Beatty, Berdahl And Poelzer: Northern Aboriginal Political Culture

Political culture is defined as the set of values and beliefs that are shared in a population. These attitudes and practices shape political behavior in a society. Political culture is passed on from generation to generation and changes slowly. Political culture is helpful in understanding the actions of people and how they understand themselves. When studying comparative politics, culture should be taken into account because it can explain the actions of individuals in different societies. For instance, political culture can explain why democracy works in some nations and why democratic regimes cannot be easily established in other nations. In every society we have political actors making decisions, these decisions are mediated by culture.

This article is centered on the Northern aboriginal political culture and the challenges that this society’s culture has underwent as a result of the new system of government and their effort to assimilate them. The authors discuss the blended culture that arose as a result of colonization. The indigenous culture valued kinship, patriarchy and the nomadic way of life. These individuals were known as the Builders and consisted of the elderly. The new contemporary culture viewed family values with less relevance in regards to politics. The subcultures of the Builders and the Contemporaries gave way for a new blended culture. The authors associate the culture of the Aboriginals and the political process within the constituency of Northern Saskatchewan, to demonstrate that culture is continuous, however has changed over. The new blended culture still holds values from the Builders, however is more active in politics. Thus, demonstrating the impact political culture has on politics and political

A Test of Cultural and Institutional Theories in Russia”, written by Mishler and Rose, the authors demonstrate how political culture influences the establishment of government and political engagement. Cultural theories of democracy emphasize that institutional and interpersonal trust is necessary for the function of democracy. Thus emphasizing that trust promotes political involvement. In a survey conducted by the Russian Center for Public Opinion Research, they tested this hypothesis and found no correlation with the political culture of Russia. In Russia’s society their support is based on its regime’s political and economical performance. In the case of Russia, if they do not believe democracy is either going to stabilize the economy or promote economic development, then the establishment of a democratic regime would fail. However, the authors believe that if the culture of Russia changes and adds these values and practices of democracy into their culture then institutional trust could play an important role in generating support for democratic regimes. The political culture in Russia is concrete and their culture emphasizes institutional trust based on economic performance. In order for the establishment of a new government system to work in Russia, then it must resemble their political culture. Beatty, Berdahl and Poelzer’s results from their survey confirm that institutional trust is necessary for political involvement