POLITICAL CULTURE AND POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

CONTENT

1. The Concept of Political Culture
2. The Concept of Political Socialization

The Concept of Political Culture

Meaning of Culture and Political Culture

Culture is defined as the activities, thoughts, feelings and artifacts, which man acquires as a member of society. According to Alan R. Ball, political culture is composed of the attitudes, beliefs, emotions and values of society that relate to the political system and political issues. It can also be defined as the totality of the people’s way of life, beliefs, attitudes, values, norms etc. in relation to the way a given state is administered.

The Components of Political Culture

There are basically three elements or components of political culture in terms of attitudes of the citizens to governmental activities and processes.

1. Cognitive Orientation: This refers basically to the extent of awareness or level of enlightenment of the people about their state.
2. Evaluative Orientation: This is the ability of the people to make inferences from the actions of their leaders in terms of assessment of their performances.