Political Culture or Politicized Culture?

Abstract

This chapter generates a number of plausible hypotheses or research questions for future explorations, apart from problematizing the issue at hand. It contends that the politicized culture is an artifact of the state whereas political culture insofar as it plays a role in sustaining democracy is an offshoot of the civil society. And politics and political culture in turn influence the comprehensive culture. Since Almond and Verba's contribution, a number of new concepts and notions have been advanced that need to be incorporated in our comparative framework. The political culture in Singapore, in other words, is heavily shaped by the activities of the government. The success of the Singapore government in transforming a relatively underdeveloped country to a highly sophisticated, high-income economy has given the regime a great deal of political legitimacy. The anticolonial struggle in the Indian subcontinent—both its violent and nonviolent forms— represents a commitment to certain ideals that have a deeper basis in Indian culture.