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17 C h a p t e r Political Systems This chapter introduces students to the anthropological study of politics. It focuses on the band, tribe, chiefdom, and state system of sociopolitical organization. C h a p t e r 17

Introduction Power is the ability to exercise one’s will over others. Authority is the socially approved use of power.

Typology In 1962, Elman Service developed a typology of political organizations. Bands are small kin-based groups found among foragers. Tribes are associated with non-intensive food production and have villages and/or descent groups, but lack formal government and social classes. The chiefdom is a form of sociopolitical organization that is intermediate between the tribe and the state, still kin-based, but characterized by a permanent political structure with some degree of differential access to resources and a political structure. The state is characterized by formal government and social classes.

Typology In bands and tribes, the political order (polity) is not a distinct institution, but is embedded in the overall social order. Because of this embeddedness, Kottak prefers to speak of sociopolitical (rather than simply political) organization in discussing cross-cultural similarities and differences in the regulation or management of interrelations among groups and their representatives.

Sociopolitical Types and Economy There are many correlations between economy and sociopolitical organization. Foragers tend to have band organization. Horticulturalists and pastoralists tend to have tribal organization. Agriculturalists tend to have either chiefdom-level or state-level organization. In general, as the economy becomes more productive, population size increases leading to greater regulatory problems, which gives rise to more complex social relations and linkages (greater social and political complexity).

Sociopolitical Types and Economy Economic Type Type of Regulation Examples Band Foraging Local Inuit, San Tribe Horticulture, pastoralism Local, temporary regional Yanomami, Nuer, Kapauku Chiefdom Horticulture, pastoral nomadism, agriculture Permanent regional Qashqai, Cherokee, Polynesia State Agriculture, industrialism Ancient Mesopotamia, modern United States and Canada

Foraging Bands In foraging societies the only two social groups that are significant are the nuclear family and the band. Membership in these groups is fluid and can change from year to year. Kin networks, both real and fictive, are created and maintained through marriage, trade, and visiting. Foraging bands are egalitarian, in that all differences in status are achieved. Foragers lack formal law, conflict resolution is embedded in kinship and social ties (e.g. blood feuds). Prestige refers to esteem, respect, or approval for culturally valued acts or qualities.

Tribal Cultivators Tribes usually have a horticultural or pastoral economy and are organized by village life and/or descent-group membership. Social classes and formal government are not found in tribes. Small-scale warfare or intervillage raiding is commonly found in tribes. The main regulatory officials are village heads, "big men," descent-group leaders, village councils, and leaders of pantribal associations. The officials have limited authority. They lead through persuasion and by example, not through coercion.

Tribal Cultivators Like foragers, tribes are egalitarian. Tribes often have marked gender stratification. Status in tribes is based on age, gender, and personal traits and abilities. Horticulturalists are egalitarian and tend to live in small villages with low population density.

The Village Head The Yanomami are used as an example of a society with a village head. The position of village head is achieved but comes with very limited authority. He cannot force or coerce people to do things. He can only persuade, harangue, and try to influence people to do things. The Village head acts as a mediator in disputes, but he has no authority to back his decision or impose punishments.

The Village Head The village head must lead in generosity. He must be more generous, which means he must cultivate more land. He hosts feasts for other villages. In the last decade, particularly, the Yanomami have suffered greatly from violence and disease, both of which have come from the encroaching mining and ranching industries of Brazil.

The “Big Man” A big man is like a village head, except that his authority is regional, in that he may have influence over more than one village. The big man is common to the South Pacific. Among the Kapauku, the big man is the only political figure beyond the household. The position is achieved through generosity, eloquence, bravery, physical fitness, and supernatural powers. His decisions are binding among his followers. He is an important regulator of regional events (e.g. feasts and markets).

The “Big Man” Map showing the location of the Kapauku.

The “Big Man” In order to be a tribal leader, a big man or village head, a person must be generous. They must work hard to create a surplus to give away. This surplus is converted into prestige. The big man is a temporary, regional regulator who can mobilize supporters from several villages for produce and labor on specific occasions.

Segmentary Lineage Organization Segmentary lineage organization (SLO) is based upon descent-group structure (typically patrilineal). Segmentary lineages are composed hierarchically, with smaller units (potentially) combining into larger ones. Maximal lineages share a common ancestor who lived long ago and whose membership is spread over a large area (inclusive). Minimal lineages are the smallest unit in which members live in the same village and share a common ancestor who lived no more than four generations ago (exclusive).

Segmentary Lineage Organization Nilotic peoples, such as the Nuer, are exemplary of segmentary lineage organization. With SLO, the closer the relationship in terms of descent, the greater the mutual support and the more distant the common ancestor, the greater the potential for hostility. Conflict resolution When a dispute develops between people who share a common living ancestor, he intervenes to settle it. When the combatants do not share a common living ancestor, a blood feud may develop.

Segmentary Lineage Organization Map showing the location of the Nuer.

Pantribal Sodalities and Age Grades Sodalities are non-kin based organizations which may generate cross-societal linkages. They are often based on common age or gender. Some sodalities are confined to a single village. Some sodalities span several villages; these are called pantribal sodalities. Pantribal sodalities tend to be found in areas where two or more different cultures come into regular contact. Especially in situations where warfare is frequent. Since pantribal sodalities draw their members from several villages, they can mobilize a large number of men for raids.

Pantribal Sodalities and Age Grades Pressure from European contact created conditions which promoted pan-tribal sodalities (age sets are one example) among the groups of the North American Great Plains of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Age sets are sodalities that include all of the men born during a certain time span. Similar to a cohort of class of students, like class of 2004. Members of an age set progress through a series of age grades together (e.g. initiated youth, warrior, adult, elder or in American universities: freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate). Secret societies are sodalities with secret initiation ceremonies. Sodalities create non-kin linkages between people based on age, gender, and ritual and create a sense of ethnic identity and belonging to the same cultural tradition.

Pantribal Sodalities and Age Grades This photograph shows the warrior (ilmurran) age grade of the Masai dancing with a group of girls from a lower age grade (intoyie). Photo Credit: Douglas Kirkland/ The Image Bank

Pantribal Sodalities and Age Grades Map showing location of Masai.

Nomadic Politics Nomads must interact with a variety of groups, unlike most sedentary societies. Powerful chiefs are commonly found in nomadic groups that have large populations (e.g. the Basseri and the Qashqai of southern Iran). The Basseri have a smaller population and their chief, khan, is similar to a village head or big man. The position is achieved. Allegiances are with the person, not the office. The larger Qashqai have multiple levels of authority and more powerful chiefs. Their authority can be more coercive. Allegiance are with the office, not the person.

Nomadic Politics Map showing the location of the Qashqai and Basseri.

Chiefdoms and States Chiefdoms are a transitional form of sociopolitical organization between tribes and states. Carneiro (1970) defines the state as “an autonomous political unit encompassing many communities within its territory, having a centralized government with the power to collect taxes, draft men for work or war, and decree and enforce laws. archaic or nonindustrial states industrial or modern states

Chiefdoms Unlike band and tribal political systems, chiefdoms and states are permanent: their offices outlast the individuals who occupy them. An office is a permanent position of authority that exists independently of the person who occupies it. It must be refilled when it is vacated. Offices ensure that the sociopolitical organization endures across generations. Chiefs play an important role in the production, distribution, and consumption of resources. Chiefs collect foodstuffs as tribute (upward movement). Chiefs later redistribute these collect foodstuffs at feasts (downward movement).

Chiefdoms Chiefdoms created the megalithic cultures of Europe, such as the one that built Stonehenge. Photo Credit: Louis H. Jawitz/The Image Bank

Chiefdoms: Social Status In chiefdoms, social status is based on seniority of descent. All of the people in a chiefdom are believed to have descended from a group of common ancestors. The closer you and your lineage are related to those founding ancestors, the greater your prestige. In chiefdoms, there is a continuum of prestige with the chief at one end and the lowest ranking individuals at the other. The chief must demonstrate his seniority of descent. Chiefdoms lack social classes.

Chiefdoms and States: Social Status Unlike tribal and band organizations, there are systemic status distinctions in chiefly and state societies. State and chiefdom status systems are based upon differential access to wealth and resources, and differential allocation of rights and duties. States are characterized by much clearer class divisions than chiefdoms, typically associated with stratum endogamy. The result of stratum endogamy is social stratification, the hierarchical arrangement of unrelated classes. Social stratification, social classes, is one of the key distinguishing features of states.

Social Stratification Weber’s Dimensions of Social Stratification Wealth or economic status Political status based upon power Social status based upon prestige In chiefdoms, all three dimensions are tied to kinship and descent. In the early states, distinctions in all three dimensions appeared between endogamous groups for the first time.

Social Status in Archaic States In archaic states there were two basic class distinctions. The superordinate stratum was the elite or higher class that had privileged access to wealth, power, and other valued resources. The subordinate stratum was the lower or underprivileged class.

States: Specialization States have specialized units that perform specific tasks. Population control: fixing boundaries, establishing citizenship, and the taking of a census Judiciary: laws, legal procedure, and judges Enforcement: permanent military and police forces Fiscal: taxation These subsystems were more or less embedded into the overall ruling systems of archaic states.

States: Population Control States use administrative divisions to control their populations. Provinces, districts, counties, and townships. Each administrative divisions is managed by state officials. States displace the role and importance that kinship has in bands, tribes, and chiefdoms. States foster geographic mobility and resettlement. States assign differential rights to different status distinctions. citizens vs. non-citizens elites vs. commoners vs. slaves soldiers vs. civilians

States: Judiciary Laws are explicit codes for behavior, issued by the state, and are distinct from the consensual mores and expectations that exist in non-state societies. The state is unique as a political system in that it governs family affairs. The presence of laws has not reduced violence—indeed, states are responsible for some of the most violent episodes in human history.

States: Enforcement A judiciary obligates the existence of a system of enforcement. The judiciary and enforcement typically work not only to control internal and external conflict, but also to preserve the existing state hierarchy.

States: Fiscal Systems State rulers typically perform no subsistence activities. The fiscal system serves to support the rulers and ruling structure by collecting a portion of that produced by other members of the state. Fiscal systems of archaic states also worked to maintain and elaborate class distinctions, as in the support of sumptuary goods for the elites.