Page 85 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Comparative Politics and Government

Notes Figure 4.3, illustrates the relationship between history and political culture. The figure displays
public satisfaction with the functioning of democracy for three groups of nations; each oval in the
figure represents a separate nation. One can readily see that satisfaction with democracy is higher
in the first group of stable and very democratic nations; these are largely the established democracies
of Western Europe and North America. Political satisfaction is lower in the second group of
nations that have recently developed strong democratic structures— several Latin American and
East European nations fall into this category. Finally, political satisfaction is lowest in the third
group—nations with new political systems having weak democratic structures, such as the states
of the former Soviet Union. Structure and culture do overlap in these nations.
One may ask whether democracies create a satisfied and democratic public, or whether such a
political culture leads to a democratic political system. Obviously it works both ways. For example,
immediately after World War II Germans were less supportive of democracy, but the political culture
was transformed by political institutions and political experiences over the generation. At the same
time, democracy endured in Britain during the strains of the Great Depression and World War II at
least in part because the British public was supportive of the democratic process. The important
conclusion is that there is normally a relationship between political culture and political structures.

What is the difference between political culture and culture?

Consensual or Conflictual Political Cultures

We have described political culture as a characteristic of a nation, but values and beliefs also vary
within nations. Political cultures may be consensual or conflictual on issues of public policy and,

100

Percentage satisfied with democracy 60
80

40

20

0
0 1 2 3
Long-term New New
democracies democracies, democracies,
strong structures weak structures

Figure 4.3: The Relationship Between Democratic Experience and Political Support

more fundamentally, on views of legitimate governmental and political arrangements. In a
consensual political culture, citizens tend to agree on the appropriate means of making political

80 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY