In this chapter students will learn:

• how societies maintain order and stability within their own borders and with other societies
• why and how societies use power and controls differently
• the differences between societies with uncentralized governments and those with centralized governments
• the characteristics of bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states
• how power is used to create inequality based on gender and access to resources
• about the different types of violent conflict within and between societies

Introduction: Politics and Power

Political organization refers to the way a society guides the behavior of its members and manages affairs with other societies. All societies have some forms of social control.

Power, Authority, and Prestige

Individuals and groups may control others through power, prestige, authority, or some combination of the three.

Social Controls and Conflict Resolution

The behavior of individuals or groups in society may be guided by internalized or externalized controls (sanctions).

Types of Political Organization

Although reality is complex, we use the four types of political organization as a starting point to discuss politics in society: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states. Bands and tribes are uncentralized systems, in which the community governs itself through informal sanctions. Chiefdoms and states are centralized systems, in which official leadership has the power and authority to control the actions of others. Bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states have different structures and ways of using power.

Social Inequality

Social stratification arises when some individuals have more access to resources than others. The individuals’ status may be achieved, such as in a class system, or ascribed, such as in a caste system. There are many forms of social inequality, including environmental inequality, in which certain members of society lack access to unpolluted natural resources such as water. Water privatization is one of the leading contributors to the major gap between those with and without access to clean drinking water.

Violence and War

There are many forms of inter- and intra-group violence across cultures; however, full-scale war comes into existence only with the rise of cities and surpluses of wealth. Although humans can be a violent species and choose to go to war for political, religious, and economic reasons, anthropologists do not believe that violence resides in our genes.

1. What are the differences between power, prestige, and authority?

2. How do sanctions and rewards work to control people’s behavior within a society?

3. What are the characteristics of the four types of political systems?

4. What are the differences between caste- and class-based societies?

5. How does political inequality affect the ability of people to access clean water?

6. What are the different types of violence within or between groups?

1. In your view, what would be a good use of power in your community? Between nations? Between a Native group and the political nation in which it resides?

2. How do people come to accept power inequality or differential access to resources as normal?

3. Due to the unequal demands on water for growing food crops and raising animals, what would you suggest as an optimum diet for human beings in the future?

achieved status (page 202): a social role a person achieves due to work and opportunity

age set (page 197): group that brings people together via rites of passage through the stage of life they are in; social group of the same age with common concerns and interests

anthropophagy (page 206): cannibalism, literally “people eating”

ascribed status (page 202): the social role of a person that is fixed at birth

authority (page 192): having legitimate power

band (page 196): small egalitarian society of food foragers who live and travel together

Big Man (page 193): an informal leader who possesses authority based on prestige and persuasive power, found in Melanesian societies

caste (page 202): a hierarchical system based on birth; most commonly associated with Hindu India

centralized system (page 195): a political system with a centralized governing body that has the power and authority to govern

chiefdom (page 198): a type of political organization with centralized power, complex social structure, and large population; often seen among intensive agriculturalists

class (page 202) a form of social stratification based on differences in wealth and status

cultural materialism (page 195): an anthropological theory guided by the idea that the external pressures of the environment dictate cultural practices

diplomacy (page 207): the relations and negotiations between nations

endo-canibalism (page 206): eating the flesh of people within one’s society, especially within one’s family

euphemisms (page 200): a polite or socially acceptable word or phrase that is used in place of one that is unpleasant or offensive

exo-cannibalism (page 206): eating the flesh of people outside of one’s society

externalized control (page 193): rules that regulate behavior by encouraging conformity to social norms; may be negative (punishments) or positive (rewards)

feud (page 205): ongoing violent relations between two groups in the same society

internalized control (page 193): impulses that guide a person toward right behavior based on a moral system

political organization (page 191): the way a society maintains order internally and manages affairs externally

power (page 191): the ability to compel another person to do something that he or she would not do otherwise

prestige (page 192): the positive reputation or high regard of a person or other entity merited by actions, wealth, authority, or status

privatization (page 203): selling ownership of public resources to private companies

raid (page 205): violence in which members of one group aim to steal or recover items, animals, or people from another group in the same society

ranked system (page 197): a social system in which status is based on one’s genealogical closeness to the chief; also called ranked society

reserves (page 204): areas of land under tribal jurisdiction (Canada); in the United States, known as reservations

rites of passage (page 197): rituals marking life’s important transitions from one social or biological role to another

sanction (page 193): punishment that results from breaking rules

sectarian violence (page 205): fighting between groups divided by religion or ethnicity

social mobility (page 202): the ability of members of society to rise in social class

social stratification (page 201): the ranking of members of society into a hierarchy

state (page 199): a type of political organization in a highly populated, industrial society with a strong, centralized government

stratified society (page 199): a social system in which one’s position in the social hierarchy equals their status; results in an unequal distribution of power and resources

tribe (page 197): a type of political organization that has decentralized power, often seen among horticulturalists or pastoralists

uncentralized system (page 195): a political system with no centralized governing body and in which decisions are made by the community; also called a decentralized system

warfare (page 205): an extended violent conflict in which one side attempts to kill as many people or destroy as much property as possible until the other side surrenders

Oxford Bibliographies—Political Anthropology
www.oxfordbibliographies.com

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Association for Political and Legal Anthropology (APLA)
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United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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United Nations Human Rights Home Page
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United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
www.un.org

Association for Political and Legal Anthropology (APLA)
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Death Penalty Information Center, a national non-profit organization focusing on capital punishment in the United States
www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

Black, J.K. (1999). Inequity in the global village. Bloomfield: Kumarian Press.

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Ethnographies of Power and Politics

Bourgois, P. (1995). Selling crack in El Barrio. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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1. What aspects of political organization are relevant to anthropologists?

Your answer should focus on the goals of political organization—defined as the way a society maintains order internally and manages affairs externally—and explain some of the various ways that power relations are relevant anthropological issues.

• All societies use a set of rules of some kind to guide their members.
• Cultural, religious, external, internal—all kinds of values and forces exist to regulate behavior.
• Power relations happen between all individuals, and on a broader scale between larger groups (organizations, governments, etc.).
• Anthropological questions can include: how is power distributed and used within a society? How do societies regulate the power relations between their own and other groups? Is there a central authority, like a government, that imposes rules and punishes those who break them? Or does the group share responsibility for making decisions?

See pages 191-194 of your text.

2. What is the difference between coercive and persuasive power?

The answer should outline what power is before exploring each of the two types and how they differ. It should explain how power stems from inequality, and how each kind exploits a kind of uneven access to resources (whether cultural, economic, or other).

• Coercive—changing someone’s behavior through physical force (or its threat). “A stick.” Example: slavery.
• Persuasive—changing someone’s behavior through argument. “A carrot.” Specifically, a reward (wealth, better status, fulfillment, etc.).
• Neither kind operates without the authority backing up the use of power—whoever is trying to change someone’s behavior, whether coercively or persuasively, needs to have the ability to exercise such power for it to be effective.

See pages 191-192 of your text.

3. Which of Elman Service’s categories contain centralized forms of government? What are some advantages and disadvantages to centralized government in each?

This answer should be fairly straightforward, demonstrating the definitions of each category and understanding which have centralized governments. In summary: bands do not, tribes do not, chiefdoms do, states do. Factors in the advantages and disadvantages involve how leaders are chosen, bureaucracy, authority, power, etc.

See pages 195-200 of your text.

4. What kinds of power relations are used in socially stratified societies? Social stratification, or the ranking of members of a society into a hierarchy, is not a natural feature of social organization. This means that power relations, since they are based on unequal access to various resources, are key components of social stratification. Societies that stratify can do this in a variety of ways, which then influences what kind of power relations can be employed.

This answer should include some of the following definitions and terms: coercive power, persuasive power, external controls, internal controls, social mobility, caste systems, class systems, leadership, centralized government, decentralized government, authority, prestige, sanctions.

See pages 191-196 and 199-203 of your text.

5. Describe two roles or positions you have, one ascribed and one achieved.

TThis answer is dependent on your context but should define each and explain why your choices fit each status.

• Ascribed statuses are based on innate or unchanging factors, such as the family that you were born into. They often occur in caste systems.
• Achieved statuses are based on personal actions, such as work and opportunity. They require a system that allows some form of social mobility or class stratification.

See page 202 of your text.