Political Organization and Social
Control
What comes to mind when you think of
politics ?
Why do we need a political system?
☺Making decisions
☺Regulating human behavior and Social Control
☺Conflict resolution
A Political System is a Cultural Universal.
Political System
Elman Service identified 4 types of political
systems
☺Bands, tribes, chiefdoms and states
☺there are no true band, tribe or chiefdoms today
☺state systems are superimposed on them
Types of Political Organization
Political organization
☺refers to the way power is distributed within the
society to regulate behavior and maintain order
☺It differs in societies in the extent to which
• Political institutions are distinct from other aspects
of social structure – kinship, religion, economic
• Authority is concentrated into specific political roles
• The size of the group under the organization
increases
Band Societies
Least complex of political organizations
☺Associated with food foragers
☺Nomadic, low population density, reciprocity,
no private ownership,
☺egalitarian (no role specialization),
Each band is an independent, autonomous
☺not integrated into a larger political structure
Political decisions are made by kin
• not distinct from family, economic or religious
decisions
Band Societies
No Formal Leadership
• Older men respected for their wisdom, experience,
judgment and knowledge of hunting
• Charismatic leaders - no authority/power, no way of
enforcing decisions, only work through persuasion
• “He carries his own load and is as thin as the rest”
Social Order is informal
• gossip, ridicule, avoidance, ostracism
No warfare or armed conflict
Tribal Societies
Found among pastoralists and horticulturalists
☺larger population density, more sedentary
☺no significant difference in terms of status, rank power
and wealth
Leadership informal
☺not centralized authority
• based on personal qualities and individual merit
• Leopard skin chief, Melanesian Big Men
☺A central role in decision making
• No way to enforce it
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Tribal Societies
Tribes are independent political units
☺but unlike bands could be integrated into a larger units
for collective action
• threat for attack or opportunity to attack
☺Integrating forces or Pan tribal mechanisms
• Clans , segmentary lineage system (kin based)
• age grades and secret societies (nonkin based)
• Integrating forces not permanent
– Dissolve when threat is eliminated
In Short…
In bands and tribes
☺Local groups are economically and politically
autonomous
☺Authority is uncentralized
☺Population tends to be egalitarian, roles
unspecialized, population small
Social Control
☺informal ways of controlling deviant behavior
Chiefdoms
Arose with growing surpluses and larger
populations
☺Society is stratified - ranked
• Nobles, commoners (different levels of prestige and
power)
☺centralized leadership
• chiefship is hereditary
• Sometimes there are several political units each
headed by a chief
• Basseri (Khan), Bedouin (Sheikh), Fijian (chief)
State System
Most formal and complex form of political units
☺including many communities and thousands of people
☺First appeared 5500 years ago with civilizations
☺Found in societies with
• complex socioeconomic characteristics
• Supported by intensive agriculture, labor specializations
Centralized government
☺power and authority to draft men for work or war
☺make and enforce regulatory laws
☺collect taxes
Chiefdoms
Function of the chief
•
•
•
•
collection, storage and distribution of goods
supervise religious festivals
plan and direct use of public labor
regulation of behavior and conflict resolution
British created chiefs in Nigeria, Kenya,
Australia, Hawaii during colonial rule
☺Given salaries, high sounding titles “Paramount
chief” but no popularity among their people.
State System
Complex political structure
☺with a wide range of permanent institutions
having legislative, executive and judicial
functions and large bureaucracy
☺Large number of specialized political roles
Well established boundaries
☺people enjoy rights and citizenship
Extend territories
• by encroaching on boundaries of neighboring bands,
tribes, chiefdoms or less powerful states
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Rise of States
Voluntaristic theory of state formation
☺V. Gordon Childe
Hydraulic theory of state formation
☺Karl Wittfogel
Coercive theory of state formation
☺Robert Carneiro
How is Social Order enforced?
Encouraging and rewarding conformity with
norms and laws and discouraging and
punishing nonconformity/deviance
Use of Sanctions
☺A sanction is a reaction by the society to
approved and disapproved behavior
• Approved behavior receives positive reaction
• Disapproved behavior receives negative reaction
Sanctions - Organized
Organized positive sanctions include formal
gestures of approval
☺Awards, titles, military/civilian decorations..
Organized negative sanctions are formal
punishments
☺Prison, death penalty….
☺Breaking the law
• Laws are formalized social norms whose infarction
faces strong reaction/penalty
Social Order and Dispute Resolution
Every society has defined what is normal, proper
or expected way of behaving
☺These expectations are social norms
• examples
• Provide behavioral guidelines
☺Violation of social norms is called deviance
☺If people do not conform to group rules it results in
……
• Tension, dissatisfaction, disputes & social destability
• Therefore crucial to regulate behavior, settle disputes and
maintain order
Sanctions - Diffused
Formal/ Informal or Diffused/organized
Diffused positive sanctions are informal
gestures of approval
☺Thank you notes, applause….
Diffused negative sanctions are informal
punishments
☺Criticisms, avoidance, ridicule, sarcasm, gossip
Diffused sanctions are very powerful
Externalized and Internalized
Sanctions are effective deterrents to
antisocial behavior
☺Externalized system of Control
Social control may also be internalized
☺“built into individuals”
☺During socialization
☺Fear of supernatural punishment
☺Witchcraft
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Dispute Resolution
Sanctions though effective are never 100% guaranteed
☺ Disputes arise and have to be resolved
Formalized and Centralized judicial system
Negotiation
Mediation
Adjudication
Arbritation
Informal courts – whole community
Determination of Innocence and
Guilt
Judge, jury, courts…
Divination
☺Crystal ball, willow witching
Conditional curse or oath
Ordeals
☺ Song dueling , an analogy in American music…
☺ spear throwing
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