1. Chapter 9 Political Organization

2. Chapter Outline Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict: Turkey and the Armenians Political Organization Types of Political Organization Bringing it Back Home: Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?

3. Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict: Turkey and the Armenians During and after World War I, Turkey underwent an intentional process of ethnic cleansing in order to achieve a more unified national state. Many non-Muslims, such as the Armenians, were deported to the Syrian desert. The Armenians (and many other minorities) were beaten, robbed, raped, and starved. From 800,000 to more than a million were killed during this period, either directly or indirectly.

4. Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict: Turkey and the Armenians Today, this struggle continues to exert a force on Turkey. Armenians want to be recognized for the suffering and struggle that they experienced. Modern states are pushing Turkey to acknowledge what occurred some 100 years ago before they can be considered for membership in the European Union.

5. Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict: Turkey and the Armenians Armenians today (in the United States and other parts of the world) are insisting that Turkey should publicly accept that this period was one of genocide in Turkish history. Many Armenians today are calling out for an apology.

6. Political Organization Political organization is about power. Political organization refers to the ways in which power is used in all societies so they can maintain themselves collectively over time.

7. Power and Authority Power is the ability to exercise one’s will over others and cause individuals or groups to take actions that they might not take otherwise. Authority may be defined as the socially approved use of power. It is based on personal characteristics such as honor, status, knowledge, ability, respect, and/or the holding of formal public office.

8. Political Ideology Shared values and beliefs that legitimate power and authority in a particular society A political ideology may be widely shared throughout a society, though it may not be held by everyone. One difference among types of political organization is the degree to which they rely on coercion or consensus to achieve social order.

9. Political Process Refers to how groups and individuals use power and authority to achieve goals Decisions and activities by groups and individuals may be motivated by material profit, prestige, altruism, survival or any combination of motives, usually justified by reference to the public good.

10. Resolving Conflict Two political processes involving conflict: Rebellion – The attempt of one group to reallocate power and resources within an existing political structure Revolution – An attempt to overthrow the existing political structure and put another type of political structure in its place

11. Social Complexity Refers to the degree to which political roles, institutions, and processes are centralized and differentiated from or embedded within other social institutions. In non-industrial societies, power and authority, decision making, and the coordination of human behavior are more integrated than in contemporary societies.

12. Social Differentiation The relative access individuals and groups have to basic material resources, wealth, power, and prestige.

13. Egalitarian Societies No individual or group has more access to resources, power, or prestige than any other. No fixed number of social positions for which individuals must compete Associated with bands and tribes

14. Rank Societies Institutionalized differences in prestige but no restrictions on access to basic resources Individuals obtain what they need to survive through their kinship group. Associated with horticulture or pastoral societies with a surplus of food Associated with chiefdoms

15. Stratified Societies Formal, permanent social and economic inequality Some people are denied access to basic resources. Characterized by differences in standard of living, security, prestige, and political power

16. Stratified Societies Economically organized by market systems Based on intensive cultivation (agriculture) and industrialism Associated with form of political organization called the state

17. Social Control and Conflict Management In order for societies to maintain themselves, there must also be ways of managing conflict and persuading individuals to conform to society’s norms. A major basis for conformity in most societies is the internalization of norms and values. Deviants, or those who transgress society’s rules are handled differently in different types of societies.

18. Social Control Ways societies deal with abnormal behavior and conflict: Gossip and ridicule Fear of witchcraft accusations Avoidance Supernatural sanctions

19. Law Law is found in every society. In complex societies, functions of law belong to legal institutions, such as courts. Law addresses conflicts that would otherwise disrupt community life.

20. Types of Societies Bands are foragers, usually egalitarian, who exchange goods through generalized reciprocity. Tribes are horticulturalists or herders, generally egalitarian, who use balanced reciprocity as their major means of exchange.

21. Types of Societies Chiefdoms are rank societies, characterized by the political office of the chief. State societies are usually based on agriculture, industry, or, in the contemporary world, a post industrial service economy.

22. Band Societies Small group of people (20 to 50) Related by blood or marriage Live together and are loosely associated with a territory in which they forage Egalitarian

23. Band Societies: Leadership Decision-making is by consensus. Leaders are older men and women. Leaders cannot enforce their decisions; they can only persuade. Sharing and generosity are important sources of respect.

24. Band Societies: Social Order Maintained by gossip, ridicule, and avoidance Violations of norms are sins. Offenders may be controlled through ritual means such as public confessions. Offender is defined as a patient rather than a criminal.

25. Tribal Societies Members consider themselves descended from the same ancestor. Found primarily among pastoralists and horticulturalists Egalitarian Leadership: Bigman

26. Tribal Societies Other types of groups help integrate tribal societies beyond simple kinship affiliation. An age set is a named group of people of similar age and sex who move life’s stages together. In a society with age grades, individuals follow a progression through a series of statuses, such as childhood, warrior, adult, and senior.

27. Tribal Societies: Social Order Tribes have a variety of mechanisms for controlling behavior and settling conflicts. Compensation is a payment demanded to compensate for damage. Mediation aims to resolve disputes so that the prior social relationship between the disputants is maintained and harmony is restored.

28. Chiefdom Societies Characteristics: Monumental architecture Distinct ceremonial centers Elaborate grave goods reflect high social status. Larger settlements by smaller villages Cultivators and pastoralists

29. State Societies Central government with monopoly over the use of force. More populous, heterogeneous, and powerful than other political organizations. Able to organize large populations for coordinated action. Defend against external threats.

30. State Societies Unlike chiefdoms, where ranking is based on kinship, in state societies citizenship regulates social relations and defines a person’s rights and duties. States are characterized by government: a set of status roles that become separate from other aspects of social organization. Central to the functioning of governments is a bureaucracy: an administrative hierarchy characterized by fixed rules.

31. Bringing it Back Home: Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? In the United States, most of the discussion about immigration concerns the border with Mexico, which has become increasingly militarized. The latest proposal is the erection of a double-layered 700 mile-long border fence.

32. Bringing it Back Home: Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? Seventy five miles of the border is located on the Tohono O’odham Reservation, not far from Tucson, Arizona. The Tohono O’odham oppose the wall, saying they need to freely cross the border to visit friends and relatives, take their children to school, and visit religious sites. They also have concerns about the wall’s restricting the free range of deer, horses, coyotes, jackrabbits, and other animals.

33. Bringing it Back Home: Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? The Tohono O’odham cooperate with the U.S. border patrol and the Department of Homeland Security in patroling the border. The federal government is the trustee of all Indian lands and could build the fence through the reservation without tribal permission. This would jeopardize the help that the Tohono O’odham now gives the government.

34. Bringing it Back Home: Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? You decide: Do you think human movement between states should be free and unrestricted? Why or why not? How would you determine an appropriate immigration policy for the United States?

35. Bringing it Back Home: Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? You decide: To what extent do you believe that rhetoric against immigrants from Mexcio is a form of racism? What solutions do you suggest for the problem of undocumented immigration? Do you think that the construction of the border fence will address this problem?

36. Bringing it Back Home: Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? You decide: Decisions made by states often pit groups against each other. Do you think the need to prevent undocumented immigrants justifies overriding the cultural values of the Tohono O’odham? How would you mediate the conflict between the United States government and the Tohono O’odham?

37. Quick Quiz

38. 1. Variation in access by individuals and groups to material resources, wealth, power, and prestige within the society is termed a) a hierarchical caste system. b) social differentiation. c) egalitarian. d) clan-based. e) a pecking order.

39. Answer: b Variation in access by individuals and groups to material resources, wealth, power, and prestige within the society is termed social differentiation.

40. 2. ________ is the patterned ways in which power is legitimately used in a society to regulate behavior. a) Leadership b) Political organization c) A law enforcement system d) Justice e) The court

41. Answer: b Political organization is the patterned ways in which power is legitimately used in a society to regulate behavior.

42. 3. State societies can be characterized by all except which of the following? a) Surpluses are appropriated by the ruling authority, usually by taxation. b) A state system needs to support the bureaucracy with its proceeds, and redistribute some back to the people. c) States are inherently stable within, and rarely experience threats of rebellion.

43. Answer: c State societies cannot be characterized by the following: States are inherently stable within, and rarely experience threats of rebellion.

44. 4. Egalitarian societies may be characterized by all except which of the following? a) Some individuals are barred from equal access. b) No individual is denied the right to make a living. c) There are no fixed number of social positions for which people can compete. d) Age and sex differences and personal abilities are recognized.

45. Answer: a Egalitarian societies may not be characterized by the following: Some individuals are barred from equal access.