The Role of Political Culture in Iranian Political Development

Dal Seung Yu

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351882552
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The analysis of the impediments to political development is one of the most important discussions which has major theoretical and political consequences. This analysis has been controversial and many different aspects have been introduced as elements for political underdevelopment. In this study, Dal Seung Yu takes culture, a key element in this discussion, and explains the major cultural impediments to political development in Iran. He focuses on the historical attitudes of people towards the political management of the society and the effect these attitudes have on slowing the development of this political system in the society. Those concerned with Iran, the Middle East and political culture will be extremely interested in this provocative text.

1
Theoretical Basis and Conceptual Framework

Before beginning any substantive discussion, I have to consider the roots and elements of political cultural trends and their present situation in Iran. I would also like to address three important components of the conceptual framework and methodology of this study, namely:

1. a discussion of political cultural processes and my concept of them, specifically the relation between political systems and political development
2. an overview of some theories of political development
3. some remarks on the method of investigation.

I think it is necessary to explain these subjects in order to establish the theoretical basis of this study.

1. Political Culture and Political Development

As I have already explained, I consider the political culture, from the viewpoint of political management of the society, to be an independent variable in my discussion of political development. Therefore, it is necessary to define political culture and the processes of its development.

There have been many discussions of the definition of the concept of political culture and the role of culture in political processes.³ Political culture was first formulated as the methodological and theoretical framework for studying some political affairs, especially in comparative politics. Those who propounded this concept believed that it could be used for the study of political conditions. They believed that some reasons for political development and underdevelopment might be provided by studies of political culture. At the same time, they hoped to be able to find the roots of the functions of political institutions in political culture.

The concept of political culture is summarized in the following theory:

1. There is a certain political culture in any society, which directs and impresses popular feelings on the political processes.
2. Political behavior, in any society, is rooted in a series of beliefs, feelings and knowledge that make up the political culture.
3. These beliefs, feelings and knowledge transform specific political processes, and that transformation is not accidental.
4. The members of society and of the political system internalize these beliefs, feelings and knowledge, so that they become a part of their character and behavior. As Sidney Verba says, the political culture is a system of beliefs, values and symbols, which are the basis and source of political action.⁴

My discussion here revolves around the meaning of the concept of political culture. First of all, I take a look at political leaders’ views regarding political culture, I will address questions such as: What are the components of political culture? From where has it been derived? How can it affect people’s behavior? How is it reflected in high political affairs? What relation does it have with other parts of political life? How much does it determine the nature of the political system? Finally I will briefly explain my own conception of political culture and its role in political development.

Formulation of the Concept of Political Culture

Basically, political culture has been propounded as a theoretical framework in comparative politics. There are four trends in comparative politics, namely, systems theory, culture theory, development theory and class theory.⁵ The theory of political culture is rooted in the study of culture itself. It was Karl Marx who recognized the relation between politics and culture for the first time. As is well known, he considers culture a part of the ideological facade and false consciousness. Marx explained culture in relation to its dependence on social, economic and political factors.⁶ Max Weber, on the other hand, explained social, economic and political factors in relation to the culture.

In 1871, one scholar, I.B. Taylor, tried to rewrite the concept of culture to make it a complex whole, including beliefs, arts, moralities, laws, customs and rules, bringing elements of sociology into anthropology. Later on, the concept of culture acquired hundreds of meanings in the social sciences.⁷

Some sociologists described culture as including all social habits and behaviors. Each group of scholars emphasized a special aspect of culture, some emphasizing historical aspects, some, moral aspects, and some others, psychological aspects.

Alfred Kroeber and Talcott Parsons believed that we should separate the two concepts of culture and society from each other. Until then, anthropologists explained culture using the same ideas as sociologists utilized for the concept of society. That is to say that sociologists used the concept of culture in order to separate social heredity from biological heredity. Kroeber and Parsons believed that it is better to use the concept of culture for values, ideas and symbols, rather than for forms of human behavior. Parsons paid great attention to culture and in his book Towards a General Theory of Action described it as a system. Parsons’ ideas were emulated by his students and followers, and accordingly, an important tradition was created in American sociology. Harold Lasswell also studied the systemic relation between culture and personality.⁸ His studies were affected by research emphasizing national character and culture. Lucian Pye established a new way of thinking in the theory of national culture. Sidney Verba and Gabriel Almond suggested a wider political cultural concept than national character. They suggested that the concept of political culture gives us the opportunity to use the anthropological, sociological and psychological disciplines to study the individual’s political behavior.

In 1956, Gabriel Almond brought the concept of political culture to political science.⁹ He employed this concept in order to classify comparative studies of political systems. In 1963, he published a book with Sidney Verba called The Civil Culture. Therein, they described political culture as the attitudes of individuals towards their own political system. They have described political culture as meaning, if we talk about political culture of the society, the political system, but something that has been internalized in the feelings and values of people. People make this culture internal, internalizing the social system in the process.¹⁰

Almond’s ideas were emulated by authors and researchers including Lucian Pye and Sidney Verba, whom I have already mentioned. Their studies of political affairs from the viewpoint of political culture have influenced many researchers, and the topics in this chapter are mainly based on their studies of political culture in the second half of the 20th century.

To begin with I take a look at the concept of political culture from the viewpoint of the pioneers’ studies. In the following, I discuss this viewpoint, which is sometimes called the orthodox viewpoint.

Description of Political Culture

The concept of political culture has not been given a unique description in the writings of researchers, who only suggest processes in their political studies. There is a group of these concepts, connected to the orthodox viewpoint, which are very close to each other. Sidney Verba explains that political culture is a system of values, symbols and beliefs, which are the basis of political action. Lucian Pye says that political culture is a bridge between micro analysis, meaning individual political behavior in its psychological aspect, and macro analysis, meaning political sociology. Political culture tries to employ behavioral analysis in studying important political concepts such as political ideology, government, legitimacy, nationality and sovereignty. Political culture, according to its adherents, is a basic concept, giving a more accurate and scientific method for understanding other concepts, such as ideology, national character, national mentality and political psychology.¹¹ By connecting the two, individual and social analyses, I would be able to study both individual behavior and the nature of systems. By finding the roots of political culture, I can study both the historical changes in political systems and the individual’s present experiences.

Lucian Pye says that the political behavior is so deeply rooted in the character of a nation that it forms a tradition that offers strong resistance to the political-economic powers of the new life.¹² Government, power, sovereignty, governor and so on are very abstract concepts that vary from time to time and place to place and cannot therefore correctly explain the political nature of the nation.

The Content of Political Culture

The content of political culture is, to a great extent, specific to any society, so studies of different political cultures tend to stress different subjects. The ultimate test of any theory of political culture is its value for comparative analysis and generalization. So far, some progress has been made in comparative studies, where the similarities between political cultures have been attributed to similarities in the types of political system. For instance, Almond and Verba investigated “The Civil Culture” and described it as the foundation of democratic political systems.¹³

It appears that some common dimensions of political culture could possibly be attributed to political institutions and to the evolution of the citizenry’s political mindset. It seems that more studies in this respect could explain the growth of a political mindset, common dimensions of historical development, or even both. I can start by propounding some general concepts relevant to all political cultures. In democratic systems, for instance, citizens have an optimistic view of their political system and the effectiveness of political participation, and a clear sense of the separation of government and private interests. Traditional cultures, meanwhile, lack all these things.

Attitude Towards Power and Authority

Political cultures differ in their attitudes towards the nature and specifics of power and authority in the following ways:

1. whether they differentiate power and authority
2. how power and authority are separated
3. the attributes of legal power (such as physical force, safeguards of people’s rights, moral legitimacy and social welfare)
4. the degree to which power and legitimacy are concentrated or distributed.¹⁴

In democratic cultures, legitimacy includes the restriction of political power used by political leaders. In traditional cultures, the restriction of power is weak. This phenomenon, already obvious in traditional countries, was worsened by colonialism.

Basis of Legitimacy

In traditional societies, domination is a sacred matter, connected to religion. In this respect, political leaders claim a higher place and position than the people. In modern cultures, political decision-makers just claim proficiency in their professions. So, in democratic systems, political affairs become ordinary, like many other jobs, and access to high political positions does not belong to any special family or group. In traditional societies, the success of political leaders depends on the fulfillment of special customs. Therefore, the correct performance and proficiency in the fulfillment of these customs would seem to be an important standard for the continued possession of political power. In modern societies, political culture requires the main place to be given to the intellect in solving affairs.

Political Equality and Hierarchy

The preceding discussion leads logically to a key difference between traditional and modem cultures. As mentioned, traditional cultures emphasize hierarchy, meaning that people are not equal in terms ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Tables
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Theoretical Basis and Conceptual Framework
• Chapter Two: Ancient Culture: Absolute Authority
• Chapter Three: Positive Factors for Political Development
• Chapter Four: Negative Factors for Political Development: Traditional Culture and Democratic Development in Iran
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index