Our political institutions influence how we behave. In this unit we focus on how non-institutional factors affect political prospects in different societies. For example, cultural factors influence the political process in many ways, and lead to different political values, differing degrees of alienation from local process, and different methods of political mobilization and participation. We define culture as the ideas, values, beliefs, and norms that inform the ways we behave, and how we believe others will judge us for our behavior. In this unit we examine how subcultures and shifts in political activism have influenced government. We conclude with an introduction to different voting processes, a look at interest groups, pressure groups, lobbying, the press, media campaigns, and nongovernmental and quasi-nongovernmental organizations, and an examination of how constituents use the Internet in policy and administrative processes
Completing this unit should take you approximately 22 hours.
Read this chapter. How do we define political culture? How is it related to the process of political socialization? What is the significance of political subcultures?
Read this report. Nigeria is an illustrative case in which a rising political consciousness among its citizens was unable to topple an entrenched political class. What do you think the Nigerians could have done differently to institute wholesale social and political change?
Read this chapter. Who participates in politics depends on a variety of factors, including socioeconomic status, age, gender, race and ethnicity. Mobilization efforts by political parties and interest groups also motivate people to become engaged in the political process. Social movements have been a way for groups of people work collectively for changes in government. Be sure to compare and contrast the strategies and tactics used by the various social movements discussed in the reading.
Watch this video, which discusses how social media is effectively challenging governments around the globe. How have authoritarian regimes in particular responded to online citizen advocacy? How do you think the Internet has transformed the relationship between citizens and their government?
Read this report. In political terms, cleavages are the divisions of voters into voting blocs which place them on separate sides of an issue. Cleavages can occur along national, ethnic, linguistic, and religious lines, making it difficult to reach consensus on a topic of national importance. The cleavages that were created by the rise of political Islam in Turkey and its impact on foreign policy are indicative of their role in structuring political conflict. After reading the article, you should be able to articulate the position of each side on the issue of Turkey's accession to the EU.
Watch this video. Civil society refers to all that goes on in public life, outside of institutions. Civil society includes interest groups, associations, nonprofit groups, and the media. While extra-institutional, these groups are integral to the political process.
Watch this video, where an Indian civil rights activist and journalist discusses the obstacles to creating a culture of nonviolence in India.
Watch this video. Since the late 1990s, civil society groups have mobilized in South Africa to protest government corruption. In recent years, anti-corruption efforts have spread across the continent against political and corporate elites.
Read this article, which discusses the challenges of contemporary social movements.
Watch this video where author Naomi Klein posits the notion that a new generation of global activists is challenging the older, established environmental groups that have dominated advocacy efforts in the green movements over the past several decades.
Read this chapter. Interest groups are an essential component of a properly functioning government. However, many believe that interest groups are bad for democracy for their ability to wield outsized influence on public policy. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?
Read this article. NGOs are a critical component of any civil society and are a growing worldwide phenomenon. However, they face many challenges including lack of funds, poor management, limited capacity, and political interference. What suggestions does Bromideh put forth to address these obstacles?
Watch this documentary on Noam Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent". While Chomsky is a controversial pacifist figure in American politics, his scholarly work on media ownership and the information environment is widely respected. As you watch both parts of the video, focus your attention on Chomsky's arguments regarding the relationship between the press and the government in the United States.
Read this report about media development, which plays an important role in a democracy by facilitating the open exchange of free, public discourse and information. What are the conditions needed to build, sustain, and support an independent media? How is media development related to governance reform?
Read this full section on media regulation. Why types of media are subject to government regulation? How have regulations changed with the emergence of the Internet?
Read this full report. E-Democracy is a process in which which citizens can participate in the development of its country's laws, thereby facilitating active civic participation and government reform. Why have advancements in e-Democracy come so slowly? What is the role of governments in enabling citizen input to inform decision-making?
Read the IDEA Handbook. What are the criteria for effective electoral system design? What are the pros and cons of various countries' systems?
Read this report, which is a multi-nation examination of the details of voter registration systems. It examines the way sixteen other countries create and keep voter lists.
Read this full section. What are the central features that make up party identification? How prominently do issues affect voter choices? How important are a political candidate's personal traits?
Go to this website and click on each of topic links at the top of the page to view how participants at the 2012 Rio+20 Conference voted on various proposed actions concerning sustainable development. The conference brought together thousands of world leaders, government officials, private sector entities, and non-governmental organizations to discuss poverty reduction, social equity, and environmental protection. The results presented here are not intended as a complete representation of the world's opinion, but rather as a set of insights into the nature and distribution of public support for these issues.
Read this article, which examines declines in voter turnout among the world's representative democracies. What does the author offer as explanations for this trend?
Read this article about some of the barriers to voting in the United States.
Read this article, which examines ways to enhance voter turnout in the U.S.
Read this article about the practice of gerrymandering. While it is often criticized, some argue that it provides an important method for underrepresented groups to be represented and elected to office. Do you agree with this position? Why or why not?
Read this article. In parliamentary systems, the number of seats given to a particular party is proportional to the number of votes that party receives. A minimum number of votes (a threshold) are required to secure any seats at all.
Read this article. Do you feel that protest votes are wasted in either a parliamentary or presidential system?
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.