Political Organization and the Maintenance of Order

anthropology’s interest in power and maintenance of order ► ► 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

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

Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, State ► ► sequence can be replaced with contrast between uncentralized and centralized political systems ► ► Replace evolutionary perspective with:   ethnographic present   historical perspective

Uncentralized political systems ► ► include: bands and tribes ► ► associated with:   subsistence level economies such as foraging   small, homogeneous populations   little social stratification   relatively autonomous groups   often relatively mobile without strict territorial boundaries   no formal leader or organization beyond kinship

the band ► ► small group of politically independent, through related, households ► ► all social relationships based on kinship ► ► least complex form of political organization   perhaps the oldest form as well ► ► associated with foraging forms of subsistence ► ► decisions made through consensus   disgruntled leave ► ► no fixed leadership, only informal recognition of prowess   typically male, but females have power as well   most successful hunter and most senior woman

The Tribe ► ► tribal system consists of separate bands or villages ► ► integrated through lineages, clans, age grades, or other associations cross-cutting kinship and territory   less autonomy for greater security ► ► associated with farming or herding subsistence strategies   greater food production ► ► greater population density

The tribe ► ► consists of one or more autonomous communities which may then form alliances ► ► may range across a broad territory ► ► social stratification related to kinship and cross-cutting associations ► ► needs for alliance   defense or raiding   pooling of resources   capitalize on a windfall   often return to autonomous communities

The tribe ► ► informal leadership ► ► no centralized leadership ► ► typically someone respected for wisdom or prowess – charisma & “big men” ► ► group decisions by consensus   leaders may influence through oratory   decisions enforced through ► ► withdrawal of cooperation ► ► gossip ► ► criticism ► ► beliefs that anti-social actions cause disease

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 giving away   many wives   extended kin networks ► ► Big Women in Vanatinai (Maria Lepowsky)   give more mortuary feasts   may gain power as sorcerers, healers, gardeners

kinship organization in tribes ► ► clan may be the organizing unit and seat of political authority   elders of clan may form council ► ► segmentary lineage system – The Ariaal of East Africa ► ► patrilineal clans   maximal lineage, major, minor, minimal lingeage   smallest group defined by one great grandfather   all segments equal and no leadership above minimal or primary segments ► ► form alliances to face threats

Us and Them ► ► Bedouin proverb:   I against my brother; I and my brother against our cousin; I, my brother and our cousin against the neighbors; all of us against the foreigners ► ► based on complementary or balanced opposition ► ► a model for ethnicity?

other examples of tribal organization ► ► age-grade & age sets organization ► ► association organization   Cree military societies and warriors’ clubs

AGE AS A FORM OF SOCIAL DIVISION ► AGE-SETS, AGE GRADES, AGE MATES ► differentiation of social role based on age, commonly found in small-scale societies of North America and tribal groups of East Africa ► Age sets are a type of sodality ► Age grades may be marked by changes in biological state, such as puberty ► Or by socially recognized status changes such as marriage and the birth of a child ► Persons of junior grade may defer to those of more senior grade who in turn teach, test, or lead their juniors

Ariaal Age Sets (E. Africa pastoralists) ► rigid system of age-sets ► apply primarily to men; women automatically become members of the age-set of their husbands ► groups of the same age (give or take five years or so) are initiated into adult life during the same period ► The age-set is a permanent grouping  lasts throughout the life of its members ► a hierarchy of grades  junior warriors, senior warriors  junior elders (sometimes classed as senior warriors), and senior elders ► the ones who make decisions affecting the whole tribe

tribal organization ► ► term used differently than in popular usage ► ► not a catch-all for anyone not living in a state or those considered to be inferior   tribalism = chaotic political situation ► ► also not equivalent to usage by some aboriginal groups today

Centralized political systems ► ► include: chiefdoms and states ► ► 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   male leaders more frequent   political authority is concentrated in a single individual (chiefdoms) or a body of individuals (the state)

chiefdom ► ► a regional polity 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 amass personal wealth to add to power

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 ► ► reciprocity 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: 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: 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: The state: associated with -- ► ► differentiation in population appears – social stratification ► ► appearance of ethnicity ► ► permanent, heritable inequality   slaves, castes and classes ► ► social conflict increases