Luận văn european political culture and its impacts on vietnam

‘Therefore, political culture should be examined comprehensively from variaus porspeotives, which is the aim of this study Europe is sccn as one of the “cradles” of human civilizatio

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOT UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITITES

LE THU TRANG

EUROPEAN POLITICAL CULTURE

AND ITS IMPACTS ON VIETNAM

MASTER THESIS

Hanoi — 2012

1

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

1.2.2 Relationship between the Political System and Political Culture

2.2, Characteristics of European Political Culture

3.1 Overview of the Hislory of Oricntal Political Culture and the Influential Process of

Wester Political Culture

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3.1.1 Overvicw oÊthc History o£ Oricntal Political Culture

3.3.1 Environment of Victnamese political Culture in the Two Colonial Exploitations

INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the Study

Political culture is a vast fickl thal contains historical experience, sense of social community, customs, habits and trends affecting individuals’ behaviors in political activities Hence, political culture research is of great value It not only provides the researchers with an averview of a provoss bnt also brings profound values lo science and sovicty

Speaking of polities and political culture, people often think of politicians and parties but ignore many other factors ‘Therefore, political culture should be examined comprehensively

from variaus porspeotives, which is the aim of this study

Europe is sccn as one of the “cradles” of human civilizations with the great achicvements

in the fields of economics, culture, society and politics, Studies on European political culture help us understand more aboul this continent as well as learn aboul its valuable experience of hundreds of years Because of its strategic geographical position, Vietnam was the target of invasion by many countries in the world for ages “Flexibility” strategy has formed a characictistie of the Vietnamese by cleverly absurbing the achiovernents of invading countries to combine with the national traditional identities Political culture is one of such wonderfiil combinations ‘This study will describe the process of exchange and selection, and the characteristics of Vietnamese political culture

Political culture has

cain effects on the formation and development of diplomatic

culture The study will serve as a basis for the analysis of European diplomatic culture as well

as Vietnamese one Thus, the countries will understand each other and share the interests to

collaborate on the basis of mutual bencft or resolve international conflicts by new diplomatic

thinking,

2 Literature Overview

The literature used for research and analysis is divided into the following, groups:

G) Documents on political culture theory

Gi) Documents on the Luropean political culture in general and political culture of

Ruropean countries in particular (ii) Documents on Vietnamese political culture as well as the orientation of building

political culture in the new context Thec arc original documents of forcign scholars, the docurnonts translated into

‘Victnamese and many works of Victnamese scholars.

Recgarding political culttrc theory, J⁄£ Cic CHitơre: Politicdl AHiludes and Democracy

in Five Nations and The Civic Culture Revisited are the two typical documents providing the

basic information about political culture as well as the source to analyze the characteristics of the political cullure of the countries in the world Tl can be said that Gabricl A Almnond was

the fowider of the new field and his ideas and concepts greatly influenced it In addition, the

theory of political culture has been complemented and diversified by the studies of other

authors such as Stephen Welch (1993), The Concept of Political Culawe ov Formisano, Ronald P., The Convepi of Political Culture, etc The documents on the European political culture are extremely rich and diverse ‘The most typical is Roger Latwell (1997), European

Political Culture: Conflict or Convergence with vcarly 300 pages providing cxlensive

infonnation about the features of fundamental Europcan political culture and political culture

of each country in this region Research materials on the countries in the European region are very large as well: Jean Blondel and Takashi Inoguchi (2006), Political Culmare in Asia and

Europe: Citcens, Slates and Societal Valurs, Robert 1, Rotberg, Social Capital and Political

Culture in Aftica, America, Australasia, and Europe, Ye Journal of bưerdisciplinarw History, Vol 29, no 3 (Winter, 1999), Phillip Schlesinger, From Culturz Defense to Political

Culture: Media, Politics, and Collective Identity in the European Union, Media Culture

Society, 1997, Vladimir Tismanzann, Political Culture and Civil Society in Russia and the

New States of Hurasia, John Gaffney and iva Kolinsky (edited), Political Culture in France

and Germany, A Contemporary Perspective, cle

Besides, there are additional research documents on Eastern political culture particularly

of the developing countries and China such as: Detlef Pollack et al (2003), Political Culnere

in Post-Communist Europe: Aitiades wm New Democracies, Robert C Turker (1987),

Political Culture and Leadership in Soviet Russia: from Lenin to Gorbachev, Larry Diamond

(1993), Political Culture and Democracy in Developing Countries, Thenghuan Zhou (1999),

The Liberal Concept af Rights, Polincal Culture and Democratic Change in China

In recent years, the interest in the study and teaching of political science and Vietnamese

political culture has greatly grown both in Vietnam and overseas Irom different perspectives, Vizinanese and foreign scientists have proposed varions approaches to identi fy

the characteristics of traditional and modem Vietnamese political cultures Studies on

political culture of Vietnamese scholars covering all aspects from a theoretical basis addressing the fimdamental problems and clarifying the

“political culture”, “political system”, “political

process”, “political environment’, etc, or introducing various scientific theories, approaches

and the basic arguments of Western scholars about East Asian political culture to regional

and Vietnamese political cultures, particularly in the renewal period 7 gp dé ewong bởi giáng

Chinh iri hoc (Lectures on Politieal Studies by National Political and Admistrative Institute)

and Vin héa chinh wi va vide bồi dưỡng đội ngũ cám hộ lãnh đạo ở nước ta biện nay

Political Culture and Leader Training in Vietnam Nowadays by Pham Ngoc Quang) are the first two studies mentioning the concept of political culture The former referred to only one aspoet of political cullure — polities — instead of infrodueing the concepl as well as am overview of the political culture while in the latter the authors succeeded in generalizing the concept of culture as well as its performance and influence on political life These are of a greal praclical valuc

In addition to the “cnlightcning” studics mentioned above, there are several reszarches

approaching a part or the whole concept of political culture Hoa Kp - Tién trink vin hoa

chink wi (America — its Political Cultureal Process by Do Loc Diep) mainly examined American political culture but it highlighted the influence of European political culture and the process of receiving and transforming the European features to form the unique American political caus

Luong Van Ke conducted several intensive studies on European political culture, In his

two books of 7hể giới de chidu (Multi-Dimensional IWorld) and Đề cương bai gidng: Chink

trị học sa sảnh (Draft Leches on Comparative Politics), a part of European history was

lively replayed and the formation and the development of modern Furopean political culture

was also shown

Resides the studies directly or indirectly addressing political culture, there are supporting researches in term of theory They arc: Hé Chi Minh todn tap (Ho Chi Minh's Complete Works), Journal of Philosophy, Journal of European Studies, Mac Angghen tuyén tap (Marx- Engels’ Selected Works)

The foreign resources (in translation) are also quite various They are Jean Jacques

Rousseau, Bar vé khé woe xé hei (Social Contract) and Montesquieu, Tink than phap ludt (The Spirit of Laws) translated by tloang ‘Thanh Dam, or Wang Changjian, Nghién ctu so

sảnh phương thức cam quyền của các chinh ding hién dai (4 Comparative Study of Ruling

Methods of Contemporary Political Parties), Crane Brinton, Robert Lee Wolft, John B Christopher, Van minh phuong Tay (Western Civilisation), etc The common advantage of these studies is the provision of wide theory and knowledge of tany socio-political issues

However, they failed to directly and intensively cxamine the political culture, especially

European political culture.

Last but not least, internet is an infinite and valuable resource for the study Although numerous materials have been collected, the study is still in need of more resources and the results of sociological research and investigation to have an overall comprehensive view on European potitical culture and its influcnes on the formation of moder VioInamesc political culture

3 Aims and Objectives of the Study

The crall aim of the thesis is to profoundly understand the inflncnee of Rurepean

political culture on Vietnam in history In other words, the thesis is aimed at how European political culture impacted Vietnam

4, Scope of the Study

‘The research will focus on the political culture in the close correlation with the elements of

cute and polities as well as other cemenis constituting the walional politival culinrss

Besides studying political culture as an independent object, the thesis aims to addrass the

fundamental questions to provide general information about the political culture as a field of

science The basic theotics of the scholars in the world, the development stages and the position of political in society and political life as well as its functions are all mentioned in the study to provide an overview of political culture and a basis for assessing the characiatisties of the polidieat cullure of the regions and countries

Additionally, the thesis will explore and analyze the major characteristies of European political culturs — the root of modem political culture and important emphasis on the political cuftures of France and the Soviet Union (later as Russia) The research on these lwo tolatively

different political cultures gives the readers a deep insight and comprehensive understanding

of regional political cultwe of Europe lrance and Soviet Union are not only the two representatives for the political cultures of Westem and Lastern Enrope but also the countries which strougly affected the modern political culture of Vietnam,

Vieinamesc politieal culture is the third focus of the thesis The thesis will gencralize the characteristics of traditional Vietnamese political culture and the cultural background of Vietnamese politics, and then examine the requirements of a socialist political culture Violnamese political onlture in this study is comprehonsively and relatively eomplotcty desenbed in its development process through history and its particular characteristies and its selective reception the political cultures of other actors particularly including France and the

Basing on the available sources and issned researches, | will generalize the information to get the basic characteristics of the study cases The methodologies of special fields of history, politics and intemational relations will be also applied to clarify the issues by dealing extensively with the thcory and practice of pati

and compiling dala

understanding and historical reconstruction of political culture in general and characteristics

of each region in particular

Besides, the studics of intcrnational relations will try te explain a broad range of political

interactions among countrizs, societies, and organizations Whether studying war and peace

s im order to analyze the malerial and arrive al a more complete

or exploring economic cooperation or environmental conflicl, research on intemational politics requires a systematic approach to identifying fundamental processes and forces of change

‘This research will utilize the qualitative data collection tools, but is rooted in a qualitative cpistcrnological position that recognizes the imporian

particular social, cultural, and historical context It also takes seriously the social construction

of these contexts and the identifies participants constmet within them

6, Expected Gutcomes

of locating the rescarch within a

The study is looking forward to answering the question “How was Victnamesc political culture influenced by European political culture in general and French and Soviet political

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cultures in particular?” Hence, the characteristics of traditional political culture and the changes of Vietnamese political culture will be clarified in each era,

Political culture is a new concept in Vietnam so that this study is expected fo be a

comprehensive reference providing a gencral overviow, formation pracass and development

of political culture in the world, especially European political culture, Understanding the European political culture is a good lesson for Vietnam to establish and develop its foreign idlations with Europe so that the sluty would like to bring about an overall picture of European political cultwe, It is expected to be an important reference for those who have been studying and working in intemational relations, Besides, it will become one of the new

rescarches on Viclnamesc

political cultur2 and extemal impacts on its formation and development as well as its general charactctistics This study will also focus on the components of Vietnamese political cultures: traditional political culture and modem political culture tL serves ax a useful reference to the study of Vietnamese political enlture in general and the impacts of European political culture on national political culture in particular,

Studying political culture in detail will have a more scientific perspective on political

anand ils components and a belter look ơn the rationalities or irralionalities of political

system to propose necessary changes Moreover, explaining the political attitudes of people

in Europe and Vietnam will help evaluate whether policies are democratic and equitable, and Provide a scientific foundation for reformation of the political system in Vietnam

7 Structure of the Study

The thesis is divided into three parts: Theoretical background, European political culture,

and European political culture’s impacts on Vietnam

Chapter 1: Theoretical background

Political culture is approached through two elements of cu/fure and politics Like culture, political culture is different among nalions, countries and regions in the intersection,

reception and transformation Like politics, political culture is associated with classes, nations

and interests

At the aim of applying the research results in practice, the opening chapter not only

gencralizes the history of establishment and development of political culture and its process

to become a science and research trend but also focuses on analyzing the role of the political system as a core of political culture and the relationship between the political system and politicat culture Morcover, this chapter also outlines the characteristics and firictions of the political culturc to sct up the application of rescarch results in consistence with reality

Chapter 2: European political culture

As a foundation of studics on political culture, Europe has special conditions of nature, population, history, political ideologies, etc to form its political culfure and make a great effect on the views of scholars in the rest of the world 'his chapter generally introduces the basic conditions and (calures of Furopcan political culinrs with full information covering both Wester and Eastern Europe, particularly their changes in political culture during and after the socialist era

As to provide an overall picture of the political culture of this arca and explain its strong infiuence on other countries in the world, especially Viemam, this chapter will analyzes a number of characteristics of political cultures of I'tance and the Soviet Union as the two

prominent political cullures helping building the modem Vietnamese political culture

Chapier 3 European political cultiare on Vietnam

Chapter 3 is an atiempt to describe the process of Vietnamese political culture from traditional to modem time, from the historical features lo changes in new society Vigtnamese

is placed in the context of the Asian countries whose charactenstics are completely different from European and Western countries ‘hese differences urged Enropean countries to learn

and desire to conner this mysterious land by the geographical discoveries in very carly days

From the eriginal purpose of commerce, the invasion to the East by European countries was

increasing Besides their goods, the arrival of the Western countries had great influence on politics, eeonemy and society in these countries, including Vietnam

Chapter 3 provides a relatively complete everview of Vielnamese political culture fier its

formation to each phase of development This chapter analyzes the impacts of European

political culture on Vietnam by observing Viemamese political culture in Vietnam as the

main object Accordingly, the study is expcets to supply new and more objcetive look on the

role of European political culture and highlight the identities of Vietnamese political culture

in the conlext of interference with olber Western nations four a strange culture.

CHAPTER 1

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Thefining Political Culture

The concept of political culture is increasingly put to use nowadays, especially in political science Researchers have offered several concepts of political culture but there is no comprehensive and universal cơnocpL because of differcul approaches io political culture, the diversified factors within political culture itself, and considerable distinctions between countries, ethnics, regions, classes, eras, etc Ilowever, almost all researchers agree that

1.4.1 Basic Concepts

The concept of cadture:

‘The definition of "culture" was first offered by ‘Taylor in Primitive Culture (1881) ‘The torm of culture dorived from a Latin word “cullura’ implying the reclamation, cultivation and planting of crops, and was later used in the sense of taking care of, educating and training humans

It is not easy to generalize “culture” which is a poly-semantic concept Cultures are

“Culture is a term describing a ccrtain devclopment level of the socicty, and the ercative ability and capability of the human This development level is reflected in how people organive their lives and in bath physical ancl mental values created by them"

The different approaches to culture contain the following factars

Firstly, culture is a product of human beings (either conscious ar wiconscious) The term culture is closely tied to and interacts with the term human if there was no man, there would

“For the purposes of survival and living, humans crcated and invented language, writing, ethie, law, science, religion, literature, art, living tools in clothing, eating and accommodation and their usages All of those creations and inventions are culture." [; p.431]

Thirdly, culture tellects the distinctions among poupls on the base of their potential,

living conditions and tiaditional values accumulated over generations In the process of open exchange on the global scale, these differences on creative ability, the level of awarene:

the one hand have caused numicrous cultural confliets, and on the other hand have cabled different cultures to exchange with, learn about, accept and change each other to enrich the culturat treasure of peoptes

Ngnyon Van Huyen suggested a speuilfic division in cdlumz

personalit

term, it is instead created by humans and is closely related to the material and mental life of

all individuals, peoples, and nations "Culture is a human term, a combination of all the

and promoting social development." [16; p 45] Cultine is not a strange or vague

valucs, lifestyles, activitics, potential, and devclopment level of humans themselves Itis both

51]

The Concepts of Politics and Western Political Theories

objective and motivation of development.” [8;

To understand politics, it is necessary to consider the history, existence and development

of politics itself as well as the political thoughts and theories In terms of lingnisties, the word

of polities being used nowadays came from "Politica" (Greek) implying the work relating to the slale (which inclues the methods of organizing and implementing the stale power and the measures of achieving the state’s goals representing the classes, ethnicities and nations) Politics came on the scene at the same time when society was divided into classes leading to the birth of tha state and law Since the very first stale (slavery), there have been numerous political idcologics which scrved as the idcological basc for the state which represented the rulers’ essential goals of satisfying class interests, guaranteeing and maintaining the

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dominance of the class system and promoting various national intarcsts The political theories were invented quite early both in the East and the West and have become a foundation for modem political theories

In the Asia, the most nolable political thearics ave the four ideologies of ancient China Lao Tzws philosophy, Contiucianism, Mozi’s Universal Love, and legalism, In the conception of politics, Lao'I'zn supported the idea of building a nation with a small surface, Himiled population and non-cducated people and no vetricles and weapons Tao Tac advocated ruling the state not by force but “Tao” to convert the people and leaving them stupid to be easily ruled, Confucius is the father of Confucianism and his political ideology was wrilten in “Lang Fi” by his students whose books were also based om his ideas (Ta Hsued, Trg Yung, de) Universal love of Mozi contains many advanced clements Mozi praised the values of natural freedom and equality of the human, He said that “the origin of the state was fro the social agreement." [13; p 24] The founder of “rule by law" is Tan Fei

Zi who introduced the arguments against Confucianism ané refusing any thinking of using

morality to regulate the society He suggested the state’s rulers to strengthen their power and

particulady heighten the law as the most effective instrument te regulale the seciely

The political ideologies mentioned above play a significant role in the history of not only China but also many Asian countries Nowadays the pervasiveness of their influence is still obvious According to Confucianism, the traditional relationships in socisty of many

ed These

commuunitics, cthnicitics and nations have heen cslablishcd and pre

telationships helped in constructing the states during different regimes (the feudal dynasties

in Viemam were based on the village-commtry relationship; family is the core of the socio-

state institutions South Korea, cte.)

In the West, Plato and Aristotle were the most remarkable political thinkers of antiquity According lo Plato, an itleal state was a Sparla arislocvatic-slyted republic, in which "the elite

of the ruling slaveholders were likely capable of understanding the super ideas and holding

the measures ruling the rest." |13; p 34] Aristotle was the first person to separate power into

three boards of legislation, execution and judiciary — the fundamental principle of organizing

modern state power

Accordingly, politics was bom in ancient times and was followed by the appearance of

the political ideologies and theories of both Liast and West it was created by society and is

and

associated with a turning point in human hislory when souicly was divided inlo cl

the state came into being “In cach historieal period, there were different political thoughts and doctrines; they were periodical products and reflected the final economic interests of a

17

certain social class or level." [32, p 16] Politics is not an activity of an individual or a group

of people but “a wide and important activity sphere of humanity and a popular activity of society Human history since this division of classes is the history of politics." [8; p 54}

the actions thal a class (or a class alliance such as warker-farmner coalition) or interest groups

take in order to gain, maintain and perform the statc’s power, Political power is the basie terminology of politics and it relates directly to three questions: Who halds the power? (class), Whal purpose does it serve? (class's interests), and how is it performed? (method) When a class becomes dominant, their political power will become the stats power Each class has different approaches to gaining, keeping and implementing the state power ‘Thus,

class is the nalure of polities In modem socicly, potities is closcly related to political par Classes and interest groups use their representatives (parties) to pertorm their political goals Lenin said: "Phe illiterate person stands ontside politics” [22; p.113] and only by obtaining intellectal, awareness and life experience could people have political selé-

awareness and positive political allitude Nguyen Van Huyen observed politics from the

perspective of culture: "From the philosophical perspective of culture, we see clearly that

politics is a product of cultwe Culture is the values, lifestyles, activity capacity and the

development levels of the human Therefore, the fact that the political goal is humanitarian or

not humanitarian; political systems, political institutions and political mechanisms scientific

or unscientific, the made of political organtyalion and behavior is consistent with human

morality or not, democratic or not, ete will reflect the culture of the politics." [8; p 54]

1.1.2 The Concept of Political Culture

‘The concept of political culture was officially introduced as a modem political concept in

the works of Gabricl Almond and Sidncy Verba in 1950s and 1960s and their first book of

"Civic culture Political and Democracy in Five Nations Aine" (1963) In this book,

political culture was conceived as a "pattem of distributing the intentions of the members of a commumity to political objects." [40; p 390] S Verba mdi

definition: "Politica culturc is the overall structure of belicfs baszd on pcrsonal experiences,

fed @ mors comprehensive

symbols and valuss, this struchurc detcrmincs the subjcetive condition of the political

context of big s

The concept of potitival culture was born in fl cio-political chưmgos in the world when mankind had just suffered a homible period of fascism and destruction during World War I It was also the time when the world order of the Cold War was set with the confrontation between the two blocs of comununism and capitalism at the highest peak; and the time when colonial nations struggled for their independence and new nations were established ‘hat complex and mighty condition of political life caused political researchers worldwide to question the neeassily of roligious issuca, thơ eligibility of moral standards, the

traditions, etc

Political culture is closely correlated with two components: culture and politics It is

considered as an aspect of culture and politics ‘Lhe interaction of culture and politics

constilute the political culture Political culture, like culture, is product of ereativ

livily

of human and only existed since the appearance of politics In other words, political culture is

associated with a class-based society and the state Approaching political culture under the

perspective of polities and culturc onc need to note following definitions:

“Political culture is an aspect of culture in which there is a combination of values,

qualities, virtues, qualifications and political capabiHly formed on a certain political basis to perform the benefits of the class, races and communities in consistence with the development-advancement trend of the human society As an aspect of culture, political culture is “a vertical cut* of the cultural history accompanying the political activity." [8: p

slandasd to regulate the interest relationship among classes and to protect the inte

muling class in consistence with the trend of social devclopment and advancement.” [23; p

229]

Regarding the origin of political culturc, Pham Ngoc Quang said that "the political culture

of a class or a social system in general would be formed by the following logic: political

knowledge has been accumulated into belief and class‘s ideal, then political beliefs are

converted la practical political actions whose results hetp constilute the political standard,

tradition, lifestyle and habits in dealing with difterent political situations." |16; p 27]

Generally speaking, political culture is a part of culture arising from political life and become a factor in cultural study and political study Like culture and politics, political

culture contains features of class and society Through the process of socialization together

with the history that humans have developed, political culture forms the essential political ideologies of the current norm as a perfect whole I includes the cements of thoughls,

beliefs, value systcms and political actions of individuals, classcs, interest groups and socicty

as a whole aimed to effectively implement political-state power to satisfy the interests of political actors

In short, political culture is an important nom in political study and political activities It

is a part or an aspect of culture in class society and contains the standards reflecting the degree of awareness and (he effectiveness of human activities in polities and represents the

development level of society in general

1.2 The Political System - the Center of Political Culture and the Relationship between

Political System and Political culture

1.2.1 The Structure of the Political System - the Central Role af Pr

There are several ways to divide the structure of political culture depending on the

approach: however, in this study, I will only focus on analyzing the elements of the political

tical Culture

system as the core, the center ot the source of political culture,

[he political system of a country is a social structure including political organizations (slale, political parties, socio-political organizations, political unions and movements, atc) TL exists and operates in a formal legal framework and binding political relations to cohere the above organizations into a body by which the ruling class exercise their political power in the society.” [17; p 24] in brief, political system is "a part of the social superstructure including the legal organizations and instilufions relalzd to the purpose, operational functions or participate in political power." |5; p 91

According to the above definitions, the political system has three major characteristics: organizations and institutions; legitimacy; and purposes and functions of ar participation in exercising political power The formation of political institutions is influenced by both objective factors (such as the class structure of society, the presence of political forces and

20

their relationship, tradition, habits, the maturity of civic awareness) and subjective factors (such as the maturity, capability and the political stance of the political parties and the ideological similarities of the political parties) while “the form of political system is dolenninod by superiorily al a given fi

19]

‘Thus, the operation of the political institutions (state, parties, social organizations, public

3 af one oF soveral common political factors.” (5; p

imions and movements) in the political system is bascd on the political ideology and

politicians (together with political awareness) as the subject and object of politics, These

factors make up the political culture of each country

a) Political Ideolagy / Relief Value

Political idcology, lines and policics reffcct the class interests togcther with the methods

and means of realizing the fundamental interests of the class and the society In the political culture, “political ideology is the main core or the basic component expressing he crealive

skill and capacity, the level of political awareness of the society in a specific historical

period.” [15; p 293] Besides, "an important part of cultural-political structure which clearly refleets the progressive (or backward) nature of the politics is the sense of imovation and the

otientation of that innovation." |24; p 15]

Political ideology is shown in political policies, strategic missions, and tactics of political activities as well as in the standards, means and methods of operating political power and completeness of the political institutions and political systems, One component fonning

political culture as a typical phystcal and spiritual entity is "political norms which are the

political values accepted and affirmed by the society to orientate and regulate the behaviors

of political actors Thesc norms arc institutionalized into the political institutions, political

‘organizations, power structure, methods and means of perform politics.” [15; p 238]

In addilion, political ideology also contains traditional elements which build up the

political culture’s identities for each nation, each class and each political regime, and

diversify the contemporary political culture

6) Politicians:

ss Views and slarice of

ILis expressed by the knowledge, wisdom andl political theoriss,

each person and political organizations in two forms: (i) knowledge of political experience which "results fom a process of observation, experience, conclusion and accumulation

2L

gencralization to figure out thc csscntial naturc, the commen, and the popular to upgrade into theory, rules and regulations from the practical political experiences." [15; p 134]

Political culture is expressed by people’s needs, habits, self-disciplinary behavior and

positive activencss which create the social valuas of socicly The role and the influcncc on the political activities of humans as a political entity depend on the extent and origin of the political faith and persuasion or political ideals that people are heading to

1.2.2 The Relationship between the Political System and Political Culture

“The relationship between political culture and the political system is performed in many forms and makes influence at different extents and dimensions” [9; p 67] Generally political

is authoritarian or autocratic, However, in the liberal democratic societies, political authority

is a delegated power which is given by the people This can be applied to the multi-party govermmnts where [he opposition parties despite their failure at tho hallol still got involved

in the political process to ensure transparency in the operations of state bodies and to ensure maximum beneiits to the people

Political culture also shows its nature and characteristics of the class in the political

mn, As mentioned above, the factors constituting the political sysiem who dircetly

participate in the operation of political institutions are the political elites and the people

When examining the two social models of autocracy and democracy we see in a autocratic

socicty, that the popularity of burcaucracy and authoritarianism have cnabled them to become

main features of the political culture by "favoring the upper and bullying the lower", thus, the people are excluded from the political process and are nol considered as actor of political

activity Because of suppression, the people tend to react in ways which encourages rebellion

leading to the birth of a new state, religions and political parties, In contrast to demooratic

societies, public officials are clearly aware that the nature of their power is a public power; all

of their political activities are supervised by taws, media and citizens: in other words, the public support is one of the most important factors stiengthening the political system In this

society, the relationship between political systems and political culture is an interactive idationship in which people arc cneouraged Lo participate actively in the political process

They are supported to improve their capacity of paiticipating in the political process at all stages

In short, in the political systcm and polidcal eulturc there is a closc rclationship “mainly depending on how the political system and the political elites are aware of the political nature and authority they are holding, and simultaneously on how the people are aware of their

righls, capabililics and obtigations in parlicipaling in the political process." [9, p 67] The

relationship between political culture and political systems plays a central role influencing

other relationships because the political system is the factor hest characterizing the nature of polities and iLis also where political power is held and exercised

Although the political system is the center, this analysis cannot ignore the relationship

between political culture and political environment (a general society including individuals, communities, and social relations) as well as the formation, application and implementation

of political policies As mentioned above, a political system is a “sub-system” of the social

system (as a resvit of the social and cultural evolution and the process of dividing social labor) and is regarded as the political environment of the political system Towever, in this

study, I only focus on the political environment of a country’s political system - the lowest

political environment, and political culture “is the soul of the political environment." [9; p 62] Politeal cullure is not only the foundation to identify and immplerment the complex

interactions in a polrtical environment, political system and process of promulgating and

exercising political policies but it also imbues the development of the political environment, political experiences, traditions, patterns of behaviors and long-standing values with a sense

of hislory comecling it with the present and fatur: both in depuh-dimension and “time-

dimension” |9, p 63| From the formation of political wills through decision making and

establishing mandatory institutions in society ta the implementation of obligatory regulations

including laws and political conventions, political culturc has scrved as the foundation for

these processes ‘The closely interactive relationship between the political culture and these

processes and manifests itsel Pin the interaction belween (hese two factors

Another factor relating to political culture worth examining is religion because numerous

ideas, values and judgments are associated with religion which is a pail of the political

culture in each nation or country ‘This stems from the fact that “religion is a part of a certain

national Iradition and national hislory, il has existed throughout that nation's cultural herilage

and is characterized in political culture” |19; p 229]

1.3 The Features and Functions of Political Culture

1.3.1 The Features of Political Culture

It is clear that the political culture was not bom by accident but a result of a long-term

movement of human society: accumulation, preservation and transfer of political knowledge

23

and valnes In other words, political culture is a sooio-hisiorical phenomenon Besi political culture also has close ties with the other historical elements of the culture such as

changed and accepted new elements to catch up with the practices of political lif Thus,

political culture contains the elements of history and legacy beside the element of class (directly related Lo polities) in ils bình, existence and development,

Political culture can be generalized by three main characteristics as follows:

(@) Political culture contains aspects of the class system: political culture is in a relationship with the political aspects of society containing the cements of class; iL is defined

by political decisions, worldview and idcology of a certain class The sustainability and

viability of a political system depends on the relevance to the political cultural values of the majority, Additionally, when a political systern is changed, the newly-established potitical

system will set up new values of political culture for the dominant/leading class

Gi) Political culture contains the nature of history: Political culture is constantly changed because il is determined by various subjzclive and objective factors which regularly move

"The replacement of different polities from the point of view of political culture is a

qualitative change of types and ability of political culture.” (24; 171]

(ii) Political culture contains the nature of diversity and legacy: Political culture contains

an essential clement — ideology Sinez the ideologies of the classes are not the same, the

political culture of each class will be determined by the different elements, which contains

different forms and trends adapted to different characteristics of the classes in society

Elements of legacy, prescrvation and advancement of political culture are expressed by the

fact that the common positive elements of the toppled/denied cultures are the developing/evotutionary foundation for the creation of a new political culture

1.3.2 The Functions of Poli

i Culture

Political culture plays a significant fiunction in society, especially in political life, Firstly, political culture helps in regulating socio-political relations, building up people’s belief in certain ideal values, In addition, the political culture also hetps political practices improve and adhere to regulations in polities and helps people develop political creativeness, sensitivity and political innovation Political culture directly fosters the process of political

socialization, which ma limatizes the majority of the population to political activities and makes them comfortable participating in the political process Political culture dircetly brings politics to life

24

Political cultwe cxists duc to the imeraction of belicô, valuos, traditions, idcals and political means, standards, methods of organization and the operation of political power What influences political culture is the nature and the level of economic development, nature and the condition of political instilutions and political systoms as well as cducafional qualifications, general knowledge and the culture of society The degree of democratization, quality and capacity of information processing is also a factor

Therefore, political culture has (hoa main functions

(i) Cognitive function: the political cultwe helps enhancing awareness, training the political ability of the psople in practical matters if promotes the formation of a certain mode

of political bchavior towards a particular direction such as the voters’ decision Lo support a certain party or candidate

(di) ‘The function of orientation and regulation: Political culture orients and regulates hurnan Letavior and socio-potitical relations Tt also helps to accelerate the process of political socialization making the people familiar with political activities, acclimates them to the process of political participation and creation in political activities In the collective

ins of values, orientations, assumuptions and imitation, the political culture accounts for the center and encourages the establishment and preservation of the political system Political culture expresses the relationships between individuals, humans and society in political life, thus forming the political framework and model of society Moreover, the “Asian core clemenis of political culture in each hislorieat period is the dominant ideology of thal time." 1243p 174]

(iii) The function of evaluation and prediction: "Political culture together with individual subjectivity is the basis for the evaluation of politics" [24; p 175]

In sum, politics is a complex and sensitive field that may cause the opposing and contradict views on theories, arguments or practices such as the disagreements over Lhoughts, policies and division of power It is associated with the daily life of each person in the human community which is influenced by ditierent cultural and religious factors, Tt is the human life

It is the factor deciding the fate of the country and the development of society and people Therefore, politics appeared quite curly and became one of the most concerned issues lo the people around the world

Political culture has a ctose relationship with political system and pobtical environment Particularly, the relationship of potitical cullure and political system even influences other relations when the nature and features of the politics arc cleaily shaped Political culturs was the result of a long movement of the reactions between the human and social activities so that

25

it is regarded as a socio-historical phenomenon Political culture frequently changes to adapt with new conditions it can be generalized by 3 factors: (i) class, (i) history, and Gii) diversity and inheritance

26

CHAPTER 2

EUROPEAN POLITICAL CULTURE

2.1 Formation and Development

2.1.1, Formation

Currently there are 48 European countries geographically divided into five regions: Northem Europe, Westom Europe, Conlral Europe, Southern Europe, and Southeastern Ewope During the Cold War (lasting more than 40 years) after the World War II, Europe was divided into two parts: Western Europe an countnes referred to as the capitalist countries

old War onded

and Faster Europe an counirics called to the socialist countriss, When the

in the late 1980s and carly 1990s, the socialist system totally collapsed in the Sovict Union and Eastem Ewope, this division was no longer appropriate since most of the socialist countries had swilched to capitalist regime Afler that, the effort of unifying Rurope was achieved by the birth of the European Union (EU), which has expanded to 27 members According to geopolitical and geocultural features, the division of Europe info Hast and West

ns more reasonable, Raslern Earopo ireludos (he countri

whose polities switched from

communism to parliamentary democracy and whose residents are mostly Roman Catholics

Western Kurope includes the countries which follow the parliamentary system and their

tesidents are both Roman Catholics and Protestants Kasten Linrope is united under the

Commonwealth of Independent States (CTS) with Russia al the heart, Wostern Enrope

became a unified block by the European Union (EU-27) |11; p 471] This thesis will deal

with to the characteristics of the Ewopean political culture in which France and Russia are

the main factors cxcrting influence on Victnamese political culture

Europe has a long and complicated history with many significant socio-politic events The slate authority was dominated for a long time by the Church, Such conservative thinking

of the Church that hindered the scientific development made Europe suffer in a so-called the

"Dark Apes." Engel put it that in the entire history of the medieval past, there was no other ideology but religion and theology [3: p 389] Moreover, the feudalism and fands by lords had undsrmnined the comomic development, particularly int commerce

Contemporary political culture of Europe is a bourgeois political culture so that it is said that its birth stemmed from the establishment of capitalism as well as the mods of capitalist production in the whole region, “New political ideology could only arise when the mode of capitalist production was bor and devclop in the heart of feudalism through the industrial

revolution.” [22; p 39]

The first bowgcais revelution broke out in the Netherlands in the carly 16" century It

was followed by the English Bourgeois Revolution in the 17" century and French Bourgeois

Revolution in the 18 century which led to the establishment of capitalism in the whole

Europe Western Europe therefore axporicneed several big changes in ceonomies, society, politics and ideology These were the very important precondition for the emergence of a new political culture in Wester Enrope - the bourgeois political culture

Econo

ally, there was a booming development with the help of the indusisiel revolution - human labor was gradually replaced by machines whose performance was may times higher I'he amount of wealth increasingly created helped improving the people’s life

and prepared for the great capitalist accumulation Along wilh the industrial revolution, the mode of capitalist production which replaced the one of feudal production had led to the boom of the productive forces and technological science At the same time, the private ownership of primary productive assels was also established The strong growth of the economics, particulaly trading had umproved the material lit2 of the people, and simultaneously created new living behavior and style-the industrial style In other words, the cmomie dovdlopmenl created the matorial conditions for the now polities and cullura politics

Socially, there were a lot of changes such as the replacement of ruling faudal atistocracy

by the bourgeoisie and the development of the working class to the main productive force in

y Resides the traditional social conflicls (fendalism vs farmers), there were new

conflicts, especially between the bourgeois and the workers The Western European societies

were gradually changed since the appearance of more classes having contrary interests and

even conflicts However, it is undeniable that the general life of all classes was improved

both physically and mentally As the public awareness was enhanced, the old ruling methods

of dielalorship, authorilarianist and violgnce became inappropriate To stabilize the sociely

and increase the effectiveness of state management, the bourgeois class had no choice but to

use miore flexible measures The conflicts and confrontations regarding to interests and

ideology must be resolved on the basis of negotiation and compromise among the classes Thus, the people were facilitated ta participate in the polities by themselves

ction) or their representatives (parties, social organizations, trade unions, social circles ) This is the social foundation for the emergence of a new political culture based on the more democratic and equal criteria

Politically, after the “Dark Ages" with the collusion of partis’ power and theocracy, Westem Europe experienced dramatic changes in the Renaissance with the appearance of

28

humanize ideology as a precondition for the movement of advanced political idcologics Martin Luther (1483-1546) started the "religious revolution"/reformation by posting 95 new theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church in Saxony on 31 Cet 1517 "Yhis action started

2 social, cconomic and intolicetual revolution" and “in a generation aflor L517, dozens of religions sects were founded: the Church of England, the Calvin Church, Rebaptism, etc." [27; p 341] Christianity was strongly divided: however, the Protestantism increasingly developed "Fngland, Scotland, Holland, Northen and Rasiert Gormany and Northern Europe were under the influence of the Protestantism There were few Protestant minorities

in Ireland, #tance and some parts of [lapsburg." [27, p 365] Along with the big changes in

of bourgeois democracy remarked by the names of Montesquieu, Voltai

constantly inherited, supplemented and has become the central ideology of the contemporary pelitical culture of Wester Europe “Ihe concept of ‘civil society’, ‘tale of law’, ‘bourgeais dơmoorncy' bocarne the backbone of Western political culture, The Wester politioat systerns operate on this backbone." |16; p 46| Nowadays most of Westem European counties are parliamentary democratic Even the nature of monarchical countries is also representative demooraoy (1.2 the British monarch’s power is symbolic) In representative democracy, the paralion of powers (lo control and balance) is absolutely respected: well-defined division of

power among legislative, executive and judicial branches The state power is shared among

these three main branches; however, the political parties and interest groups still have a

chance to participate in the political process by (nmlti-party) clections Any party or allianec

in multi-party electoral system desiring to win and hold power must have the support of the public (duough elections and referendums) Therefore, the stale administrations should

always pay attention to two things: firstly, to guaranteeing the effective management,

secondly, to ensuring the proper care to the people via social security system, healthcare

system and good education Beyond the expectations and confidence in the government, the

countries here share a lot of common features, the commonality comes fom four reasons

= They wore influenced by the Greck Civilization

- They usc the Latin alphabet

- ‘They were influenced by Christianity

29

- _ They wore long ruled by the Roman Empire

‘These similarities are the firm foundation for the unification of Western Kurope in particular and Europe in general ‘The process of unification siarted in 1952 with the establishment of the European Coal and Stoct Canmumily (ECSC) - the preparation for the European Union In 1958, the European Common Market was established (European Keonomic Comnmmnity) ‘The European countries are moving toward a “super-national” institution promoting the cooperation und involvement in cconomy, curenoy, socicly, politics, and security Curently, the European Union (EU) includes 27 members building a closer cooperation

Accordingly the reforms of the bourgeois revolulion and the industrial revolution in the

‘Western Europcan socicty became an important impetus for the birth of a new political

culture - the bourgeois political culture State power was gradually separated from the Church’s power, which ted to the liberation of ideology Moreover, the sirong development

of economics and science has facilitated not only the physical life but also for mental life for

the people Western Europe completely transferred from power-centralized feudalism to capitalism accompanied by a new political cullure

2.1.2 Develapment

‘The political thoughts and theories in ancient Greece and ancient Rome are considered to

be the root of the Westem political science and many other philosophical and political

docirines and schaols of thought The 1500s and 1600s witn

breaking out in Western Europe and the "Age of Enlightenment" of the French Revolution in

1789 They were the origin of the European political culture However, the rapid growth of

political seicnec including political culture studics was marked by the aftermath of the two

world wars where various values of human civilization were reversed In particular, the

d an ideological revolution

World War TI brought about a lot of new questions that scientists could not explain in terms

of cultural values, ethics or traditional religions They included the rise and fall of fascism, the impressive expansion of communism in Eastem Europe and national independent movements

of colonized countries in Asia and Aftica leading to a series of newly-bom states ‘The complex transformation of the world potitieal realily in th: complicaled historical period matked by World War II was the direct cause of the establishment and development of political science and modem political culture Since then, thers have been more and more different school and views on political cullure approached in different aspects,

Togcther with the foundation of the capitalist states, the establishment of capitalist mode

of production and the democratic politics in Europe, the political culture is curently

30

conccived as "civic culture or democratic culture.” [12; p, 206] The term of “political culture"

was first introduced in 1950s by an American political scientist, Gabriel Almond He pnt it

"Lvery political system is embedded in a particular pattern of orientation to political action.” [37; p 8] The study of Galnicl Abnond and Sidney Verba - "Tha Civic Culture Political Altitude and Democracy in Five Nations" was the first to directly study political culture In this study, the authors gave some kinds of definition of political culture as follows:

The Parochial Political eufuuc: is a primitive model of political culture in carly sovicty where political ovientation of the society’s members is associated with the seligious and social direction (the leadership of economics, politics and religion is held by a group of chicfains and powwows)

Thc Subject political culture: is a model of political culture in “totalitarian political regime or imperfect democracy" [20; p 38] in which the members of society do know and obey the regulations, laws and poticies

The Participants politeal culture: is a model of political cultme which is “typical of the liberal democratic politics” [20, p 39] ‘Ihe members of society have a strong and

sued withoul making any influence by themselves,

comprehensive sense of Iheir rele of dircelly and actively participating in the political sy

in the society they are living in They are willing to give opinions on accepting, supporting or

opposing the political system or the proposed policies

In 1972, Lucian W Pye described that "political culture is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and

sentiments which give order and meaning to a political process and provide the underlying

assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system It encompasses both the

political ideals and the operation nomms of a polity.” [41 p 6]

Approaching political culture from different aspects has provided various views on this

concept, one of which is Aaron Wildavsky’s “political reference” in 1980 He argued that political culture is “ihe subjective dimension of the political system and potitical process”

[20; p 50] and stressed the nanueirole of the each actor in making any political decision

Wildavsky also intioduced 4 typical types of political cultre corresponding to 4 types of

political institations and political system as follows:

- Apathy (Fatalism): Political decistons are wot Grom the internal urge but the external

influence so that the political actors or public communities are net concemed about

‘these decisions

- Hierarchy (Collcetivism): typical model of political institutions in Asian autocratic

monarchies wherc political bchaviors require strict rituals and order,

3L

- Competition (Individualism); This bchavior model favors competition and individualism It is considered as the most important characteristics of the political culture

- Fquatily (Fgalilarianism): This is the most ideal model im which the potitical behaviors of the actors are based on equity

Wildavsky’s arguments play an important role in pointing ont the relationship between

prevent great social changes Constitutional monarchy is quite popular m the world The

organization of state power which includes both the king and the constitution is now

operating under a regulation that “the king rcins not rules" and state power is held by the

executive and the head of the executive In fact, the power is in the hand of the government whereas the king is jusl a symbol of solidarity, unification and the eternity of the nation This

symbol has a psychological influence on the presence of the current regime, and the king will

be the supporter for the current ruling class when political upheavals ocowr

Parliamentary monarchy is popular in Westem Europe and Great Britain is a typical

example Heads of stale arc kings who ar

of Representatives The king hardly gets involved in setiling the state affairs, In the political

32

insttulon, the sovemment can only function if the Parliament (Upper Housc} ratifies Otherwise the government will be overthrown and replaced by another goverment because

of the mechanism of performing state power It does not depend on the penal responsibility of cach tninister but tho potitical rosponsibitity of the cntire government im front of the Parliament

Characterized political cultwe of Europe is reflected in the constitutions of many countries (such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden) which say thal the Parliament has a right!

of accusing the officials at ministerial rank, The Lower House is in charge of accusation and the Lipper Louse is in charge of impeachment

Tho goverment, wk milatives: and is

ponsibilily in Gont of the Housz of Rey established from the members of Hous: of Represcntatives However, the government is in fact established by the major political party in the House ‘Therefore, the government usually conlrols the House of Representatives Tn other words, the goverment and the tower house are the two bodies of a political party in power

Parllamentary Republic: State power is originated from the people in principle, state

organization is formed like parliamncutary monarchy, howaver, heads of stale are clsoled instead of being hereditary Presidents are directly or indirectly elected by the people The constitution prescribes that president is the head of state having a right of representing the

state in domestic and foreign affairs Nethertheless, the role of the presidents varies due to

parliamentary republic œr presidential sepublic

- Parliamentary republic is a polity where state leaders are elected by the parliament or

decided by the parliament, government headed by the Prime Minister must take

responsibility in front of not only the heads of statc but also the parliament

Essentially, the president in this polity is symbotic so that government is mostly take responsibility in front of the parliament, Besides, this political syslery armounces thal

the supreme power of parliament is the parliamentary regime with the prime minister

and symbolic participation of other heads of state in the formulation of governments

‘The principle of government’s responsibility in front of the parliament is basis for the fact that parliament can overthrow the government and the lead of goverment can

command or demand the heads of state dissolve the paliament

‘the heads of state elected by the parliament or from the parliament have no real power while (he execution and its leader are the center of the powers Thus, il can he

scen that the typical democratic conception to transfer the state power from single

state leader to a parliament as a representative group of the most advanced classing

33

the social system has not bccn successful but the state power has instead fallen into the hand of the government whose leader is the prime minister This formulation makes a great impact on the establishment of national political culture

- Presidential republic is a forin of slate organization in which the prosidout is both the head of state and the head of the executive directly or indirectly elected, by the people, all members of the government are appointed by the president and take

responsibility in front of the prosidenl, Prasident kas the full power to seloet the governmental personnel, and the ministers do not constitute a body to discuss and take collective responsibility before the parliament buf only before the president

There are some interesting differnees between the presidential republics of America and

France, In Amprica, the rule of separation of powers is tough and strong with a significant separation between the executive and the legislate, the independence of the judiciary and the President is always the centrat character of the stale systema halding a greal power al all times, whereas the French Republic is a more mixed polity The French state is designed to ensure the separation of power and each branch of power amust control, balance and bind the others,

GUUÍT'

œspooinlly bebzocn the mở (he judiciary However, "ths pendulum of power” in fact tends to tilt toward the executive branch and the President usually takes more advantage than the parliament, especially when the President's party takes the majority of seats in the parliament Moreover, the reality also shows some special facts Vor example, political conditions give @ chance to an cra of “cotiving* or “co-existence” when the president

belongs to one party while the major party in Nattonal Assemble (Prime Minister's party} is

the opposition party In case they are not able to work together, the decision is up to the

regional politics and governance/ regional organizations (ie NU, CIS) and Linropean politics

and govartumes (1.¢ Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCR) The macro cor is the politics and govcinanse of the region/supranation or block (such as the EU)." [11,

p 472]

34

To define the characteristics of political culture of cach country and region, we should not ignore the factor of political parties which is highly developed in urope Although the main task of the political parties is to became the ruling party, the Huropean political parties, unlike the other arcas of the world, have transparent and slable ideologies The potitieal partios in Europe can be divided into four groups: left parties, right parties, neutral parties and newly political parties In two-party system (such as the UK), one of the two strongest parties (Conservative Party and Labor Party) will in tum come into power In multi-party system, if there is no party helding major seats in parliament, they will form a government based on

party coalition

Left parties support the stale to have approprial: measures fo intervene into economies,

socicty and citizens to create comprchensive social development, Right patties advocate freedom in economic policies and conservation in socio-cultural policies The party system in Europe is classified according to ideology

religion or hensfits Currently, the pasties

are competing for the interests of social groups that they represent rather than opposing

political ideologies

We need to examine the polilical systern as a factor delermining the characteristics of

national ot regional political culture because "the political party system has great impacts on

the political life of the country ‘I'he existence of multi-party or dual-party democracy will reverse all the principles of constitutional laws and contral all the political activities." [4; p

184]

Another factor determining the characteristics of European political culture is the policies

(in economics, polities, defense and society) of European politics in which socio-economic

policics are the main focus of the cntire policy system Most of the European countrics give

priority to social security policies so that their people can have the best social security system and health service in the world This security system is based largely on national financial

Tesources

2.2.2, Characteristics

Although “probably the first time the question of ths presence or absence of a Western

political culture came Lo be examined was by those who claimed that climalz made some

Europeans different trom others" |34; p 68|, the features of European political culture are

divided into two areas of West and Last just like cultural division ‘fhe reasons for the

differences in potiticat culture a

Western Europe is Christian/Protcstant and follows parliamentary institution meanwhile

Hastern Europe is Roman Cathohe and transferred irom communism to parliamentary

demoeracy ‘he trend of unifying Lurope makes its political map contain the movement from

the Bast ta the West or the expansion of the Eurepean Union to the Fast

Western European Political Culture

Wester Europe is not only an economic-political center of the world where the most developed countries and a plonly of international organivations’ headquarters arc localcd bul also the homeland of various great ideologies and human civilization’s values including political culture

Westem European political culture reflects the democracy of the state where elections are

ly and fairly conducted: multi-party electoral systom allows political parties to Fecly

campaign and the people are free in doing business or participating in socio-political organizations in the structure of the state system, the principle of power separation is

absolutely respected, and the judicial, the legislative and the executive independently operate and supervise cach olher Contemporary political cedlure of Wester Europe or the bourgeois

political culture is the result of a historical process related to the development and changes in

politics, soctety, economics and ideology In the history, Westem Europe has experienced

thrce types of political culturc as follows [11, p 483-4]

- Parochial Pre-modern Culture: people only accept the cultural environment of their local Chunchyreligion without conceiving the tolal political picture of the sociely

- Dependent Political Culture: people make relationship with the political system only

on the Output-Structures, which means they passively receive top-down governance

36

Luong Van Ke listed the characteristics of Weston political culture as follows [11, p

484-5]

- Law-based/ ruled nation and eivil society are the primary principle of politics

- Privale ownership is the principle of the democracy

- The direct democratic rights and human (citizen) rights are abided

- Personal freedom, freedem of speech, freedom of enterprise is the principle of the democracy

- Power is decentralized or the separation of power is maximized

- Democracy is based on multi-party system

- Class confrontation and class diclatorship are repla d by compromise and

We can analyve in detail the charactcristies of Wester European political eullure

mentioned at different levels

‘At Individual fevel: human rights and direct democratic rights are abided Every citizen

is granted fundamental freedom rights (freedom of speech, doing business, participation in political parties, ete.); hence, they actively get involved in the political life

At social level: the social welfare is highly guaranteed, the conflicts among classes or

interest groups are supposed to be settled by compromise and cooperation

At state level: Statc system is organized on the basc of strict power separation where the

legislative, the executive and the judicial follow the mule of control and balance to avoid

abusing power, dictatorship and authoritarianism Privale ownership is recognized and

guaranteed by the state Moreover, in the power structure of the state, there are very few

patties dominating absolute priority, which often lead to coalition, State becomes the

representative of many classes and interest proups in the society so that the interest of the majority is more conecrned and there is ane

37

“The (Western) Europcan modem democratic politics has gradually proved its superiority

of political culture." [11; p 484] ‘The modem democracy is a central factor creating the unique political culture of Western Europe

Tho characteristics of Weslo Furopean political culture divided into the above levels reflect the democratic degree of the state, Based on democratic standards, the Westem Europe countries can be grouped to stable democracies 1here are five democratic standards: (1) The ctection of the sonior positions must be conducted by free and fair clection,

(2) Political parties are allowed to operate and compete equally in the election,

@) The policy making must be transparent and officials must take individual responsibility,

(@) The citizens must be assured of the civil and political rights

(5) The judiciary shall have independent power to the legislation and execution in the systern of power separation, [10;p 32]

However, these five criteria are not completely "standards" since each ethnicity, nation

and region has its own characteristics and no state can meets all the five criteria ‘the Western

Riropesm counbios arc cÍ

sito the stable democracy by salisfying these $ standards

Political Culture of Eastern Furope

Eastern Europe has experienced various complex changes in history Studying Easter Luropean political culture requires an overview over its historical period and the examination

of the socialist politi and failure of socialism are apl to change the

people’s attitudes and awareness, which evaluates the role and power of political culture

"The commmnist experience is particularly important as an approach to testing political

culture theory beeause from onc point of view it represents a gcnuine cffort to ‘falsity’ it."

[30; p 128] “I'he Leninist variety of Marxism began to lose its legitimacy in the 1980s as its

failure to bring aboul a “good sociely” became increasingly obvious The incredible then happened: first the collapse of Eastem European communism and by the mid-1980s the collapse of Marxism Leninism in the Soviet Union itself Marxist theorists now began acknowledge the reality of pluralism, and the autonomy of governmental institutions, recognizing thal polities is not simply the reflection of cconomic structures and process, und

Intcinational Political Scicnce Association in Moscow, listed political culture as onc of three major subjects of political science, He defined politieal culture as “the participation of diverse social opinions in politics, the political culture of the people and political culture training, the regulation of social-political altitudes.” He presented this topic as boing al the samc level of importance as the study of the state and the political system and the study of foreign policy

and international relations [30 p 129] Political cultures in Kasten Kurope in this period was

basivally communist with the following features: “(1) the official er ideological politica! culture that is a mix of exheitation and imputation, (2) the operational political cuiture or what the regime is prepared to relate and believes it has succeeded in attaining, and (3) the

teal political cultire based on cviđene:

such as opinion surveys and other kinds of rescarch or

on inferences drawn from the media or official statements.” [30; p 131]

Since the Cold War and the collapse of socialism, the Hastem European countnes have eslablished their republican political institutions in different models including residential republics and pailiamentary republics, and mixed republics, At the same time, there have been a lot of ethnic and religious conflicts, particularly in Haste and Central Europe, because of the ceonomic and life crises logethor with the collapse of the socio-political systems, Because of the complex changes of political institutions and especially the great influence of socialist model, the Eastern European countries hardiy emphasize the specific

role of political parties ‘Ihe state systems often focus on the executive Multi-party regimes

in these countries are extrernely complicated because the political views of the parties are

different There are three main trends: the left wing strong wants a strong reformation and

protects the interests of the people, especially the poor people in the society, the right wing

(@ ‘The recognition of pluralism

- The process of democratization bogen with the clections on the hase of reengnizing the

‘opposite political forces

~ ‘The political parties negotiate on the base of peace to build a new constitution in which recagnives political pluralism, freedom of estabtishmncnt of and participation in sovia-political

pattics

(di) the issues of establishing new governments

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~ Scparatung the state with the Church

~ The reform supporters won and came into power

- Establishment of legal condhtions to form a civil society

The picture of the political cullure of post-cormmist Raslorn Rurops cam be described as

a “Russification on top a shaky national identity, the distorting efteots of Soviet ideclogy on society, culture, and individual mentality; profound corruption of all respects of society, the virtually total abscneo of any logitimalc togal structures, and unprocedented (and mind- boggling) envizonmental devastation.” [45; p 12]

2.3 Political Culture’s Characteristics of France and the Soviet Union — making

most Impacts on Viemam

2.3.1 The Characteristics of French Political Culture

‘To understand the political culture of France, this study will approach and analyze three

aspects as follows: an overview of the French "lwo-eader" political institution and system,

the impact of the French Revolution, especially the 1789 Revolution as a landmark of

establishing a new political culture; and the population structure as a majar factor in making France’s unique political culture

Overview of twa-leader systert:

‘The government of France is a unique hybrid of presidential and parliamentary systems

that reflect rich political traditions and culture - The contrast political culture of l’rance

curently is somewhat more consensual than in the past Accorting lo the 1958 Constitulion,

the President ts elected by direct universal sufirage for a five-year term and works as a head

of state and the piltar of the institutions {Ie is also the head of the army and responsible for

national independence Besides the President, the Prime Minister is responsible for defense

and law enforcement, and leads the governmental activities ‘fhe government identifies and implements national policies The government has bureaucracy, anued forces and takes

responsible in front of the Parliament France has a dual-house system which plays a major

role in operating democracy Legislative power belongs to the Parliament including the

National Assembly and the Senate Up to now, the Constitution has been amended 22 times

to belter suif the new demands of the jusisdictional State and the pressing issues of Europe

The objective of the 1958 Constitution makers was to balance the power between the

legislative and the executive to maintain both republican tradition and parliamentary tradition

that the balance of power had tilted more toward the executive However, the imbalance of

power is also an obstacle to the democracy ‘Therefore, ensuring the balance and control

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