The Theory of Political Culture

Synopsis

Although The Idea That Politics Is Influenced By Its Cultural Setting Is So Plausible As To Be Almost Irresistible, Political Culture Has Remained A Contested And Controversial Concept. Just What The Cultural Setting Consists Of And How Its Influence On Politics Is Transmitted Remain Unclear And Disputed. This Book Argues That The Problem Is Insufficient Attention To Basic Theoretical Questions. Positivist Political Culture Research Based On Attitude Surveys, And The Interpretivist Alternative Which Explores Meaningful Context, Despite Their Mutual Antipathy Share A Neglect Of These Questions, While Materialist And Discursivist Critiques Of, And Alternatives To, Political Culture Research End Up Posing The Very Same Questions. Resisting The Specialization And Sectarianism Of Much Of Political And Social Science, The Book Tackles Head On The Questions Of What Political Culture Is And How It Works. It Begins By Arguing That We Must Explore The Nature And Dynamics Of Political Culture. Machine Generated Contents Note: Why A Theory Of Political Culture? -- What Is A Theory Of Political Culture? -- 1.theoretical Marginalization: The Positivist Mainstream Of Political Culture Research -- 1.1.introduction -- 1.2.philosophical Resources: Positivism, Falsificationism, And Realism -- 1.3.disciplinary Factors In The Inception Of Political Culture Research -- 1.4.theoretical Resources: Parsons's Theory Of Social Order -- 1.5.methodological Resources: The Theory And Measurement Of Attitudes -- 1.6.disciplinary Consolidation And The Bifurcation Of Political Culture Research -- 1.7.conclusion -- 2.theoretical Denial: The Interpretive Alternative In Political Culture Research -- 2.1.introduction -- 2.2.before Interpretivism: Culturalism And Historicism -- 2.3.weber And Interpretive Sociology -- 2.4.interpretivism In Anthropology: Benedict, Sahlins, And Geertz -- 2.5.conclusion -- 3.theoretical Displacement (i): Materialist Alternatives To Political Culture Research -- Contents Note Continued: 3.1.introduction -- 3.2.rational Choice Theory -- 3.3.marxism: Culture, Ideology, And Hegemony -- 3.3.1.origins Of The Problem: The German Ideology -- 3.3.2.gramsci: The Theory Of Hegemony -- 3.3.3.applying The Theory Of Hegemony: Social History And Cultural Studies -- 3.4.conclusion -- 4.theoretical Displacement (ii): Discursivist Critiques Of Political Culture Research -- 4.1.introduction -- 4.2.from Hegemony To Discourse: Post-marxism -- 4.3.foucault: Discourse And Power -- 4.4.the Discursivist Critique Of Culture In Area Studies -- 4.5.the Discursivist Critique Of Culture In Anthropology -- 4.6.conclusion -- 5.the Dualistic Ontology Of Culture (i): Philosophical Arguments -- 5.1.introduction -- 5.2.causality, Intelligibility, And Culture -- 5.3.wittgenstein: Rules And Practice -- 5.3.1.the Interpretive And The Anti-theoretical Wittgenstein -- 5.3.2.the Communitarian And The Individualist Wittgenstein: From Polarity To Duality -- Contents Note Continued: 5.4.polanyi: Tacit And Articulate Knowledge -- 5.5.searle: The Background -- 5.6.conclusion -- 6.the Dualistic Ontology Of Culture (ii): Psychological Findings -- 6.1.introduction -- 6.2.cultural Psychology And Psychological Mechanisms -- 6.3.the Theory Of Attitudes Revisited -- 6.4.automaticity And Conscious Will -- 6.5.conclusion -- 7.the Inertial Dynamics Of Political Culture -- 7.1.introduction -- 7.2.the Theory Of Practice -- 7.3.the Dynamics Of Skills -- 7.4.skills And Political Culture: Resistance, Persistence, And Adaptive Inertia -- 7.4.1.resistance: De-skilling And The Limits Of Control -- 7.4.2.persistence: The Distinctiveness Of Post-communism -- 7.5.conclusion -- 8.the Fluid Dynamics Of Political Culture -- 8.1.introduction -- 8.2.the Relationship Of Discourse And Practice -- 8.3.discourse And Causality -- 8.4.the Market Dynamics Of Discourse -- 8.5.discursive Dynamics And Political-cultural Change -- 8.6.conclusion. Stephen Welch. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [257]-277) And Index.