Political Culture

What is politic culture and why is it of relevance to the study of politics?

When identifying a common liberal democracies, there are common features that need to be seen, such as institutions like a chief executive, legislatures and courts, organisations such as political parties and pressure groups, processes such as elections and the possession by individual citizens of a range of personal freedoms. 

It is important to note that these common features differ from each country and each democracy - their composition, conduct, powers, relationships and operations are never the same. Within a common framework, the workings of the political system in each liberal democracy are subject to wide variation -

E.g. in France: there is a wide degree of tolerance for conflict as a means of settling political dispute. However, in Sweden, the spirit of compromise tends to guide the actions of key participants to the political process. In the UK there is a tradition of evolutionary rather than revolutionary change. 

These examples show that such variations rise from what we term "political culture." This refers to an underlying act of values held by most people living in a particular country concerning political behaviour, e.g. the degree of trust which citizens have in their political leaders. 

When referring to a country's political culture we are emphasising the similarity in views held within any particular country, suggesting that within any one country, there is a tendency for the majority of people to think, feel and act in a similar manner concerning to conduct of political affairs. 

However, the extent of a common political culture can, however, be overstated. Within any country differences are likely to exist concerning fundamental values related to political behaviour. The term "homogeneity" denotes a wide level of similarity in these attitudes but universal agreement is not accorded to them. For example, factors such as de-industrialisation or immigration can cause difference in opinion within a community, a country or a continent, meaning that it is almost improbable to gain universal agreement on the subjects. In this case, heterogeneous societies may arise (where dominant attitudes are challenged by sub-cultural values) or result in a looser attachment to mainstream values by some sections of society.