Political culture has been a popular concept over the years, and has consisted of assumptions about political societies around the world. It is expressed as a system of shared beliefs and values which defines the situation in which political actions take place by ‘forming a particular pattern of orientation’ (Elkins. D and Simeon, R. 1979). It provides meaning and structure to the political sphere and is also a reflection of government practices which incorporates elements of history that predate
Civic participation refers to citizens actively seeking to shape and change a community’s future (Alder & Goggin 2005). Engaging in political structures and processes is therefore a means of actively participating in civil society. Leadership also plays a foundational role in civic participation as it provides the initiative and empowerment necessary to spark positive community change. Julia Gillard’s 2012 ‘Misogyny speech’ uncovered and critiqued the cultural prejudices that limit female civic participation
constructive. Blind patriotism “connotes uncritical loyalty and support for any action engaged in by one’s own group” (Finell and Zogmaister 2015). This kind of patriotism creates an ingroup-outgroup dynamic, in which people are only concerned with what occurs to their ingroup and do not really care about the outgroup. Blind patriotism means that people will without question support any action taken by their group (Spry and Hornsey 2007). In this kind of patriotism there is no regard for the harm
citizens, and therefore a certain degree of civic involvement is a necessary and sufficient condition for its prosperity (2009, 14p) If the lower level of participation in democracy continues, the word democracy, originated from demos (the people) in Greek, should be changed to elite-carcy or pauci-cracy. In order to retain a higher level of participation in democracy, some Habermasian scholars focus on interactive new media, such as social media and user generated content channels, which enable people
and Political Culture in New Zealand In contemporary New Zealand, over eighty percent of households have access to the Internet. Technology permeates almost all aspects of our cultural lives, so developments in technology can have immense consequences on the way we think, behave and interact. Political culture is not free from the influence of technology. From the printing press, television and now the digital tools utilised in modern New Zealand, technology has helped to shape our political culture
politics are they switching off from. What at first seems a simple question understates the complexity of Australian society and it’s political system. Using an institutionalist perspective on politics the premise of the question may be viewed as correct. Bean (1989) uses a narrow definition of orthodox politics, which is limited to campaigning, voting, communal activity and personalised contacting; however as Fyfe (2009 p37) contends that political participation is a contested term. A review of articles
To what extent do political parties promote democracy? (25 marks) Political parties have many functions, one of which is to uphold the principles of a democratic political system. A democratic political system is one which involves various features, such as a peaceful transition of power from one government to another, free and fair regular elections, people having open access to independent information, government accountability to the people and representative institutions and that the government
Constitutional select committee TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTIONS AND CUSTOMS A paper presented by Chakunda Vincent January 2009 Harare, Zimbabwe BACKGROUND Africans in this country including those in urban areas have their roots in some rural community under the jurisdiction of traditional authority systems. This system of traditional authority is entrusted with the custodianship of clan customs, rituals and tradition. It is important to note that it is these customary and cultural
Does religion foster democracy? This question has plagued many political scientists for decades. Carsten Ancker examines the theories of Samuel P. Huntington in her work “Religion and Democracy: A Worldwide Comparison.” In 1991, Huntington hypothesized that religion led to the institutionalization of democracy, especially Christianity. Huntington referenced the rise of democracies in the 70’s that were related to the spread of religion as well as earlier, when Protestantism was popular. In his book
arise, existing inequalities are extravagant and traditional gender roles are reinforced. Prior disadvantages include restricted access to land, resources, information and decision making result in heavier burdens for women and increase gender inequality. Women have enormous knowledge of the environmental issues and can be powerful representatives for change. Women are responsible for the control, development and transmission of important traditional knowledge. As men are increasingly drawn to seek