Political Culture as ‘Civic Culture’

Gabriel A. Almond and Sidney Verba’s The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations (1963) presented a study of political cultures of five democracies—Britain, Germany, Italy, Mexico and the United States. The study seeks to locate the attitudinal and behavioural aspects of the people, their orientation towards authority, political objects and political system, reconciliation of… Continue reading Political Culture as ‘Civic Culture’

Political Culture and Public Opinion

Traditionally, we have been appreciating the Aristotelian notion that a large middle class with a balanced socio-economic position is crucial for stable democracy. Similarly, the Lockean notion that majoritarian consensus is important for democratic consent and decision-making, has been an integral element of our political thought. J. S. Mill and Alex de Tocqueville, however, introduced… Continue reading Political Culture and Public Opinion

Introduction

England is a parliamentary democracy, so is India. There are Members of Parliament, political parties, interest and pressure groups, and electorates in both countries. This means there should not be any fundamental differences in the functioning of the two democracies. However, political parties, pressure and interest groups, electorates and their representatives behave differently in the… Continue reading Introduction