Chapter 7 Flashcards
what are the two forces governing the workings of politics?
- ability to induce behaviour of others in specified ways by means of coercion
- ability to induce behaviour of others using persuasion
what is legitimacy?
perception that an individual has a valid right to leadership
historically in agricultural states, the right to rule was based on what?
hereditary succession (typically to eldest son of ruler)
what are castes?
the division of society into hierarchal levels; one’s position is determined by birth and remains fixed for life
what is reversed dominance?
societies where attempts by individuals to exercise power are rejected
what are positive reinforcements?
rewards for compliance
what are negative reinforcements?
punishment for noncompliance
what is power?
the ability to induce behaviour of others in specified ways by means of coercion
what is authority?
the ability to induce behaviour of others using persuasion
how can legitimacy be established?
supernatural beliefs and/or military/political participation
what are the levels of socio-cultural integration?
bands, tribes, chiefdoms, states
how does the function of family differ between small communities and larger, more complex societies?
in small communities, the family functions as a political unit but on larger, more complex societies, the functions of the family are taken over by larger social institutions
what is definition of socio-cultural integration?
types of political organizations
what are bands?
the smallest unit of political organization consisting of only a few families and no formal leadership positions
what are tribes?
larger populations compared to bands but are organized around family ties and have fluid systems of temporary leadership
what are chiefdoms?
large political units where the chief holds a formal position of power
what are states?
the most complex form of political organization characterized by a central government that has a monopoly over legitimate uses of physical force, a sizeable bureaucracy, a system of formal laws, and a standing military force
what can the types of political integration be further characterized as and how?
- bands and tribes as egalitarian
- chiefdoms as ranked
- states as stratified
what are egalitarian societies?
no great difference in status/power between people and there are as many valued status positions in societies as there are people able to fill them
what are ranked societies?
substantial differences in wealth and social status of people based on how closely related they are to the chief; limited number of positions of power/status
what are stratified societies?
large differences in wealth, status, and power of people based on unequal access to resources and positions of power
what kind of societies are always egalitarian?
foraging societies
what are the characteristics of bands?
- foragers, nomadic
- lack formal leadership
- value of modesty
- most conflict arise from interpersonal arguments
-disputes resolved informally - wars are short-lived
why are wars short-lived in bands?
no formal leadership or enough warriors
which political unit was most likely to have come into existence outside the family first?
bands
what are the characteristics of tribes?
- 100 to 5k people
- no centralized political structures
- no rules of succession, leadership roles are open and not hereditary
- social integration is through sodalities, men’s houses, formal gift exchanges, and marriage
- at least 2 well-defined groups
what are sodalities?
systems used to encourage solidarity/feelings of connectedness between people who are not related by family ties
what are big mans?
form of temporary/situational leadership; influence is from acquiring followers
what are age sets?
named categories where people of a certain age are assigned at birth
what are age grades?
groups of people close to each other in age and share similar duties/responsibilities
what are the primary devices tribes use to maintain order and establish relationships?
exchanges and informal obligations
in tribes, what are the 3 options groups have when they meet for the first time (regarding gifts and feasting)?
- pass each other and never see each other again
- fight
- permanent relationship
in tribes, what can result from cross-cousin marriages?
reduced tension between groups and/or incentive for members of rival lineages to work together
what is an affinal link?
family relationships created through marriage
what is a bilateral cross-cousin marriage?
man marries woman who’s both his mother’s brother’s daughter and his father’s sister’s daughter
what is restricted exchange?
marriage system where only two extended families are part in an exchange
what is a segmentary lineage?
hierarchy of lineages that contains both close and relatively distant family members
where do segmentary lineages often develop?
environments where a tribe is surrounded by several other tribes and hostility between them induces their members to retain ties with their kin
what are functions of segmentary lineages?
regulating warfare and inheritance and property rights
what is codified law?
formal legal systems where damages, crimes, remedies, and punishments are specified
what does the law look like in tribes?
lack codified law so they use negotiation, mediation, or divine events (oaths, ordeals) to resolve conflict
what are oaths?
practice of calling on a deity to bear witness to the truth of what one says
what is an ordeal?
a test used to determine guilt/innocence by submitting the accused to dangerous, painful, or risky tests believed to be controlled by supernatural forces
what are the types of tribal wars?
raids and feuds
what are raids?
short-term uses of physical forces that are organized and planned
what are feuds?
longer in duration, represent state of recurring hostilities
in ranked societies, what is the most important difference between people based on?
sumptuary rules
what are sumptuary rules?
norms permitting people of higher rank to enjoy greater social status by wearing distinctive clothing, jewelry, etc.
what is an office (regarding chiefs)?
permanent political status demanding a successor when the current leader dies
what are the two concepts of chief?
the man/woman and the office
what are political chiefdoms usually accompanied by?
an economic exchange system
in chiefdoms, what is integration based on?
marriage and secret societies
what are matrilateral cross-cousin marriages?
man marries his mother’s brothers’ daughter
what are patrilineages?
family lineage groups based on descent from a common male ancestor
what is a patrilateral parallel-cousin marriage?
man marries father’s brother’s daughter
what are elites?
numerical minority
in stratified societies, who controls strategic resources sustaining life?
elites
what is stratification?
social structure involving 2/more largely mutually exclusive populations
what kind of society relates to caste systems?
stratified societies
what is the most formal level of political organization?
states
what are nations?
group connected by language, territory, history, political organization
what are ideologies?
reinforces rights of power holders to rule; can manifest in philosophical form
what are the types of state power?
-administrative bureaucracy
- taxation
- ideologies
- coercion
how do states form?
- presence of a stratified society
- increased agricultural productivity
what is circumscription?
enclosure of an area by a geographic feature / boundaries of a state
who are the original subjects of state society formation?
peasant farmers
what is proletarianization?
loss of land
what are characteristics of peasants?
loss of land and self-sufficiency
what does law and order, and warfare look like in states?
formal and codified
what does warfare look like in states?
- widespread
- primary motivation for wars is to establish economic and political hegemony over foreign populations (increase surplus)
what does stability and duration look like in states?
they have a tendency toward instability and only a few states have lasted a thousand years
what is unilineal descent?
kinship systems recognizing only one sex-based “side” of the family
