ABSTRACT
The study of culture and cultural variations around the world attracted the interest of the social sciences, as well as anthropology and history, throughout the twentieth century. Kroeber and Kluckhohn presented a panorama over the usage of Kultur or culture since the word entered into scientific discourse with Klemm in Germany and Tylor in England. The New Cultural Theory (NCT) classification into hierarchy, egalitarianism, fatalism, individualism and autonomy is one way of approaching the variety of cultural phenomena. Culture in general could play a major role in politics. Thus, the analysis of culture and politics should cover ethnicity, religion and civilizations in addition to universal values. During the 1980s and 1990s the rational choice approach rose to a dominant position in political science. A political culture is the product of both the collective history of a political system and the life histories of the members of that system.
