Review Sheet for the Second Multiple Choice Exam Study Questions:
1. What is political culture and how does it affect political outcomes? Compare and contrast the perspectives on Russian political culture and democratization by Pipes, Colton/McFaul and Rose/coauthors, Treisman, and Fish.
What is Political Culture?
Political Culture -- “a people’s predominant beliefs, attitudes, values, ideals, sentiments, and evaluations about the political system of their country and the role of the self in that system.”
How Does Culture Affect Politics?
Four Competing Arguments on Russian Political Culture and Public Opinion 1. Russia has an undemocratic culture (Pipes)
Pipes -- How Are Russians Undemocratic? A. Russians Hold Undemocratic Attitudes * Lack National Identity & Interpersonal Trust * Distrust Democracy as Tool of Rich/Powerful * Prefer Order over Freedom * Hostile Toward the Market and Private Property * International Paranoia
B. Source of Russian undemocratic attitudes * History and Geography * Legacy of Peasant Collective * Russian Orthodox Church – Caesaropapism * Soviet Paternalism
2. Russians hold some democratic beliefs (Colton/McFaul, Rose) A. Russian Support for the Idea of Democracy * “Democracy is not a dirty word in Russia” * Do Russians see a trade-off between democracy and order? B. Rejection of Democracy as Practiced in PC Russia * Russia is Not Viewed as a Democracy * Russian Pseudo-Democracy is Not Supported C. Support for Democracy Depends on Social/Econ. Status * Generational Effect * Economic Effect * Ideological Effect 3. Culture does not matter (Fish) A.