Culture and Democracy (ch. 3)- the role of culture on political institutions (Political Culture, Asian Values, and Re-ligion)- are certain types of cultures better suited for specific institutions? How does cul-ture affect the emergence and spread of democracy? Is Islam compatible with democ-racy?culture: the behaviors and beliefs belonging to a particular social/ethnic/age groupprimordial - pertaining to or existing at or from the very beginning (Fixed)constructed - invented or created (Malleable)- which is culture, primordial or constructed? If it is Malleable, it might not be an in-teresting explanation for political meaning- does economy change culture?- can one country’s government be successfully exported to another?- Montesquieu and Mill say no, that Europeans need a Monarchy, Orient needs Despotism, Ancient World is only candidate for democracy- thought that Government should be in relation to the climate, soil, occupations, moral and mental habits, and willingness to cooperate- Almond and Verba- argue that culture provides the psychological basis for democracypolitical culture: how individuals think and feel about the political system, splits into three parts:- civic culture (participant), parochial (limited awareness of gov’t), and subject cul-ture (aware but little opportunity/ability for influence)Civic culture: belief that individuals can influence political decision, high support for ex-isting systems, high levels of interpersonal trust, preference for gradual societal change- Political culture attitudes are “relatively enduring but not immutable”Asian Values:Bangkok Declaration (1993)- says that Asian values justify a different way of under-standing human right and democracy (no human rights, only collective ones)- Kuan Yew (1994) Singapore Prime Minister- Confucianism’s respect for authorityand emphasis on community are antithetical to Western views of democracy- Preference for social harmony/consensus as opposed to confrontation/dissent - essentially, Authoritarian and 1 party rule- concern with socio-economic well being, not civil liberties and human rights (Asian tigers-export oriented authoritarian economies)- Preference for welfare and collective well-bring of the community over individual rights- loyalty and respect towards forms of authority including parents, teachers and gov’tSelf Construalindependent self construal- western, self is separate from social context, empha-sis on autonomyinterdependent self construal- eastern, self is part of broad social context, self entails qualities of whole environment- all these things affect thinking, aesthetic preference (art, attraction), social inter-action- Individualism: justice and equality, competition, self-enhancement, focus on traitsof individual- Collectivism: hierarchies, avoid standing out, mutual self-enhancement, focus on contextLanguage:- in English, children learn nouns first, focus on objects- in Asian languages, children learn more verbs, stresses relationship with environ-ment- is collectivism primordial or constructed? some think industrialization is ending it- asian values provide a different way of understanding democracy and individual rights, the argument has been used by various authoritarian leaders to justify non-democratic forms of gov’t, many Asian countries are already transitioningReligion:Huntington (1996)- The Clash of Civilizations-said Democracy is incompatible with Islam - long history of linking religion with democracyMax Weber- said Protestant work ethic and focus on individualism led to economic growth—a growing bourgeoisie—and eventually democracy- Catholicism seen as antithetical to democracy, emphasis on 1 church (authoritar-ian), hierarchy established by church, support of dictatorships around the world- Protestantism: emphasis on reading scripture in language (mass education), indi-vidual responsibility denotes economic growthIslam: Montesquieu said Islam has a violent streak that predisposes Muslim soci-eties to authoritarianism, Huntington said Muslims are prone to political violence, the connection of political and religious spheres (theocracy), “In Islam God is Caesar”, marginalization of women- virtually all religions have some elements that can be seen as incompatible with democracy- 1980s: the Great Wave of Catholic Democratization, largely supported by church- many scholars point to a basis for democracy in the Koran (the first Islamic State-Medina, False Dichotomy between religion and gov’t)Catholic Hypothesis: countries with Catholic majority are less likely to become and stay democraticProtestant Hypothesis: countries with Prot. majority are more likelyIslam Hypothesis: countries with Muslim majority are less likelyEthnic Group Hypothesis: countries with a large number of ethnic groups are less likelyReligious Group Hypothesis: countries with large number of religious groups less likelyCultural Group Hypothesis: countries with large number of cultural groups are less likelyEmergence of Democracy: (taking into account wealth and growth)- increased wealth makes transitions to democracy more likely- high economic growth makes transitions to democracy more likely- countries that are predominantly Catholic are more likely to become democracy - having a protestant or muslim majority has no effect on whether a country be-comes democratic or not- ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity do not appear to impede or aid the emer-gence of democracySurvival of Democracy:- increased wealth helps democratic survival- high economic growth helps democratic survival- Muslim majority doesn’t harm democratic survival- Protestant majority is good for democratic survival- Catholic majority is bad for democratic survival- ethnic and cultural (but not religious) diversity seems to be bad for democratic
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