Chapter 3. State and Society
Chapter Overview
This chapter examines the links connecting state and society. State and society are connected to
each other through political participation. The chapter examines political parties, interest groups,
social movements, and patron-client relations as the main institutions of political participation.
Political participation takes different forms, and this chapter explores why citizens choose
different ways of using influence, and who tends to participate and why. It begins by noting that
political participation occurs in both democratic and authoritarian states, but differs in the
direction of the flow of demands from society to state. Democracies encourage participation to
influence state policy. Authoritarian states promote participation to register approval of what the
government does. The section then turns to examine the ways in which state organization and
electoral rules shape participation. It next discusses older and more recent research on the
variables affecting who turns out to vote and why. It concludes by discussing the links among
political participation, collective action, and citizens’ capabilities, arguing that collective action is
especially important for improving the capabilities of less-privileged citizens who have few
personal resources they can use to develop capabilities by themselves.
Ensuing sections examine the major institutions of political participation beginning with political
parties. This section explains what is distinctive about political parties, the functions they
perform, why they are often criticized, why they emerged, types of party systems, differences
between weak and strong parties, and how social divisions embedded in history shape parties.
The section on political parties also includes scrutiny of how winner-take-all and proportional-
representation electoral rules shape the number of political parties. It ends by noting that well-
organized, disciplined, and programmatic parties that appeal to a broad coalition of voters are
best able to maximize the greatest power of the underprivileged, which is their numbers.
The next section turns to interest groups, beginning with the distinction between interest groups
and political parties, and the functions they perform in political participation. It calls attention to
the free-rider problem and explains how groups can overcome the problem. This is followed by a
summary of the ways in which the Internet has facilitated interest group formation. The number
of interest groups in a country is shaped in part by the structure of states, with decentralized
states offering many points of access that encourage the development of large numbers of
interest groups, while centralized states offer fewer points of access, which results in fewer
interest groups. Finally, corporatist interest groups have big advantages over pluralist interest
groups for citizens who have to rely on the power of their numbers to be politically effective.
Next, the chapter looks at social movements, distinguishing among social movements, political
parties, and interest groups. Conservatives, liberals, and progressives have all used social
movements as a means of political participation to pursue two general kinds of claims: group
claims by outsiders wanting the same privileges as insiders, and promoting group goals when
normal channels are blocked or unresponsive. This section explains the differences between
older and new social movements, and it examines how globalization from above in the form of
multinational corporations and international organizations has been replicated by globalization
from below in the form of social movements that cross borders.
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The final institution of political participation examined is patron-client relations. This section
explains how patron-client relations are mutual but exploitive relationships. Patrons can protect
clients, but at the cost of weakening clients’ ability to act collectively to improve their lives.
Political parties that depend on clientelism to stay in power weaken underprivileged citizens’
capabilities by providing targeted relief to individuals at the expense of providing public goods
that might have bigger payoffs for all.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this chapter students will be able to do the following:
3.1 Outline the role political participation plays as a bridge connecting the state to society.
3.2 Describe the different forms political participation takes and analyze why groups select
different modes of political expression.
3.3 Distinguish political parties from other forms of political participation, describe why they
emerged, and analyze the emergence of different types of party systems.
3.4 Define interest groups and distinguish between pluralist and corporatist interest group
systems.
3.5 Illustrate the unique properties of social movements.
3.6 Describe patron-client relations and analyze the inequalities they perpetuate.
Chapter Outline
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Political Participation and the Arab Spring
B. This chapter examines the links connecting state and society.
C. State and society are connected to each other through political participation.
D. Institutions of political participation include:
5. Patron-client relations
E. States differ in their capacity to handle the demands made upon them from society
1. Sometimes the linkages connecting state and society work well.
2. Sometimes political participation overwhelms the system in the form of
protest and revolt.
1. Democracies encourage participation to influence policy.
2. Authoritarian rulers promote participation to register approval for what the
government does.
B. Participation can take many forms.
1. Furtively and anonymously where citizens fear for their lives.
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2. Openly where they do not, in the form of demonstrations, yelling from soap
box, or voting.
C. Citizens use participation strategies they believe are appropriate given the
resources they have and the opportunities that are available.
1. Example of environmental movement
a. Green political parties are common and relatively successful in Europe but
not in the United States.
b. Environmental interest groups are more plentiful and powerful in the
United States than in Europe.
2. The reason for the difference is different opportunity structures or structural
factors such as the organization of the state that facilitate or impede efforts to
influence the state.
a. Electoral systems in many European countries award political parties seats
in the legislature based on the number of votes they receive, allowing
small political parties to win seats.
b. The electoral system in the United States penalizes small parties, making it
very difficult for them to win votes.
c. Legislative systems have less influence on policy in Europe than in the
United States, weakening incentives for environmental interest groups to
form to lobby legislature.
d. Environmentalists in Europe and the U.S. do not engage in interest group
and electoral activity in equal proportion, but both are part of the
movement’s arsenal as they supplement and support each other.
D. One form of participation may pave the way for another.
1. Elections triggered mass protests in Iran; electoral participation morphed into
street demonstrations.
2. Groups can engage in different forms of participation simultaneously.
a. Black civil rights movement in U.S. shifted from protest to politics.
b. In Germany, peace activists shifted focus from demonstrations to
elections.
E. Findings of early research on political participation compared with findings of
Copyright © 2016, 2012, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
3. Debate about the virtues of participation
a. Some political scientists found virtue in limited political participation by
citizens.
4. More recent research recognizes the inextricable link between political
participation and capabilities.
a. Institutional structures that strengthen capabilities are especially important
for underprivileged people who have few personal resources.
b. Individual capabilities depend on collective action.
III. POLITICAL PARTIES
A. Founding views on parties
1. Founders’ viewed parties, in theory, as threat to liberty.
2. Founders, in practice, formed the first party system.
B. Uganda’s no-party democracy
1. National Resistance Movement banned party activity on behalf of candidates
running for office.
2. Party activity emerged anyway, as those opposed to the ban ran against those
who supported it.
C. Political parties perform four functions:
1. Educate voters
2. Mobilize voters for elections
3. Advocate policies that link voters to candidates
4. Connect elected officials from the same party to each other
D. What distinguishes parties from other forms of participation is that parties recruit
and nominate candidates.
E. Political parties have been widely criticized.
3. In other cases, groups outside the legislature formed political parties in order
to have more influence.
a. Trade unions formed the Labour Party in Britain.
b. Zulu tribe in South Africa formed Inkatha Freedom Party.
c. Bahujan Samaj Party expressed interests of lower-caste voters in
Northern India.
H. Distinguishing between parties in democratic and authoritarian political systems
1. In democracies, parties enable a crude sense of what the public wants to be
transmitted up to the government through party competition in elections,
which also determine who forms a government.
2. In authoritarian political systems, parties are used to convey government
policies down to the people and to recruit persons to staff the parties.
I. Party systems
1. Party systems are enduring, stable forms of party competition.
2. Party systems are distinguished from each other by three features:
a. Number of parties that compete to control government – two party or
multiparty, with multiparty systems most common
b. Ideological breadth – how ideologically polarized parties are
c. Degree of institutionalization as measured by number of members, voter
loyalty, electoral volatility, and party discipline among elected officials in
legislatures
J. Social divisions embedded in history shape party systems.
1. In Western Europe, the industrial revolution, urbanization, and the rise of the
nation-state created four kinds of divisions.
a. Workers versus capitalists
b. Urban versus rural
c. State versus church
d. National-local
2. Four kinds of political parties in many European countries:
a. Socialist, representing industrial workers
b. Agrarian, representing rural interests
c. Christian democratic, representing Catholics and Protestants
d. Regional, representing particular regions or states
K. Distinguishing between strong and weak political parties
1. Weak parties have low membership; strong parties have high membership
2. Weak parties have low party identification; strong parties have high party
identification
3. Weak parties have high electoral volatility; strong parties have low electoral
volatility
4. Weak parties have low unity; strong parties have high unity
L. How electoral laws shape party systems
1. Different methods of counting votes and awarding seats in the legislature
affect the shape of party systems.
2. The winner-take-all method of counting votes and awarding seats tends to
produce two-party systems.
a. Whoever gets the most votes wins, even if it is not a majority of votes.
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b. This method encourages voters to vote for candidates from parties that
have the best chance of winning and not for those from smaller parties
with little chance of winning.
c. Voters vote for the lesser of two evils among the two major parties.
3. The proportional-representation method of counting votes tends to produce
multiparty systems.
a. Legislative seats are awarded to political parties based upon the
percentage of the vote they receive, and parties can receive less than a
plurality and still win seats in the legislature.
b. Voters can vote for candidates from small parties without fearing they are
wasting their vote.
c. This results in more than two parties wining seats in the legislature on a
regular basis.
4. In summary, electoral rules shape the nature of party competition by
influencing the number of parties that compete.
M. Political parties and capabilities
1. Some types of party systems contribute more to developing citizens’
capabilities than others.
2. Well-organized, disciplined parties that articulate clear programs and appeal
to a broad coalition of voters are best able to maximize the power of the
underprivileged: their power of numbers.
3. Weak parties based on personalities are likely to favor elites who have
privileged access to party leaders.
4. Parties based on patronage built on rewards for party loyalty divide the
underprivileged into multiple competing parties; those with low capabilities
5. Institutionalized, programmatic parties that link citizens to the state contribute
to people’s capabilities by providing more public services and engaging in less
corruption.
IV. INTEREST GROUPS
A. Political participation can also take the form of interest group activity in which
people with common interests organize for the purpose of influencing policy-
makers.
1. Interest groups engage in many of the same activities as political parties
a. Raising money
b. Mobilizing voters
c. Campaigning in order to influence policy
2. The main distinction between interest groups and political parties is that
interest groups do not nominate candidates to run for public office.
B. Why interest groups are difficult to organize
1. Organizing an interest group takes a significant investment of time,
leadership, and resources.
a. Such skills and resources may not exist, and if they do exist are unequally
distributed among groups.
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b. Higher-status groups are more likely to have the time, money, and skills
for organizing than poorer groups.
2. A second reason for interest group formation is the free-rider problem. It is
rational for people to try to gain the benefits that interest groups create
without paying the costs of joining or participating in them.
a. For example, it is rational to not contribute to the Sierra Club and
enjoy the benefits of clean air and water it works for while letting others
pay dues and attend its meetings.
b. If everyone acted rationally in this way, interest groups would not form,
but they do.
C. Overcoming the free-rider problem
1. Groups can offer material incentives for people to join them.
2. Groups can also offer fellowship and emotional satisfaction.
D. The Internet’s effect on the free-rider problem
1. The Internet helps overcome several challenges of interest group formation
and mobilization.
a. Recruiting members
b. Appealing for contributions
c. Informing supporters
d. Coordinating activities through websites that are inexpensive to create and
maintain
2. The Internet has also assisted in the creation of personal advocacy
associations, such as the Children’s Defense Fund, which differ from interest
groups in three ways:
a. They do not have dues-paying members or local chapters.
b. They rely on foundations, direct mail, and Internet fundraising to raise
money.
c. They have a head but no body; they are staff-run organizations that do not
involve supporters in the organizational life of the organization.
E. Why countries have different numbers of interest groups
e. Do not participate directly in policymaking but have to influence it from
the outside through lobbying policymakers
2. Corporatist interest groups
a. A few large groups with little competition for members
b. Recruit a high percentage of eligible members
c. Hierarchically organized
d. Can sanction members
e. Often participate directly in policymaking as insiders rather than having to
influence decision making from the outside
G. Pluralist and corporatist interest groups behave differently with different
consequences for capabilities.
1. Pluralist groups
a. Many competing groups undermine willingness to cooperate.
b. Lack of centralized control impedes efforts to work efficiently.
c. Both factors sap collective strength.
2. Corporatist groups
a. Do not have to outbid other groups to attract members.
b. Are more encompassing with greater diversity of interests.
c. Centralized authority gives them more organizational efficiency.
d. These factors make it easier for them to appeal to broad interests and use
their limited resources efficiently.
3. Corporatist interest groups have big advantages over pluralist interest groups
for citizens who have to rely on the power of their numbers to be politically
effective.
V. SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
A. Occupy Wall Street example
1. Protestors engaged in activities that disrupted normal routines and drew attention
to their demands.
2. Similar to other social movements
a. Lacked bureaucratic hierarchy, central coordination and formal organization
b. Emerged fairly spontaneously as people connected by social media converged
on select locations
c. Exhibited a high level of commitment from supporters
d. The movement was disruptive and confrontational; adopted tactics designed to
arouse awareness and provoke a response
B. Social movements are less formally organized than interest groups and engage in
unconventional forms of political activism that require a higher level of commitment
and sacrifice from their supporters.
C. Social movements distinguished from political parties and interest groups.
1. Not as formally organized or hierarchical
2. Tend to be more ideological and contentious
3. More active and demanding
4. Attract people with an intense commitment to an issue
D. Social movements tend to advance two types of claims.
1. Group acceptance when outsiders want the same rights and privileges as insiders
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a. Civil rights movement
b. Women’s movement
2. Promote group goals when normal channels are blocked and unresponsive
a. Environmental movement
b. Occupy Wall Street movement
E. Social movements can be conservative, liberal, or progressive in their goals.
F. Democracy facilitates spread of social movements.
1. Removes prohibitions against mass rallies
2. Provides convenient and accessible targets such as legislators
3. Magnifies importance of sheer numbers of people
4. Increases significance of claims to represent “the people” that social movements
make
G. Old and new social movements
1. Older social movements were formed by occupational groups and centered on
economic demands.
a. Reactions to economic domination
b. Examples include domination of peasants by landlords and workers by
employers
c. Hierarchically organized
2. New social movements
a. Formed by groups affirming their way of life, behavior, and needs against
those who devalue them
b. A reaction to cultural domination, not simply economic
c. Focus on issues of identity (feminism) and quality of life (environmentalism),
as opposed to economic demands (redistribution)
d. Organizations flatter and less hierarchical than older social movements
e. Example: The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
H. The globalization of social movements
1. As global interdependence increases, the power of international institutions
grows, and as the scope of global governance broadens, they create their own
world of global social movements to shadow them.
2. Best example: formation of World Social Forum
a. Brings together social activists from around the world to discuss issues and
network
b. Based on World Economic Forum, which brings together political and
economic elites to talk and network among themselves
c. Globalization from above in the form of multinational corporations and
international organizations is increasingly replicated by globalization from
below in the form of social movements that cross borders
d. Facilitated by the Internet
i. Social media empowers individuals more than one-to-many interaction
of previous technologies
ii. Example: Egyptians use Facebook and YouTube to protest police beating
of a protester
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VI. PATRON-CLIENT RELATIONS
A. The relationships between plantation owners and workers illustrates how patrons
can use the patron-client relationship to leverage power when needed.
B. Patron-client relations are relationships between people of deeply unequal power
in which the more powerful person, or patron, gives a less powerful person, or
client, favors in return for support.
1. A patron can provide a client with money, a job, or favorable terms for renting
land in return for the client’s political support at election time.
2. Such relationships are voluntary and reciprocal, but unequal and exploitative.
C. The bargain struck between patrons and clients is reinforced by norms of
reciprocity, that people should help those who do favors for them.
D. Clientelism is most prevalent where there is great poverty, but clientelism also
contributes to poverty.
1. Political parties that depend upon patron-client networks for support provide
targeted relief to individuals at the expense of providing public goods that
might have bigger payoffs for all.
2. Clientelist parties tend to forego developmental projects that contribute to
economic growth and enhance the quality of life for everyone in order to
provide private goods to their supporters.
VII. CONCLUSION
A. Political parties, interest groups, social movements and patron-client relations
connect citizens to the state and convey demands to the government.
B. The structure of these linkages affects which demands get through and which are
discouraged, giving advantage to some groups at the expense of others.
VIII. IN-DEPTH: IRAQ: FROM BULLETS TO BALLOTS (AND PERHAPS BACK
AGAIN)
A. Following the American invasion of Iraq, differences among Kurds, Shiites, and
Sunnis were settled by bullets rather than ballots.
B. The 2010 legislative election provided an opportunity for Iraqis to channel
political participation through institutional channels.
1. Many Iraqis took advantage of the opportunity.
2. Approximately 62 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.
3. Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis participated.
C. Fragile political institutions imperiled the election’s success.
1. Charges were made of vote tampering and that the election was stolen.
2. Election results reflected the fragmentation of Iraqi society, with no clear
majority emerging.
D. Not clear that Iraqi political institutions are up to the task of earning Iraqis’ trust
and getting them to exchange bullets for ballots.
1. Social conflicts may be too powerful for electoral forms of participation to
contain.
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