Theocratic StatesSeveral Nations Under the Gods

Political Organization: Basic Principles Power vs Authority Power: compliance by coercion or force Authority: compliance by persuasion Legitimacy: Beliefs rationalizing rule Examples: Divine Right, Peoples Consent Sanctions: reinforcements of behavior Positive: rewards, recognition Negative: punishment

Power versus Authority Extreme examples Power: concentration camps:

Auschwitz (above); Guantanamo (below)

Authority: !Kung, Inuit, Yanomamo Neither is absolute Dictatorships need to persuade:

Nuremberg rallies, Mayday parades Power is evenly distributed in

nonstate cultures

Legitimacy as Justification for Political Order

Justification necessary even in authoritarian states

Monarchies: the divine right to rule Soviet Union: Socialist transition to

communist economy Nazi Germany: Racial purification; delivery

of full-employment (Nuremberg rallies, above)

Democratic forms: consent by the governed (below, State of the Union)

Legitimacy: Samsara in India Justification for a given

political order India: Caste system is

reinforced by Samsara: A cosmic illusion

marked by Birth-and-death cycles

Legitimacy: Karma in India Karma: influenced by

one’s act in all previous lives

Reward: rebirth in higher state

Punishment: rebirth in lower state

Affects all beings, from stone to humans to gods

States: Force as Prime Mover Defining Characteristics A centralized political system With power to coerce The operating factor: Monopoly over the use of Legitimate physical force Supports the apparatus of the state Bureaucracy --Army and police Law and legal codes

States: Derivative Features Administrative structure Public services --Tax collection Resource allocation --Foreign affairs Delegation of force Police, all levels --Armed force Law Civil (dispute resolution) Regulatory (trade, economy) Criminal (crime and punishment)

Law: Cross-Cultural Comparison Codified law: Formally defines wrong and

specifies remedies Customary law: Informal sanctions or

dispute resolution Restitution or Restorative law: emphasizes

dispute resolution, damage restitution Retributive law: emphasizes punishment for

crimes committed

Case Studies: Restitution Nuer: Leopard-skin chief Function: mediate disputes; leopard

wrap identifies role Cannot force or enforce an

agreement Authority is spiritual Zapotec in Talea, Mexico Function: hear cases and negotiate Recommend settlement Enforce agreement by community

Case Studies: Retribution Criminal Law Murder, Robbery, Others Civil Law Consumer Law and Small

Courts Final Say: Judge or Arbitrator Limitation: Sheer Numbers of

Cases

Defining Theocratic States States whose legitimacy is derived from

supernatural sources: God or gods Mexica (Aztecs): Legitimacy was derived from a

fear that the sun would die out Human sacrifice necessary to prevent the loss of

the sun Tibet: the belief in samsara—birth, death, and

rebirth Karma: the driving force based on one’s deeds—

good or evil—in past lives.