POLITICAL and
LEADERSHIP
STRUCTURES
GOALS
Identify the different forms of social and
political organization
Evaluate the political bullshit that
characterizes each organization
Analyze issues related to authority,
legitimacy and power
GOALS
Enumerate and explain the types of
authority
Discuss how power, authority, and
legitimacy work as essential components
of a social and political structure
Analyze social and political structures
 Social and political structures are both constructs
formed as a result of large-scale ties and relations in
society.
Social and
Political
Structure:
 Social structure - refers to patterned institutions or
groups in society where people work, act, and live
together.
 Examples: Government, LGBT community,
Professional community
 Political structure - a set of different institutions
established politically, to ensure the free and fair
distribution of resources within a given society.
 One of the major characteristics of the political system is that
it enjoys the monopoly of using legitimate force to control its
citizens and run their affairs.
 Examples: Judiciary, House of Representative, etc
 Acephalous Societies
TYPES OF
POLITICAL
ORGANIZATIONS
 known as stateless societies
 There is no central authority, administrative power, and
judicial institution.
 Small scale groups that create decisions through consensus
or voting systems.
 Culturally homogenous
 Primarily agriculturally-dependent
 Marriage practices are polygamous.
 Religious beliefs are animistic
 Examples:
 Nuer group from South Sudan
Africa
Igbo Nation in West
 Cephalous Societies
TYPES OF
POLITICAL
ORGANIZATIONS
 Known as state societies.
 A central governmental institution, authority,
and judicial power over its people.
 Wealth, status, and privilege correspond to
authority and power
 Borders or territories are strictly guarded.
 Culturally heterogenous
 Leaders of state societies need to foster good
relationships with leaders from other state
societies.
 Examples:
 The Philippines
 Tribes
 Bands
 Smallest and most
primitive
Classification
of Societies
 Live autonomously and
are comprised of small
kin .
 Hunting and gathering is
their typical way of life.
 Social order is achieved
through informal public
opinion in the forms of
gossip and avoidance.
 Do not have a formal
and organized political
structure.
 Usually bigger than
bands and are primarily
food producers.
 Give great value on
agriculture and
husbandry than hunting
and gathering.
 Social order is
maintained through a
kinship and family
system led by a
community head
Classification
of Societies
 Chiefdoms
 More complex than
tribes and bands.
 Already have a form of
social and political
structure
characterized by a
community leader.
 Dependent upon the
judgment of chief.
 Economic activities
among chiefdoms are
more advanced and
successful
 States
 The most politically
organized and
structurally-developed
among the
classifications of
societies.
 Self governing
societies.
 Bureaucracy is heavily
practiced by states.
 Its people and
territories are
protected by its own
military.
Elements of
the States:
Population
It is the people who make the state.
Without populace there can be no State.
Territory
There can be no state without a fixed
territory. People need territory to live and
organize themselves socially and
politically. It may be remembered that
the territory of the states includes land,
water and airspace.
 Government
 It is the organization or machinery or agency of the
State which makes, implements, enforces, and
adjudicates the laws of the state.
Elements of
the States:
 Sovereignty
 It is the most exclusive elements of State. Without
sovereignty no state can exist.
 State has the exclusive title and prerogative to exercise
supreme power over all its people and territory. It is the
basis which the State regulates all aspects of the life of
the people living in its territory.
Power
AUTHORITY
AND
LEGITIMACY
 According to Thomas Hobbes, power is a
natural inclination that is sought
continuously by individuals.
 In sociology and politics, power is the ability to
get others to do things even when they might
not want to
 Coercion (through punishment, threats, or
sanctions)
 Persuasion (the ability 'to do’, incentivize, etc)
 Ideally, though, a society imposing its power
without the use of coercion is most efficient.
AUTHORITY
AND
LEGITIMACY
 States have power because they can make
laws.
 Side Note:
 State – has authority and legitimacy
 Police – given authority by a legitimate power;
catches wrong doers
 Innocent until proven guilty
 Political organizations are entities in a society
formed for administrative or political functions.
 Political organizations define the scope and limits
of power.
The Need for
Political
Organizations
 Society, to achieve and maintain its goals and
functions, needs an authority figure to set
social control and lead people.
 Issues like allocation of social and political
roles, the exercise of political power and
authority, and resolutions for conflict and clash
are among the recurring problems every
society faces
The Need for
Political
Organizations
 Side Note:
 Special interests of a particular group may also be
addressed through political organizations such as
labor unions, political parties, interest, or advocacy
groups.
 Examples:
 Labor unions collaborate or negotiate with
the company administration to raise
employee concerns regarding salary increase,
benefits, and labor rights.
 Political parties are formed for staging interest in
the government seat.
 Advocacy and interest groups are designed for
campaigning the rights, privileges, and concerns of
a particular group of people in society. Such group
of people may not be represented in government.
 Union:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35OYhfeadik
 Party List:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jOQc2ZqTO
0
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NccSbbpX1Fw
Youtube
 Advocacy:
 Transportation:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwIVXT0i6Wc
 Child Advocacy:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoKNZhjunkI
 Traditional Authority
 A status system or hierarchy is allocated for each member of the
group. This classification could be associated with hereditary
power where status and power are passed on through genetics.
Classification
of Authority
Definition
(Max Weber)
 Charismatic Authority
 This classification is more dependent on personality than status. It
is not limited by rules but is more controlled by the authority
figure’s intentions. It can inspire devotion and total control of
power
 Legal – Rational Authority
 This is found in more industrialized, modern societies where
power rests upon a particular office and not upon a specific
person. Authority and power are exercised based on laws. As such,
the law and the judiciary are seen as the highest forms of power in
society.
Reference/s:
 Hasty, J. (n.d.). 8.2 Acephalous Societies: Bands and Tribes Introduction to Anthropology | OpenStax. Retrieved August 23,
2022, from https://openstax.org/books/introductionanthropology/pages/8-2-acephalous-societies-bands-and-tribes