Civic culture
Encyclopedia
A civic culture or civic political culture is a political culture
characterised by "acceptance of the authority of the state" and "a belief in participation in civic duties". The term was first used in Gabriel Almond
and Sidney Verba
's book, The Civic Culture
. Civic political culture is a mixture of other political cultures namely parochial, subject and participant political cultures. Almond and Verba characterised Britain as having a civic political culture. In "Is Britain Still a Civic Culture?" Patrick Seyd and Paul Whiteley discuss the extent to which Britain can still be regarded as having a civic political culture. The term civic culture is used to identify the political culture characteristics that explain the stability of a democratic societies political structure.
Almond and Verba state that the following are characteristics of a civic culture:
Political culture
Political culture is the traditional orientation of the citizens of a nation toward politics, affecting their perceptions of political legitimacy.Conceptions...
characterised by "acceptance of the authority of the state" and "a belief in participation in civic duties". The term was first used in Gabriel Almond
Gabriel Almond
Gabriel A. Almond was an American political scientist best known for his pioneering work on comparative politics, political development, and political culture.-Biography:...
and Sidney Verba
Sidney Verba
Sidney Verba is an American political scientist, librarian and library administrator. His academic interests are mainly American and comparative politics. He was the Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor at Harvard University. He also served Harvard as the director of the Harvard University...
's book, The Civic Culture
The Civic Culture
The Civic Culture or The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations is an influential work in political science by Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba....
. Civic political culture is a mixture of other political cultures namely parochial, subject and participant political cultures. Almond and Verba characterised Britain as having a civic political culture. In "Is Britain Still a Civic Culture?" Patrick Seyd and Paul Whiteley discuss the extent to which Britain can still be regarded as having a civic political culture. The term civic culture is used to identify the political culture characteristics that explain the stability of a democratic societies political structure.
Almond and Verba state that the following are characteristics of a civic culture:
- Orientation toward political system in both the political and governmental senses
- Pride in aspects of one's nation
- Expectation of fair treatment from government authorities
- Ability to talk freely and frequently about politics
- An emotional involvement in elections
- Tolerance toward opposition parties
- A Valuing of active participation in local government activities, parties, and in civic associations
- Self-confidence in one's competence to participate in politics
- Civic cooperation and trust
- Membership in the political associations