.

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Domestic Public Opinion

• People tend to come together during war, natural
  disasters or other major events crowd psychology
  can affect public opinion
• However, in normal times we find an enormous
  variety of opinions on all sorts of issues and
  opinions can change quickly
• So, what is public opinion in Australia or the
  US about abortion or the war in Iraq? The war in
  Vietnam had overwhelming public support at first
  in both countries but was then opposed.
• Groups influence their members, eg. Roman
  Catholics on abortion
• Public pressure it is hard to be the village
  atheist in a small, pious community where they
  burn witches.

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International Public Opinion

• Are there universal opinions on anything? Some
  people claim there are universal human rights but
  others dispute this
• Kunczik growing tendency for major newspapers to
  run the same stories and NGOs mobilise opinion in
  many countries
• Davison People in several countries must give
  their attention to a given issue they must have
  sufficient means of interacting so that common
  and mutually reinforcing attitudes can form and
  there must be some mechanism through which shared
  attitudes can be transmitted into action.

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World Opinion

• Kunczik says that whether or not world public
  opinion exists, what matters is whether
  politicians think it exists, cf Talleyrand, the
  ethnic vote domestically
• Trans-national public opinion amongst elites or
  other minorities eg business, religious,
  occupation or ideology.
• Workers of the world unite! Ummat,
  Christendom, Amnesty. Rotary ? These are
  international opinions or interest groups which
  cross national boundaries.

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Measurement of Public Opinion

• Can we measure public opinion? Your readings have
  some attempts to do this
• Polling is a major industry but how accurate is
  it?
• Sample, bias, statistical validity and what
  question you ask can give different results
• Talkback radio, letters to newspapers and
  politicians, public demonstrations, others?
• Lobby groups pressure decision makers by claiming
  to represent a certain vote, ie opinion
• In a democracy, elections are the ultimate
  expression of public opinion but does that mean
  voters approve of everything the winning party
  wants to do?
• Discuss

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Media and Public Opinion

• There is much debate on the influence of the
  media on public opinion and vice versa
• We will come back to this question in Session 6
  but clearly what the media selects affects what
  the public knows
• On the other hand, politicians the media hates
  get elected. Do people believe what they read in
  the papers or watch on TV?
• Can the media turn around strongly entrenched
  beliefs or does it reflect what it thinks people
  want to hear? Are media campaigns effective?
• Are visual images more effective than print?

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Control and Censorship

• All governments try to influence public opinion
  but authoritarian ones do it more directly and
  more often
• Censorship controls what the public can see or
  know about sex, politics, religion
• Advertisers can exercise censorship by refusing
  sponsorship no dough, no show
• Public Opinion exists in authoritarian societies
  but is harder to gauge, eg Soviet jokes-
  Pravda/Izvestia. You must be careful what you say
  and to whom. Media tells us what the party line
  is but not what people really believe.

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Public Opinion Foreign Policy

• People do not know much about the world outside
  so the public depends on the media and to some
  extent on their government
• We will discuss images next week and will look at
  the media later but it can be argued that media
  selection is more important in forming public
  opinion on foreign matters
• The views of other countries (as reported) can
  influence domestic public opinion
• Stereotypes, myths. History etc

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Technology

• Technology is affecting the way public opinion is
  formed. Public meetings and the print media are
  much less effective than before while TV is more
  effective
• Visual images are more immediate, eg would WWI
  have lasted as long with T V?
• TV has led to a short concentration span and
  over-simplification, especially of foreign
  events.
• The internet provides greater access to
  information and opinion but who uses it for
  that?
• Is it easier or harder to con the public? Are
  people more or less interested? Do people trust
  governments and media more or less than before?

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Summing Up

• Public Opinion is an elusive quantity which is
  appealed to often but harder to quantify
• Some leaders have an instinctive ability to
  understand and direct public opinion(s)
• There are many opinions and they can change may
  be regional, ideological, etc
• International public opinion is even more elusive
  than domestic but it can be said to exist in
  limited ways
• Governments and others seek to control public
  opinion by controlling the flow and selection of
  information
• Technology is having an effect, eg TV is more
  important than print, radio and personal
  appearance

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Group Discussion

• Discuss how public opinion in Australia and other
  countries has been affected by the Iraq war.
• What is the role of the media and governments?
• How has TV coverage affected perceptions?