Political Organizations
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
► How is order maintained
► How is conflict organized
Political organizations and the
maintenance of order
► Social
control needed for people to live
together
► Joking, ridicule and derision often used to
keep deviant behavior in check
► Song duels using derisive songs to solve
conflicts between individuals
► Ostracism - banning a person from a group
► Judiciary systems
Eric Wolf: 4 Modalities of 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
political organizations:
an early pre-occupation of
anthropologists
► British
India and Africa: how are people
ruled without a state
► Victorian Europe and the appearance of the
modern nation-state
► idea of acephalous societies
 without heads
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
Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, State
► sequence
can be replaced with contrast
between uncentralized and centralized
political systems
► Replace evolutionary perspective with:
 ethnographic present
 historical 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
 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 band
► Bands
of generally less than 100 people tied
by kinship and marriage
► Membership fluid
► Egalitarian with some gender and age
differences
► Conflict resolution by social means
► Prestige based on ability
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
► no
centralized leadership
► typically someone respected for wisdom or
prowess – charisma & “big men”
 Wolf’s first modality
► group
decisions by consensus
 leaders may influence through oratory
 decisions enforced through
►withdrawal
of cooperation
►gossip
►criticism
►beliefs
that anti-social actions cause disease -witchcraft
What is kinship?
►A
system of social ties deriving from
the recognition of genealogical
relations
► universally recognized
► universally accorded social importance
KIN TYPES
► Consanguineals
► Affinals
► Fictive
kin
► Lineals
► Collaterals
Kinship Diagram
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
kinship and descent
► kinship
as an idiom
 a way of expressing social relations and the
exchanges, rights, and obligations implied
► selective
 each system emphasizes different relations
► kinship
principles define social groups
 produces forms of social stratification
► locate
people within those groups
► position people and groups in relation to
one another both in space and time
kinship & political organization in
tribes
► segmentary
lineage system
 maximal lineage, major, minor, minimal lingeage
 all segments equal and no leadership above
minimal or primary segments
► form
alliances to face threats
Descent Systems
► Rules
that people in different cultures use
to:
► determine parenthood
► identify ancestry
► assign people to social categories, groups,
and roles on the basis of inherited status
► corporate = shares resources in common




own property
organize labour
assign status
regulate relations with other groups
► endures
beyond individual members
What is a descent group?
►A
group of people who recognize descent
from a real or mythical ancestor - a
criterion of membership
► A publicly recognised social entity
► everyone is unambiguously assigned to a
group
► Obligations and roles keeps group together
► Citizenship derived from lineage
membership and legal status depends on it
► Political power and religious power derived
from it
► A strong effective base for social relations
DESCENT TERMS
► Unilineal
 Matrilineal
 Patrilineal
► Ambilineal
► Bilateral
or Cognatic
Structures of Descent
► lineages
(patri & matri) - common ancestor
► clan – several lineages common ancestor, usually
large groups that are associated with mythical
ancestors
► phratry - unilineal descent group composed of a
number of supposedly related clans
► moieties - means half, when an entire society is
divided into 2 unilineal descent groups
► many societies have 2 or more types of descent
groups in various combinations
► some have lineages & clans, others may have
clans & phrateries but no lineages
Exogamy & Endogamy
► Exogamy
– seeking people to have sexual relations
outside one’s group
 Seeking others to become us
► Endogamy
– mating or marriage within a group to
which one belongs
 Most societies are endogamous groups
► Exogamy
links groups together
► Endogamy keeps groups apart
► Rules of endogamy help maintain social,
economic, & political distinctions & preserve
limitations to the access of wealth & resources
Insiders & Outsiders
The Lineage: Descent Groups as
Political Organization
Lineal Kin - ancestors or descendants
Collateral Kin - sibling branches
Patrilineage: Male Ego
Patrilineage: Female Ego
Matrilineal and Patrilineal Kin
Tribe: segmentary lineage system
Tribes and Lineages
►
►
►
►
maximal lineages (tribes)
major lineages (families)
minor lineages (fathers' houses)
minimal lineages (extended patrilocal
households)
“Headless” (uncentralized) Political
organization
Segmentray lineage system
Kinship Centered Political
Organization
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
Sodalities
► Organizations
that cross-cut kin ties
► Often based on common age
► Creates non-kin linkages and a sense of
ethnic identity
► May be confined to one settlement or be
pantribal (include several settlements)
► Pantribal sodalities can mobilize people for
cooperative endeavors (hunting, warfare)
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
Nana Osei Tutu II
The King of Ashanti
Photo credit: G. F. Kojo Arthur
Centre for Indigenous
Knowledge Systems
Copyright© PT Sangga Sarana
Persada, 1997-2000
Designed 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
► 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: 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 sedentism
► 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 nationstates
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.
Ethnic Conflict
► Assimilation
► Apartheid
► Diaspora
► Ethnocide
► Genocide
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
Anthropology of War
► The
materialist/ecological school
 causes of pre-state warfare are to be found largely in
the material foundations of the cultural system
► The
biocultural school
 causes of warfare are ultimately to be found in a
combination of ecological and biological elements
► The
historical school
 war is to be found in the specific historical context of
the events in question and the personal motivations of
the people involved in those events
Anthropology of Violence
► The
seventeenth century philosopher Thomas Hobbes
-- violence is in the heart of all humans
 Society as the alternative to violence
► violence
is an extremely wide and diverse
phenomenon
► insight in extremely specific, small-scale situations of
the infliction, experience and justification of violence
(in families, villages, neighbourhoods, gangs, combat
groups, committees, presidential advisory groups);
and
► insight in the extremely general questions concerning
humankind as a whole: what is it, in the make-up of
humans that makes us violent animals given to intraspecies aggression?
Violence
► Violence,
its forms and controls, is fundamental to
human social existence and is central to theories
regarding the nature of society.
► Violence as cultural expression and/or
performance
 Scripted
► From
anthropology of identity (pol. org.) to
experience, emotive forces, bodily practices
► A discursive practice with rituals and symbols
► Violence as cultural practice
 Not just instrumental
►A
way of affirming and subverting “culture”