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TOPIC 4: CITIZENS SOCIETY AND THE STATE. WOOD PAGES 23-26. CITIZENS, SOCIETY AND THE STATE. Policymaking is impacted by religion, ethnic groups, race, language, social and economic classes. These divisions are referred to as SOCIAL CLEAVAGES.
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TOPIC 4:CITIZENS SOCIETY AND THE STATE WOOD PAGES 23-26
CITIZENS, SOCIETY AND THE STATE • Policymaking is impacted by religion, ethnic groups, race, language, social and economic classes. • These divisions are referred to as SOCIAL CLEAVAGES. • The mix of BASES OF SOCIAL CLEAVAGES determine depth and separation from citizens. • What effect do cleavages have on political institutions?
COMPARING CITIZEN/STATE RELATIONSHIPS • Government – Citizen relationships may be compared by categorizing and noting differences and similarities among categories. • Comparisons of countries can be compared categorically. • Attitudes and beliefs of citizens (Trust, Political efficacy) • Political Socialization (Education, Families, ect.) • Types of Political Participation (Authoritarian vs. Democratic) • Voting Behavior (Regular, Free, Fair elections) • Factors that Influence Political Beliefs and Behaviors (Do cleavages affect political beliefs and behaviors?
BASES OF POLITICAL CLEAVAGES • 1. Social Class – Determines political attitudes based on economic differences. • 2. Ethnic Cleavages – Most divisive cleavages in all countries. • 3. Religious Cleavages – Often intertwined with ethnicity or within religions. (fundamentalism vs. nonfundamentalism)
BASES OF POLITICAL CLEAVAGES • 4. Regional Cleavages – Competition for government money, jobs and development projects. • Coinciding Cleavages – Every dispute divides groups against each other. • Cross-Cutting Cleavages – Divide society into potential groups that may conflict on one issue or cooperate on another. Social conflict are kept to moderate levels.
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS • Organized collective activities that aim to bring about or resist fundamental change in an existing group or society. • Try to influence policymakers to make decisions to support their goals. • Try to push others into reconsidering their positions. • Examples: Women’s Movement, Civil Rights Movement, African National Congress (overthrow of Apartheid).
CIVIL SOCIETY • Organizations outside the government that help people define and advance their own interests. • Stronger in liberal democracies. • Organizations of class, religion, or ethnic interests influence Civil Society. • Helps define people’s relationship to and role in politics and community affairs.
CIVIL SOCIETY • Helps to prevent “tyranny of the majority” through societal checks on power. • May include advocacy groups, social networks and the media. • Global Civil Society has emerged with human rights and environmental groups affecting government-citizen relations. • GLOBAL COSMOPOLITANISM – universal political order that draws its identity from everywhere. (Growing worldwide)
CIVIL SOCIETY • NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGO’S) – National and international groups, independent of any state, that pursue policy objectives and foster public participation. • Means where people can find common interests with people who live in other parts of the world. • Examples: Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International.
CIVIL SOCIETY • Civil Society is not encouraged in Authoritarian regimes but it does not disappear either. (Russian Orthodox Church under Communist Regime) • Generally weak in less developed and industrializing countries. • Current trends include more women participating in NGO’S and influence on health, gender, environmental, and poverty issues.