ABSTRACT
As the previous chapters have argued, besides examining state institutions comparative political analysis necessitates attention to two additional phenomena which in themselves are not strictly political. First, the comparativist needs to examine the various social institutions that exist within a given society, the roles they play in bestowing upon social classes their particular identities, and the reasons and the ways in which they interact with political institutions. Second, the political culture of society needs to be analysed in order to more fully understand the underlying reasons for the political behaviour of social institutions collectively or of particular groups individually. As already demonstrated, there are groups of countries which, despite their unique cultural and political characteristics, share certain underlying currents in historical experience, social and cultural make-up, and political evolution. Three broad categories of societies can be distinguished: those in the industrialised democracies of the West; societies found in the newly democratised countries; and societies in remaining nondemocratic countries of the Third World. Each of these groups of societies shares broad characteristics in their constituent social institutions, their overall political values and orientations, and their general approach to and dealings with the state. The present chapter focuses on society in industrialised democracies while Chapters 8 and 9 examine commonalities in the two other varieties of societies.
