Chapter 4: Politics and Society

Politics is a vital social institution in social life and has the power of directly influencing individuals’ public and private life. Politics is such a phenomenon that it is correlated with every single institution, field, individual and community in a given society. Therefore, it is necessary to embrace politics and society. Politics and society are intertwined and they both interplay. From birth to death, the socialization process of individuals (family, friendship, school, occupational life etc.) is significantly taking place in power relations. At the present time, politics and political activities have moved beyond traditional practices in political parties, organizations. In this regard, the field of politics is not a social action limited to politicians’ practices, it should be considered as social categories in a broader sense social fractions struggle for their democratic rights.

Fundamental Concepts in Political Sociology

Our social behaviours, whether individual or group actions, have particular political aspects. However, dimensions of politics as a concept, are disputable. In sociology literature, there are many debates on what constitutes politics.

Politics, etymologically origins from Ancient Greek “politika” and “police” as city, urban meaning “urban politics” meaning “state affairs”. In today’s meaning, politics can be described as governance of a country, state, and people. Related to this, political science is defined as an academic discipline which examines power and distribution of power in various types of political systems. A more inclusive definition is that it is a science of institutions related to political authority and behaviours playing role in the formation and functioning of these institutions.

However, there are some striking differences between what we call political science and political sociology. Political sociology is the study of power and the intersection of society and politics. Unlike political science, political sociology is a sociological branch which is concerned with the social causes and consequences of given power distributions within or between societies, and with the social and political conflicts that lead to changes in the allocation of power. In other words, it is a sub-discipline that analyses political authority’s institutional regulations, of functions of political authority and transformation of political system. Whereas political science deals mainly with the machinery of government, the mechanisms of public administration, and the formal political realm of elections, public opinion, pressure groups, and political behaviour, sociological analysis of political phenomena is concerned rather more with the interrelationships between politics, social structures, ideologies, and culture.

There are certain concepts that political sociology usually appeals to evaluates various issues in its field of inquiry. One of these concepts is power. Power is a social relation indeed. Bozkurt defines it as a social relation where a person (or a group) controls others behaviours. However, in most of the definitions of power, there is an assumption of mutual relationship. In Max Weber’s definition, power is the chance of a man or a number of men to realize their own will in a command action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action.

Another concept is paternalism. Paternalism might resemble a father figure starting from the 19th Century, particularly a father from a more kindly and stable time, superimposed on the image of a boss. According to Sennett, this picture of authority is paternalism, as high capitalism constructed it. Paternalism is mostly seen in authoritarian regimes or where democratic values and culture are not established in a given society. In Turkey as well, the state is seen as a “father” in political culture; some leaders who have charismatic and traditional authority could be seen as a father portrait.

Authority is another concept and it has various sub-concepts. Richard Sennett notes that often the words authority and “power” are used interchangeably. We do so when we call government officials the authorities. But often again, authority and power are distinguished, as when we say that a government o official lacked the authority to engage in some venture. In English, the root of authority is author; the connotation is that authority involves productive. Yet, the word authoritarian is used to describe a person or system which is oppressive. Authority is a particular type of domination; and it is legitimate. Legitimacy is crucial in this sense. Any particular power requires to insert power Max Weber’s power analysis is focused on distinguishing between different categories (ideal types) of authority. Max Weber identifies three types of authority.

Authority based on the belief in long-running traditions is traditional authority. In other words, traditional authority is the power legitimized through respect for long-established cultural patterns.

Charismatic authority is based on the devotion of followers or subordinates to what they define as the exceptional characteristics of a leader. These characteristics are mostly seen as supernatural, super-human, or at least exceptional compared to lesser mortals.

Rational-legal authority is defined through those who possess rational-legal authority are legitimated on the basis of legally enacted rules and the right of those with authority under those rules to issue commands. A judge, a tax inspector or a military commander are obeyed because others accept the legal framework that gives them their power.

One another concept that political sociology frequently attends to is laicism. Laicism, although in its widest definition, is the separation of religious and state affairs; it comprises more than this conventional definition of the term. Laicism involves freedom of thought and faith. However, in a given society, even though freedom of thought and faith is ensured, laicism may not exist. In this sense, a laic social order is a social order that every person from diverse religions and beliefs, on equal conditions, observing the same regulations, not distinguishing any religious privileges and supremacy.

We can also point out the state as a concept that is referred by political sociology frequently. The state is not an institution as old as the history of humanity. In history, there were stateless societies. Although there were state forms in Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and Ancient Egypt, state is an apparatus in modern societies that display bureaucratic structures. While the state is analysed according to its functions by liberal theorists, class based explanations are made by Marxist theorists to understand State. In political sociology, the state is a symbol of an institution that can act against exterior and interior threats on behalf of society, has the ability to use power for this goal, representing the whole country with its land and folk. Sociologically, the state is an abstract term. State, with its power, elements of oppression and institutions becomes a concrete social institution. As a sociological institution, the state is the major organization that contemporary and modern human societies formulated and it regulates human relations. We also can easily observe that different forms of state comes to the fore frequently in discussion in the field of political sociology such as authoritarian and totalitarian state.

Lastly, the concept of democracy has an important place in political sociology. Despite the fact that the origin of democracy is dated back to Ancient Greece, the spread of democracy has been in the 20th century. Democracy is spread worldwide because it is the most convenient regime which meets the needs of our age’s society. In the most general definition of democracy, it is accepted as the people’s rule, however this definition is not satisfying to understand what democracy really is. Democracy is generally seen as the political system which is the most capable system to ensure political equality, protect liberty and freedom, defend the common interest, meet citizens’ needs, promote moral self-development and enable effective decision-making which takes everyone’s interests into account. Democracy has two main different models as participatory and representative or liberal democracy.

Ideology

The term of ideology can be considered as a world-view in its broadest meaning and it avails us to understand the social world from different point of standpoints.

There are various definitions and innumerable meanings attached to the concept of ideology. Its meaning in sociology differs from what it means in political science. Ideology is a term that is the outcome of the Enlightenment thought. One of the Enlightenment philosophers, De Tracy, after the French Revolution, developed the term ideology as “science of ideas” and literally “idea-ology”. Essentially, De Tracy’s conceptualization refers to today’s term “science”. In this regard, ideology is evaluated as “both a science that examines human thought, idea codes and sources of thought, and a project that is oriented for the future of society”. On the other hand, in today’s use of the term ideology, it is contrary to the meaning of science. Any ideology can comprise a pejorative or negative meaning for other ideologies. Every single ideology attempts to understand social facts or realities in a circle of its own set of concepts. Accordingly, any particular ideology is produced as an alternative to another ideology or ideologies. For Örs, ideology is “a totality of beliefs, norms, and values and comprises what is supposed to be an ‘ideal’ socio-political model”. Any ideology is consistent in its systematic logic of thinking. For this reason, ideologies usually have a strict, dogmatic and unchanging frame of thinking.

There are certain ideologies that should be highlighted. Liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism, neoliberalism and social democracy are some of them.

In its classical form, liberalism is usually considered as the dominant ideology of the Western democracies rooted in Enlightenment thought. It is “usually identified with the philosophies of John Locke, David Hume, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who emphasize social contract theory, a World where human beings are guided by enlightened self-interest, rationality, and free choice, and argue for the minimum intervention of the state in the lives of individuals. It is strongly associated both with economic doctrines of laissez-faire (as in the writings of Adam Smith), and with constitutional guarantees and representative democracies, in which all citizens are held to hold inalienable rights to certain freedoms – such as the right to life, to property, to free speech, association, and religion, along with the right to have some say in the running of the country.

Conservatism refers to, in everyday language, moderate or cautious behaviour, a life-style that is conventional, even conformist, or a fear of or refusal to change. Conservatism, similar to other modern ideologies, emerged in the 18th century as a consequence of political and social environment and culture medium regarding Enlightenment thought. The term conservatism was used by Chateaubriand in the post 1815 period and to describe the ‘right’ wing in the political spectrum, prevalently occurred in Germany, adopted in England in 1835. In the widest definition conservatism is a system of thinking that attaches priority to conserve an existing social, economic, political and cultural atmosphere in a given society. Apart from modern ideologies emerged in the 18th century, conservatism could be observed in archaic social conditions in certain societies. In that regard, conservatism can be used in different terms and meanings in certain circumstances. Conservatism in Turkey, has been intrinsic to society in general, rather than being an ideology. Besides, in the Republican history, conservatism as a political ideological position, has influenced the political domain. More particularly, in the last decades, conservatism has become evident in the political sphere. When thinking of conservatism in Turkey, one should consider religion, state, laicism, nationalism and politics in a relationally axis. Religion, not only an issue of conservative politics, but also has the power of influencing entire the political domain and hegemonic in all debates in Turkish politics. Hence, when thinking of Turkish politics, conservatism is a crucial matter of fact.

One another ideology that can be pointed out here is socialism. Socialism emerged after rapid impoverishment of a vast majority of people due to industrialization in the 19th century, as working class formed an ideological construction. In other words, socialism emerged as a critique of liberal market society and was defined by its attempt to offer an alternative to industrial capitalism. Marshall defines socialism as an economic and political system based on collective or state ownership of the means of production and distribution- although, like capitalism, the system takes many and diverse forms. Early socialism was influenced by the economic and sociological ideas of Karl Marx. In this regard, socialism rooted from Marxist thought that opposes to the capitalist modes of production due to various economic and social reasons. For Marx, socialism implies the abolition of markets, capital, and labour as a commodity. As an ideology, socialism has some characteristics such as society, cooperation, equality, social class, and collective ownership.

Fascism, on the other hand, refers to parties, ideologies, or states that either advocate or embody a typically terroristic domination of a fused state apparatus, within which there is no separation of powers or rule of law, by a single party infused with a frequently racist and always nationalist petit bourgeois ideology. Fascism occurs, when modern ideologies in Continental Europe appear and display as liberal and democratic ideologies. In the first half of the 20th century while the democratic regimes degrade, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes rise. Essentially in Italy, Germany, Portugal and Spain had fascist regimes. In these countries fascism varied in many ways. There is a dispute in weather fascism is an ideology or a regime; and when thinking of it as a perception of world we might conceive fascism as an ideology. Fascism, when considered as a world view, is easily differentiated from other ideologies like liberalism and socialism. Fascism is differentiated in terms of democratic understanding. Yet, fascism rejects liberalism’s equal opportunities ideal, and socialism’s ideal of equality which is equal power of classes.

Neoliberalism can also be considered as an influential ideologies of our era. According to Marshall neo-liberalism refers to a loosely knit body of ideas which became very influential during the 1980s and which were premised upon a (slight) rethinking and a (substantial) reassertion of classical liberalism. Neo-liberalism can be traced back to conservative leaders and their policies such as Margaret Thatcher or Thatcherism in England, Ronald Reagan or “Reaganism” in the U.S. since the 1980s. Neoliberalism formed part of a larger, new right ideological project that sought to fuse laissez-faire economics with an essentially conservative social philosophy. Neoliberalism amounts to a form of market fundamentalism. The market is seen to be morally and practically superior to government and any form of political control.

Lastly, social democracy can be defined as a hybrid political tradition that is inspired by socialist ideals and an existing political atmosphere and determined by liberal values. In practice, social democracy is applied in most of the countries in the developed West. Social democracy is associated with orthodox Marxism. Social democracy is transformed beginning from the second half of the twentieth century, to an understanding of reforming capitalism with its internal dynamics. Social democracy positioned itself as a balanced intervention of the state within the market economy and thus some improvements could be achieved. The strict interpretation of capitalism in the market economy is softened by Keynesian and social welfare policies. Therefore, intervention of the state regarding markets have been increased, social justice has been disseminated. The state increased its regulatory role in markets and revised compensation policies.

Theoretical Approaches to Politics in Sociology

We can mention four main approaches in sociology covering politics. First one is functionalist approach, second is pluralist approach, third is elite theory, and fourth is Marxist-conflict theory. In functionalist approach, society is evaluated in terms of basic needs. The state has emerged as a necessity within the society. These needs can be summarised as follows:

• Maintaining order

• Relations with other states/governments

• Directing the system.

Pluralist perspective to politics in society is closely linked to structural-functionalist theory and it is an analysis of politics that sees power as spread among many competing interest groups. Pluralist approach claims to explain the power and distribution of power in Western democratic societies. There are two versions of pluralism which are classical pluralism and elite pluralist approach. Classical pluralist approach has similarities with Talcott Parsons’ functionalist perspective.

Elite theory relies on the idea of small and elite groups governing the society. In other words, elite theory sees power in society as being monopolized by a small minority (or elite). It is a political theory that is developed by Wifredo Pareto and Gaetano Mosca. For Mosca, all societies are divided into two: rulers and ruled. Ruling classes are minority and ruled classes are majority. Rulers have superior personal qualities. Rulers can use oppression, persuasion, and severity to control masses. Famous sociologist C. Wright Mills offers an elite theory apart from classical elite theories. While Pareto and Mosca provide a general theory to explain the distribution of power in all societies, Mills limited his elite analysis to American society in the 1950s. In his book The Power Elite, he identifies power elites as those who occupy strategic command positions. In certain institutions in USA, elites are commanding posts and Mills identified three key institutions as

• The major corporations

• The military

• The federal government

By contrast with functionalism focusing on functions of the state or elite theory which concentrates on elites ruling the society, Marxist perspectives emphasize means of production since they see economic resources as a source of power. Class conflict can be seen in capitalist societies. Marxist perspective claims there are different interests between who hold the power (means of production) and who do not, and this differentiation in interests leads to a conflict in the society. For Marx, power is concentrated in the hands of those who have the economic control within a society. From this perspective, the source of power lies in the economic infrastructure.

Globalization, Nation-State and European Union

Globalizations is a process that has an impact on the world’s economic, cultural domains. Thus, globalization affects not only cultural and Economic domains, but also the political domain as well. Developments in communications technology and extraordinary improvements led to post-industrial social structures. Hence, nation-states are affected by these big changes. We live in a world that borders of nation-states are surpassed and these borders are re-evaluated. Global economy exceeds the borders of national economies and reshaping as transnational economies. All sorts of economic, cultural, political changes have mostly global impacts. Any financial crisis in any place can lead to a global financial crisis; any sort of cultural item can become widespread; a terror attack might change the whole world’s political and social atmosphere. On the other hand, while redefining nation state’s status, new forms of unities such as European Union (EU) are developing and dissolving simultaneously (Brexit example), leading to new alliances in cultural, economic and political aspects.