Political culture is the set of shared attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments that give order and meaning to a political process.
1. The Classic Classification (Almond & Verba)4
In their seminal 1963 work, The Civic Culture, Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba identified three "pure" types of political culture based on how much citizens know about and participate in their government.
| Type | Description | Citizen Role |
| Parochial | Citizens have low awareness of the central government. They identify more with local tribes or villages than the nation. | Unaware/Indifferent |
| Subject | Citizens are aware of the government and its laws but see themselves as passive subjects. They obey but don't participate. | Passive Obedience |
| Participant | Citizens are highly aware and believe they can influence the system through voting, protesting, or joining parties. | Active Engagement |
Note: Almond and Verba argued that a healthy democracy requires a "Civic Culture"—a mix of all three where people are active enough to be heard but passive enough to allow the government to actually govern.
In their 1963 landmark study, The Civic Culture, Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba sought to understand why democracy flourished in some countries (like the UK and US) but struggled or failed in others (like Germany, Italy, and Mexico).
They proposed that a political system’s stability depends on how well its political structures (institutions) align with its political culture (the people's psychology).
1. The Three Psychological Orientations
Before defining the "kinds" of culture, Almond and Verba identified three ways citizens relate to political objects:
Cognitive Orientation: What do people know? (Knowledge of the constitution, the roles of officials, and how the system works).
Affective Orientation: How do people feel? (Emotions like pride in their nation, or perhaps anger or distrust toward the government).
2 Evaluative Orientation: How do people judge?
3 (Moral judgments or opinions on whether the government is performing its job fairly and effectively).4
2. The Three "Pure" Types of Political Culture
They categorized societies based on how citizens relate to four "objects": the system as a whole, the inputs (how we influence the state), the outputs (laws and policies), and the self as a political actor.
A. Parochial Political Culture
In this culture, there is no specialized political role.
The Vibe: "The government is a distant thing that doesn't affect my village; my loyalty is to my family or tribe."
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B. Subject Political Culture
Here, citizens are highly aware of the central government and the laws it produces (the outputs). However, they do not see themselves as having any power to change those laws (the inputs).
Where it's found: Centralized authoritarian regimes or colonial administrations.
The Vibe: "I know who the leader is and I obey the laws to avoid trouble, but I have no say in how those laws are made."
C. Participant Political Culture
Citizens are aware of both the inputs and the outputs. They believe they have the right and the responsibility to participate in the political process.
Where it's found: Modern liberal democracies.
The Vibe: "I pay taxes and follow laws, but I also vote, protest, and demand that the government listens to me."
3. The "Civic Culture" (The Ideal Mix)
The most famous takeaway from their study is that a pure "Participant" culture is not actually the most stable. If every single citizen was constantly active, demanding, and protesting, the government would be overwhelmed and unable to make decisions (a "gridlock"). Instead, they argued that the most stable democracies have a Civic Culture, which is a "mixed" culture:
It contains enough Participants to keep the government accountable.
It contains enough Subjects and Parochials to provide "ballast" (stability), allowing the government the "quiet" it needs to actually implement policy.
10 It balances the tension between government power and citizen control.
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4. Key Criticisms
While revolutionary, the theory has faced pushback over the years:
Anglo-American Bias: Critics argue Almond and Verba treated the UK and US as "ideal" models, implying other cultures were "underdeveloped" if they didn't look like them.
Static View: The theory was criticized for not explaining how a culture changes over time (e.g., how a Subject culture becomes a Participant one).
Neglect of Subcultures: It often ignored the fact that within one country, different classes or ethnic groups might have wildly different political cultures.
Core Definitions
Political Culture: The set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments that provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in a political system.
The Civic Culture: The specific "mixed" political culture that Almond and Verba identified as the most stable foundation for a liberal democracy.
Political Socialization: The process by which these political orientations are transmitted from one generation to the next (e.g., through family, schools, or media).
The Three Orientations (Psychological Pillars)
Cognitive Orientation: Knowledge of and belief about the political system, its roles, and its incumbents.
Affective Orientation: Feelings of attachment, involvement, or rejection regarding political objects.
Evaluative Orientation: The judgments and opinions about political objects that typically involve applying value standards to political information.
The Three Pure Types
Parochial Culture: A culture where citizens have low expectations of the government and no awareness of their ability to influence it.
Subject Culture: A culture where citizens are highly aware of the government's outputs (laws/benefits) but remain passive and do not participate in the inputs (voting/activism).
Participant Culture: A culture where citizens are actively engaged in both the input and output processes and believe they can influence the system.
Systemic Objects
System as General Object: How the citizen views the nation as a whole (e.g., "I am proud to be [Nationality]").
Input Objects: The channels through which citizens' demands are communicated to the government (e.g., political parties, interest groups).
Output Objects: The process by which the government applies rules and policies (e.g., bureaucracy, courts, police).
Self as Object: How the individual views their own role, competence, and power within the political system.
