POLITICAL AND LEADERSHIPSTRUCTURE

DANILO F. MARIBAOPALIPARAN III SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

DASMARINAS CITY, CAVITE

►political organization refers to the way power is distributed and embedded in societies

►who has power►how does power differ from authority►how is power organized and

administered►How is order maintained►How is conflict organized

Political Organizations

Political organizations and the maintenance of order

►Social control needed for people to live together

►Ostracism - banning a person from a group

►Judiciary systems

Power►Potency, capability, charisma (individual)►Ability of person to impose its will in social

action upon another►Tactical or organizational power -- The

instrumentalities through which individuals or groups direct or circumscribe the actions of others

►Structural power – power that organizes and orchestrates the settings themselves & that specifies the direction & distribution of energy flows

distinction between power and authority

►power: ability to bring about results power may be informal and based on

force coercive power versus persuasive power Symbolic power based on positive

expectations of those who accede to it►authority is the socially recognized

right to exert power►legitimacy - the socially recognized

right to hold, use, and allocate power

3 Types of Legitimate Rule (Weber)

►charismatic authority (character, heroism, leadership, religious),

►traditional authority (patriarchs, patrimonialism, feudalism) and

►Legal-rational authority (modern law and state, bureaucracy).

Early Evolutionary Scheme Matched with Subsistence

Strategies►band, tribe, chiefdom, state (Elman

Service) foragers, horticulturalists, agriculturalists,

industrialists►different types of political organization

related to subsistence strategy population density and heterogeneity degree of hierarchy and social

stratification presence of bounded territory degree of formalization of rule

Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, State

►sequence can be replaced with contrast between uncentralized and centralized political systems

►Replace evolutionary perspective with:ethnographic presenthistorical perspective

Bands and Tribes:Uncentralized political systems►associated with:

subsistence level economies such as foraging

small, homogeneous populations little social stratification relatively autonomous groups often relatively mobile without strict

territorial boundaries formal leader or organization beyond

kinship rare

Chiefdom & State: Centralized political systems

►associated with: intensive agricultural or industrialization

►technology becomes more complicated► labour specialization increases

large, diverse population less mobility opportunity for control of resources appears appearance of coercive force

►Wolf’s 3rd modality male leaders more frequent political authority is concentrated in a single individual

(chiefdoms) or a body of individuals (the state)

The Band►small group of politically

independent, though related, households

►all social relationships based on kinship

►least complex form of political organization

►associated with foraging forms of subsistence

►decisions made through consensus

►no fixed leadership, only informal recognition of prowess

The Tribe►tribal system consists of

separate bands or villages►integrated through lineages,

clans, age grades, or other associations cross-cutting kinship and territory

►associated with farming or herding subsistence strategies

►greater population density

The Tribe►no centralized leadership►typically someone respected for wisdom or prowess – charisma & “big men”

►group decisions by consensus

The tribe►leaders of localized descent

groups or a territorial group►authority is personal

not elected, no formal office status result of personal behavior

►status often achieved through exchange Gift exchange Redistribution – public exchange of

scarce resources Wolf’s 2nd modality

Tribes and Lineages► maximal lineages (tribes) ► major lineages (families) ► minor lineages (fathers'

houses) ► minimal lineages (extended

patrilocal households)

Chiefdom►a regional society in which one or more local groups are organized under a single ruling individual – the chief – who is at the head of a ranked hierarchy of people

The Chief►Divine king – macrocosm and

microcosm►status determined by closeness to

chief►office of chief often hereditary

passing to son or to sister’s son►also based on talents►often conceived as a semi-sacred

position►may accumulate personal wealth

to add to power

Nana Osei Tutu IIThe King of AshantiPhoto credit: G. F. Kojo ArthurCentre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Copyright© PT Sangga Sarana Persada, 1997-2000Designed by Sangga Web Team

Chiefdom►a true authority figure with a formal office► can distribute resources

associated with redistributive economies chief controls surpluses and labour may collect taxes or tribute may recruit labour for community projects

► irrigation, a temple, a palace can conscript for military

► recognized hierarchy linked to chief► tend to be unstable ►may form confederacies

Iroquois League of Five Nation, Algonquin Confederacy

chiefdom►Rank society►do not have unequal access to economic

resources or to power, but they do contain social groups having unequal access to prestige

►unequal access to prestige often reflected in position of chief to which only some members of a specified group in the society can succeed

►Ascribed status

Band & tribe vs. chiefdom►in band and tribal societies

competitive displays & conspicuous consumption by individuals disappears & anyone foolish enough to boast how great he is gets accused of witchcraft & is stoned to death

►mutual benefit predominates, not redistribution

the state►the most formal of political

organizations and is one of the hallmarks of civilization

►political power is centralized in a government which may LEGITIMATELY use force to regulate the affairs of its citizens

►Weber’s monopoly on the legitimate use of force

The state: associated with --►increased food production (agriculture

and industry)►irrigation and transformation of

landscape►increased population►fixed territory►developed market system►appearance of cities developed urban

sector

The state: associated with --►appearance of bureaucracy►military►usually an official religion►delegation of authority to maintain

order within and without its borders

►right to control information►authority is formal and impersonal

Holding office and the person

The state: associated with --►differentiation in population appears –

social stratification►appearance of ethnicity►permanent, heritable inequality

slaves, castes and classes►social conflict increases

original states appeared 5000 years ago

►primary states are agricultural►theories about their formation►military needs, irrigation needs,

environmental conditions

why the state? from band to state

►more wealth►more people►more settled►more inequality and ranking► less reliance on kinship►more internal and external conflict► increased power and responsibility to

leaders► increased burden to citizens to support

political organization► increased use of formal, legal structures for

adjudication

The Nation (-State)►modern nation-state a more recent

phenomenon most have appeared since the end of WWII

► communities of people who see themselves as “one people” on the basis of common ancestry, history, society, institutions, ideology, language, territory, and (often) religion

►anthropology questions this reality while recognizing the power of the idea

►differences are suppressed in modern nation-states

NATION & NATIONALITY►nation was once a term that referred

to tribe, indigenous people, or ethnic group - collectivity sharing single language, religion, history, territory, ancestry, kinship (Herder & volk)

►nation comes to mean the state = a country

►a sociopolitical form, the modern state composed of diverse ethnic groups

Nation as “Imagined Community”

►"it is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion" (Anderson p.15)

imagined community►A community that “imagines” itself

No possibility of face-to-face communication

Moments of simultaneity Language & “print capitalism” Monuments and memorials

►Anthropology questions this reality while recognizing the power of the idea Differences are marked and suppressed in

modern nation-states A form of amnesia?

The Nation, Social Structure & National Identity

►based upon sentiments of prestige extend deep into the masses of political

structures (located in the field of politics)►groups who hold the power to steer

common conduct within a polity will most strongly instill themselves with

this ideal fervor of power prestige►Those who think of themselves as

being specific partners of a specific culture diffused among members of the polity

The State, The Nation, and Ethnicity

►181 states but 5000 nations?► idea that nation and state coincide is rare►The appearance of ethnicity and the rise of

the nation-state► (Nash) nation-state responsible for the rise

and definition of social entities called ethnic groups - last 500 years grew out of the wreck of empires, breakups of

civilizations - disruptions of mechanic societies within borders of nation-state - social and

cultural diversity

Political Organization and Ethnicity

►ethnicity is founded upon structural inequities among dissimilar groups into a single political entity

►based on cultural differences & similarities perceived as shared

►identification with & feeling a part of an ethnic group & exclusion from certain other groups because of this affiliation

Assimilation & Nation Building

►increase in shared characteristics among social groups and an increasing social homogeneity are a key to nation building

►erasure of differences (in ethnicity, cognitive orientations, patterns of social interactions, etc.) for the creation of a cohesive, productive, just and affluent society

►various communication media assume an important role in providing information that facilitates key transformations in individuals and communities

Pluri-Ethnic States►Pluralist model treats groups as permanent

and enduring Group rights

►Cosmopolitan model that accepts shifting boundaries, multiple affiliations, hybrid identities Individual rights

►Accommodation of immigrant ethnicity►Minority nationalism – nations within

(indigenous peoples and Québécois) Stateless nations, ethnic nationalism vs.

indigenous groups►Nations within – groups that formed complete

and functioning societies on their historic homeland before being incorporated into a larger state

►Typically been involuntary – colonization, conquest, etc.

indigeneity►Nations within – groups that formed

complete and functioning societies on their historic homeland before being incorporated into a larger state

►Typically been involuntary – colonization, conquest, etc.

►Indigenous groups around the world Drive for recognition of rights Sovereignty and self-governance