ABSTRACT
There are few phenomena and even fewer concepts in the social sciences over which social scientists are in accord. “Political culture” belongs to this rare category, for despite considerable focus on it for a number of years by scholars of different persuasions, there is overall agreement on its precise meaning and, more importantly, on its complex relationship to concepts of state and society. In its simplest form, political culture refers to a set of values and orientations which determine and influence the public’s perception of politics.1 In their pioneering study of the subject, Gabriel Almond and Sydney Verba conceptualised political culture in terms of a link which connects macro-and micropolitics together.2 It would perhaps be more accurate to see political culture as exactly that: the culture of politics, or, put differently, as normative links between society and politics. “Political culture”, I have written elsewhere,
entails the collective political attitudes of a population, their views and orientations toward the body politic in general and toward specific political events, symbols, and activities. Political culture is part of the more general culture of society and as such is deeply affected by it, and its orientations are implicit, unconscious, and often taken for granted and treated as a priori. Political participants do not consciously reflect on the doctrinal orientations or the political characteristics that are brought on by political culture, and are not even aware that political culture expresses itself in their daily activities and thoughts. As such, political culture is a shared and society-wide framework for political orientation and encompasses the society in its entirety.3
