Politics, Power, and Violence

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Politics, Power, and Violence

• Part II

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Centralized Political Systems

• As a societys social life becomes more complex
  as population rises, technology becomes more
  intricate, and specialization of labor and trade
  networks produce surplus goods the opportunity
  increases for some individuals or groups to
  exercise control at the expense of others.
• In such societies, political authority and power
  are concentrated in a singe individual (the
  chief) or in a body of individuals (the state).

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Chiefdoms

• Chiefdom a regional polity in which two or more
  local groups are organized under a single chief,
  who is at the head of a ranked hierarchy of
  people.
• The leaders are considered one class, the rest of
  the population another class
• The office of the chief is usually for life and
  other hereditary.
• Typically, it passes from a man to his son or his
  sisters son, depending on whether descent is
  traced patrilineally or matrilineally.

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Chiefdoms

• The leader of a chiefdom is generally a true
  authority figure, whose authority serves to unite
  members in all affairs and at all times.
• Chiefdoms have a recognized hierarchy consisting
  of major and minor authorities who control major
  and minor subdivisions.
• Although leaders of chiefdoms are almost always
  men, in some cultures a politically astute wife,
  sister, or single daughter of a deceased male
  chief could inherit such a powerful position as
  well.

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Chiefdoms

• Chiefs usually control the economic activities of
  those who fall under their political rule.
• Typically, chiefdoms involve redistributive
  systems, and the chief has control over surplus
  goods and perhaps even over the communitys labor
  force.
• The chief may also amass a great amount of
  personal wealth and pass it on to offspring.
• High-ranking families of the chiefdom may engage
  in the same practice and use their possessions as
  evidence of noble status.

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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.

• Traditionally, chiefdoms in all parts of the
  world have been highly unstable, with lesser
  chiefs trying to take power from higher ranking
  chiefs or paramount chiefs vying with one another
  for supreme power.

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State

• States differ from nations, which are communities
  of people who see themselves as one people with a
  common language, culture and territorial base,
  but who may or may not have an independent
  political organization.
• About 200 states exist in today's world (the
  majority having come into existence after World
  War II), compared to some 5000 nations.

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State

• State in anthropology, a centralized polity
  involving large numbers of people within a
  defined territory who are divided into social
  classes and organized and directed by a formal
  government that has the capacity and authority to
  make laws, and use force to defend the social
  order.
• This is the most formal of political
  organizations and represents one of the hallmarks
  of what is commonly referred to as civilization.
  

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State

• A large population in a state-organized society
  requires increased food production and wider
  distribution networks.
• Together, these lead to a transformation of the
  landscape byway of irrigation and terracing,
  carefully managed crop rotation cycles, intensive
  competition for clearly demarcated lands, roads,
  and enough farmers and other rural workers to
  support market systems and a specialized urban
  sector.

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State

• Ethnic differentiation and ethnocentrism become
  more pronounced, and the potential for social
  conflict increases dramatically.
• State institutions, which minimally involved a
  bureaucracy, a military, and (usually) an
  official religion, provide the means for numerous
  and diverse groups to function together as an
  integrated whole.

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A Nation without a State

• About 73 of the worlds states are pluralistic
  societies, having within their boundaries peoples
  of more than one nation.
• Often, smaller nations (including tribes) and
  other groups find themselves at the mercy of one
  or more dominant nations or ethnic groups
  controlling the state.
• Frequently facing discrimination, even
  repression, some minority nations seek to improve
  their political position by founding an
  independent state.

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A Nation without a State

• Some examples are
• The Kurdish people in habiting the borderland of
  Iran, Iraq and Turkey
• The Palestinians whose lands have been occupied
  by Israel for several decades
• The Chechens in the Russian federation.

The Kurdish Nation
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State

• An important aspect of the state is its
  delegation of authority to maintain order within
  and outside its borders.
• Police, foreign ministries, war ministries, and
  other bureaucracies function to control and
  punish disruptive acts of crime, dissention, and
  rebellion.

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Nation-State

• An example of a state is Swaziland in southern
  Africa, one of the worlds few true
  nation-states.
• The traditional Swazi authority system was
  characterized by a highly developed dual monarch,
  a hereditary aristocracy, and elaborate kinship
  rituals, as well as by statewide age sets.
• Swazi government extended from the smallest local
  unit, the homestead, upward to the central
  administration.
• Swazi officials held their positions for life and
  were dismissed only for treason or witchcraft.

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Political Systems and the Question of Legitimacy

• Centralized political systems may rely upon
  coercion as a means of social control.
• The emphasis on force may create resentment and
  lessen cooperation.
• Thus, police states are generally short-lived
  most societies choose less extreme forms of
  social coercion.

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Political Systems and the Question of Legitimacy

• Also basic to the political process is the
  concept of legitimacy.
• Legitimacy the right of political leaders to
  govern to hold, use, and allocate power based
  on the values of a particular society.
• Like force, legitimacy is a form of support for a
  political system unlike force, legitimacy is
  based on the values a particular society holds.
• While the basis for legitimacy varies across
  cultures, power based on legitimacy always
  results in authority.

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Politics and Religion

• Religion is often intricately connected with
  politics.
• Frequently it is religion that legitimizes the
  political order and leadership.
• Religious beliefs may influence or provide
  authoritative approval to customary rules and
  laws.
• In both industrial and nonindustrial societies,
  belief in the supernatural is important and is
  reflected in peoples political institutions.

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Politics and Religion

• Within the United States there are several
  instances of the use of religion to legitimize
  political power.
• the president of the United States takes the oath
  of office by swearing on the Bible.
• the phrase one nation, under God in the Pledge
  of Allegiance.
• the phrase In God We Trust on U.S. coins.
• In spite of an official separation of church and
  state, religious legitimization of government
  lingers.

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Visual Counterpoint

• Iran and Great Britain permit a closer
  relationship between political and religious
  affairs. Shiite Muslim religious leader Ayatollah
  Khamenei is Irans supreme spiritual leader and
  his countrys highest political authority. In
  England, Queen Elizabeth is her countrys nominal
  head of state and head of the Anglican Church.

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Political Leadership and Gender

• Irrespective of cultural configuration or type of
  political organization, women hold important
  positions of political leadership far less often
  than men.
• When they do occupy publicly recognized offices,
  their power and authority rarely exceed those of
  men. But significant exceptions occur.
• Perhaps most notable is Queen Victoria, the
  long-reigning queen of England, Scotland, Wales,
  and Ireland.

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Political Leadership and Gender

• In addition to inheriting high positions of
  political leadership, growing numbers of women
  have also been elected as presidents or prime
  ministers.
• Countries with female heads of state now or in
  recent years include Indonesia, Pakistan,
  Ireland, Sri Lanka, Norway, India, Turkey,
  Liberia, Chile, Germany, and the Philippines.

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Political Leadership and Gender

• Lower visibility in politics does not necessarily
  indicate that women lack power in political
  affairs.
• Among the Iroquois nations of New York, men hold
  all positions o the village and tribal councils,
  as well as on the great council of the Iroquois
  Confederacy.
• They were, however, completely beholden to women
  because only women could nominate men to high
  office. Women could also lobby to have someone
  removed from office.

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Political Leadership and Gender

• In the dual-sex system of the Igbo in Nigeria,
  West Africa, each political unit has separate
  political institutions for men and women, so that
  both have an autonomous sphere of authority, as
  well as an area of shared responsibility.
• When the British imposed colonial rule on the
  Igbo in the late 1800s, they failed to recognize
  the autonomy and power of the women.
• As a result, Igbo women lost much of their
  traditional equality and became subordinate to
  men.

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Question

• In a chiefdom
• Each male member of the society is basically
  equal
• Each kinship group is basically equal
• The leaders are considered one class, the rest of
  the population another class
• Every member of the society has a unique position
  in the heirachy

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Question C

• In a chiefdom the leaders are considered one
  class, the rest of the population another class.

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Question

• The Kpelle soceitys leadership is provided by
• Several paramount chiefs
• A king
• A Big Man
• An informal owner

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Question A

• The Kpelle soceitys leadership is provided by
  several paramount chiefs.

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Question

• Religion is used to legitimize political
  structures and leadership
• Rarely
• Chiefly in industrial societies
• Chiefly in uncentralized political systems
• In a wide range of societies

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Question D

• Religion is used to legitimize political
  structures and leadership in a wide range of
  societies.

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Types Of Political Organization Membership
Membership Number of people Settlement pattern
Band Dozens and up Mobile
Tribe Hundreds and up Mobile or fixed 1 or more villages
Chiefdom Thousands and up Fixed 1 or more villages
State Tens of thousands and up Fixed Many villages and cities
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Types Of Political Organization Membership
Membership Basis of relationships Ethnicities and languages
Band Kin 1
Tribe Kin, descent groups 1
Chiefdom Kin, rank and residence 1
State Class and residence 1 or more
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Types Of Political Organization Government
Membership Decision making, leadership Bureaucracy
Band Egalitarian None
Tribe Egalitarian or Big-Man None
Chiefdom Centralized, hereditary None, or 1 or 2 levels
State Centralized Many levels
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Types Of Political Organization Government
Membership Conflict resolution Hierarchy of settlement
Band Informal No
Tribe Informal No
Chiefdom Centralized No Paramount village or head town
State Laws, judges Capital
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Types Of Political Organization Economy
Membership Division of labor Exchanges Exchanges
Band No Reciprocal
Tribe No Reciprocal
Chiefdom No -gt Yes Redistributive (tribute)
State Yes Redistributive (taxes)
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Types Of Political Organization Society
Membership Stratified Slavery
Band No No
Tribe No No
Chiefdom Yes, ranked by kin Some small-scale
State Yes, by class or caste Some large-scale
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Types Of Political Organization Society
Membership Luxury goods for elite Indigenous literacy
Band No No
Tribe No No
Chiefdom Yes No -gtSome
State Yes Often