ABSTRACT

Political cultures are one aspect of the set of norms, values, beliefs, identifications and expectations which societies possess. Problems which lead to substantial political change are more likely to arise where there is basic unhappiness about the way in which leaders are chosen and political systems operate. Successful political systems usually operate on the basis of consensus about the boundaries of the political community, the basic values of the political system, the objects of national pride and national attachment. The analogy is with work done in physical chemistry by the Russian-Belgian scientist Ilya Prigogine, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1977 for his work on the thermodynamics of non-equilibrium systems. The analogy is with work done in physical chemistry by the Russian-Belgian scientist Ilya Prigogine, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1977 for his work on the thermodynamics of non-equilibrium systems.