Political and Legal Systems (Miller Chapter 8)

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Political and Legal Systems(Miller Chapter 8)


The BIG Questions

What does political anthropology cover? What is the scope of legal

anthropology? How are political and legal systems

changing?


Political Anthropology Political anthropology addresses the

area of human behavior and thought related to power

Takes a broader view of politics than political scientists

Political anthropologists study… Power and related concepts Political organization cross-culturally Interactions among political units Change in political systems


Power and Related Concepts

Political anthropologists address the area of human behavior and thought related to power

Who has it; who does not

Power, Authority, and Influence

Bases of power

DemocratizationSocial Conflict and Violence

Political organization and government

Social control


Legal Anthropology

Legal anthropology addresses issues of social order and conflict resolution cross-culturally

Legal anthropologists study… Laws cross-culturally Morality and laws Social conflict Social control


Politics and Political Organization

Politics refers to the organized use of public power Is opposed to the more private micropolitics of

family and domestic groups Political organization is the existence of

groups for purposes such as public decision making and leadership, maintaining social cohesion and order, protecting group rights, and ensuring safety from external threats.


Political Organizations and Social Groups Political organizations and social groups

share several features Criteria/rules for membership Identity markers (clothing, card, title) Internal organization (leadership hierarchy)


Major Types of Political Organizations Bands Tribes

Big-man / big-woman system Chiefdoms States


Power, Authority, and Influence Influence is the ability to achieve a desired

end by exerting social or moral pressure on someone or some group

Authority is the right to take certain forms of action

Power is the ability to bring about results, often through the possession or use of forceful means


Band A band is the form of political

organization associated with foraging groups

The most long-standing form of political organization Because for most of human history we

lived in bands Comprises between 20 people and a

few hundred people at most, all related through kinship


Band Is characterized by…

Flexible membership A lack of permanent, formal leaders

May have individuals with authority or influence, but no individuals have power over others Leader is “first among equals”

Low conflict between groups


Tribe A tribe is a more formal type of political

organization than the band Is typically associated with horticulturalists and

pastoralists Developed about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago with

the emergence of these modes of production A tribe comprises several bands or lineage

groups, each with similar language and lifestyle and each occupying a distinct territory Members may belong to the same clan – a group

of people who claim descent from a common ancestor, although they may be unable to trace the exact relationship


Tribe Tribal groups contain from 100 to several

thousand people Tribes are found in various areas of the

world A tribal headman or headwoman is a

more formal leader than a band leader Political leader on a part-time basis only Relies mainly on authority and influence

rather than on power


Big-Man/Big-Woman System Is a form of political organization in which

individuals build a political base and gain prestige, influence, and authority through a system of redistribution based on personal ties and grand feasts Often considered within a tribal system

Most common in the South Pacific Often involves a moka, which is a strategy for

developing political leadership that involves exchanging favors and gifts, such as pigs, and sponsoring large feasts where further gift giving occurs

Sphere of big-man/big-woman’s influence includes people in several villages


Chiefdoms A chiefdom is a form of political organization

that includes permanently allied tribes and villages under one leader, a chief who possesses power

Chiefdoms have large populations, often numbering in the thousands

They are more centralized and socially complex than tribes and bands

Ascribed/hereditary systems of social rank and economic stratification Chiefs and their lineages have higher status than

commoners


Chiefdoms The position of chief is an “office” that

must be filled at all times Greater complexity of managing a larger

population than with band and tribes requires greater responsibilities

Chiefdoms have existed throughout the world

Sometimes confederacies are formed when chiefdoms are joined Headed by a “big chief” – a chief of chiefs


States A state is a centralized political unit

encompassing many communities, which includes a bureaucratic structure and leaders who possess coercive power

Is now the form of political organization in which all people live Bands, tribes, and chiefdoms exist, but they

are incorporated within state structures Many thousands or millions of people may

be encompassed by a state


States States have much more power than bands, tribes,

and chiefdoms Reflected in architecture, urban planning, other

symbols Controls population with full-time police and uses

standing armies to defend borders Have the power to tax Have the power to manipulate information

Are hierarchical and usually patriarchal There are fewer women in direct political positions than

men, but women may play large indirect roles in politics



Types of Political Organizations and Leadership

Bands

Tribes

Chiefdoms

States

Band Leader

King/Queen/President

Headman/Headwoman

Chief




Social Control Social control is the process by which

people maintain orderly life in groups All cultures have rules that allow that

culture to establish orderly conduct Even pirates have rules!

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/pirate-code-conduct.htm

Rules vary cross-culturally


Social Control Social control is the process by which

people maintain orderly life in groups Occurs through norms and laws

Norms are accepted standards for how people should behave that are usually unwritten and learned unconsciously through socialization

Violation of norms may simply be considered rude and the violator may be shunned, or some sort of direct action may be taken against the violator


Social Control In contrast to norms, laws are binding rules

created through custom or official enactment that defines correct behavior and the punishment for misbehavior

Are more common and more elaborate in state-level societies

Religion often provides legitimacy for law Especially prevalent in contemporary Islamic

status, but is also found in some laws in Western states as well

Violation of laws have associated punishments, such as getting fined, going to jail, etc.


Social Control Social control in small-scale societies is

characterized more through the use of norms

Social control in large-scale societies is characterized more through the use of laws


Social Control in Small-Scale Societies Bands are small, close-knit groups, which are

kinship based and disputes tend to be handled at the interpersonal level

Punishment is often through ridicule, shaming, or leaving the group

Emphasis is on maintaining social order and restoring social equilibrium, not hurtfully punishing an offender Capital punishment (execution) is very rare

Punishment is often legitimized through belief in supernatural forces If do something socially unacceptable, something

supernatural may occur to punish that behavior


Social Control in States In states we have a large and often

diverse population – not everyone knows everyone else

Increased social stress due to inequities in wealth distribution, rights to land, etc.

These conditions necessitate… Increased specialization of roles involved in

social control Formal trials and courts Power-enforced forms of punishment, such

as prisons and the death penalty


Social Control in States Increased specialization of roles

involved in social control A variety of full-time professions devoted to

maintaining law and order Judges, lawyers Police – exist mainly in state level societies

Policing is a form of social control that includes processes of surveillance and the threat of punishment related to maintaining social order

Varies in effectiveness from state to state U.S. – high crime rates Japan – much lower crime rates


Social Control in States Formal trials and courts

Court system with lawyers, judge, and jury Used in many societies Goal is to ensure justice and fairness, but the

analysis of legal systems in the U.S. and elsewhere have shown some serious problems

Trial by ordeal A way of judging guilt or innocence in which the

accused person is put through a test that is often painful


Social Control in States Prisons and the death penalty

Prisons (places where people are forcibly detained as a form of punishment) emerged with state-level societies

Death penalty Rare in non-state societies Requires a great deal of power to condemn

someone to death – reflects state power and is a powerful tool to influence people to act in a manner acceptable to the state


A British colonial prison in the Andaman Islands, India, where many Indian freedom fighters were imprisoned during the 18th and 19th centuries; now a tourist site


Social Inequality and the Law

Critical legal anthropologists examine the role of law in maintaining power relationships through discrimination against such social categories as indigenous people, women, and minorities.


Social Inequality and the Law - Australian

Aboriginal Youth and Justice

• More likely to receive the most severe outcomes from criminal justice decision-makers than white youth

• More likely to live in a poor neighborhood, be unemployed, and thus be classified as “undependable” and formally arrested

• More likely to appear in court rather than Children’s Aid Panels

– Gale et al. 1990



Critical legal anthropologists examine the role of law in maintaining power relationships through discrimination against such social categories as indigenous people, women, and minorities.




Social Conflict and Violence All systems of social control have to

deal with the fact that conflict and violence may occur

Conflict occurs on many scales Private conflicts

Interpersonal conflict Conflict at the household level

Public conflicts Ethnic conflicts Warfare


Ethnic Conflict Ethnic pluralism is a characteristic of

most states in the world today. Ethnic conflict may result from an ethnic

group’s attempt to gain more autonomy or more equitable treatment.

May also be caused by a dominant group’s actions to subordinate, oppress, or eliminate an ethnic group by genocide or ethnocide


Ethnic Conflict Political analysts and journalists often cite

language, ethnicity, and religion as the biggest causes of conflict worldwide

Ethnic identities commit people to a cause Deeper issues often exist such as claims to

material resources (land, water, etc.) which may exacerbate ethnic conflicts


Example of an ethnic group seeking territorial recognition: The Kurds of the Middle East


Ethnic Conflict In the past few decades, political

violence has increasingly been enacted within states rather than between states

Intra-state (within state) violence constitutes the majority of the many “shooting wars” in the world today


Warfare Warfare is organized conflict involving group

action directed against another group and involving lethal force. Cultural variation exists in the frequency and

seriousness of wars Intergroup conflicts among free-ranging

foragers that would fit the definition of war do not exist in the ethnographic record

Informal, non-hierarchical political organization among bands is not conducive to waging armed conflict

Bands do not have special military forces or leaders


Warfare Warfare likely originated with domestication

of plants and animals Led to increased population density, different

groups close to each other and often competing with each other for resources

Warfare more common in tribes, chiefdoms, and states than in bands More influential leaders How often and what types of warfare are

engaged in vary depending on the society and many factors Costa Rica – no army U.S. – army


Warfare Causes of war

Defending values Defending freedom

“Operation Enduring Freedom”

Defending democracy Defending human rights

Supporting allies Extending boundaries

Securing more resources

Reacting to aggression


Warfare One theory of effective warfare… For war to be an effective tool of

domination and for domination to be maintained after a conquest, there must be the introduction of a new economic and political system and an ideology that wins over the population Physical domination combined with

ideological dominance


Changes in Political and Legal Systems Contemporary political anthropologists

are most interested in political dynamics and change, especially in how the state affects local people’s lives.


Changes in Political and Legal Systems

Emerging and transnational nations

Women in politics

Democratization


Emerging Nations and Transnational Nations A nation is a group of people who

share a language, culture, territorial base, political organization, and history Not to be confused with a state

Example Puerto Rico Half of the “nation” lives outside of the

home territory Are forming a transnational identity


Example of a transnational nation: Puerto Rico


Democratization Democratization is the process of

transformation from an authoritarian regime to a democratic regime. Has varying levels of success Transition appears to be most difficult

when the change is from highly authoritarian socialist regimes Often difficult because an economic

transition in addition to a political one Transition from state controlled government

planned economy to a free market, capitalist economy


The BIG Questions Revisited

What does political anthropology cover? What is the scope of legal

anthropology? How are political and legal systems

changing?

Documents

Political and Legal Systems (Miller Chapter 8)