POLITICAL CULTURE AND POLITICAL

STABILITY
The field of comparative politics focuses on the comparative study and analysis
of political systems. Comparative studies between states help to examine the
variation of institutions between states and the impact that different
institutional practices have on the outcomes of the political processes in
different societies.

The meaning of term ‘culture’ is complex in itself. It is not one of the concept
with most political scientists are comfortable with. The term ‘culture’ covers a
broad set of phenomenon which includes traditions, habits and patterns of
behaviour which is effective and shaped by prevailing beliefs, norms and
values.

Various theories have been devoted to the meaning and explanation of

political culture. According to some political culture analysts is a subset of
political conditions which is specifically shaped by its political beliefs, norms,
and values. At the core of political culture lie the shared values and beliefs of a
group or society regarding political relationship and public policy which is going
to affect the human beings living together. Political culture focuses on who
gets to do what with and to whom under what circumstances. It also seeks to
answer the question of who decides, who has authority, and who has power in
a group, organisation, institution or other social unit in society. The concept of
political culture is one of the most important fields of study in comparative
politics. Gabriel Almond stated it ‘something like a notion of political culture
has been around as long as men have spoken and written about politics,’ and
related concepts- such as ‘subculture’, ‘elite political culture’, ‘political
socialization’ and ‘cultural change’- have also been used in a variety of settings
since time immemorial. The term political culture is not a new one. It can be
traced from Plato through Aristotle, Machiavelli, Montesquieu, Rousseau,
Tocqueville, and up to modern times.

Plato in his book ‘The Republic’ observed: ‘that governments vary as the
dispositions of men vary, and that there must be as many of the one as there
are of the other. For we cannot suppose that States are made of ‘oak and rock’
and not out of the human natures which are in them’.
Gabriel Almond points out that political culture ‘is not a theory; it refers to a
set of variables that may be used in the construction of theories”. It consists of
“the system of empirical beliefs, expressive symbols, and values which defines
the situation in which political action takes place”. It “is concerned with
psychological orientation towards social objects…the political system as
internalized in the cognitions, feelings and evaluation of citizens”. The major
dimensions of political culture includes a sense of national identity, attitudes
expressed by citizens towards the political system they belong to, attitudes
one holding towards their fellow citizens, attitudes and expectations about
governmental performance, and knowledge and attitudes about the political
decision-making processes.

Some scholars have referred to three different directions in which political

culture runs: a system culture, a process culture and a policy culture. The
system culture dimension talks about the attitudes towards nation, the regime,
and the authorities who control the power at any given time. This includes the
values related to national identity, regime legitimacy, institutional legitimacy
and the effectiveness of the individuals holding some significant political
positions. The process dimension focuses on the attitudes towards the
individual herself plays in the political arena and attitudes about other political
actors. And the last, policy dimension talks about the results of the politics, the
“outputs” of the political system.

At last we can remark that the level of congruence between democratic values
among the public and in political institution of a country is an important
indication of political stability; the greater the congruence, the greater the
stability. But the remaining fact is that it is blind towards the direction of
incongruence.

THE CIVIC CULTURE

The Civic culture provides a basis for understanding political culture as an
approach to understand and analyse comparative politics. In 1963 The Civic
Culture was published, authored by Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba. It was
based on a survey which was conducted in five countries- Mexico, UK, Italy,
Germany and the USA to determine the relation between political culture and
political stability of a nation. They focused on the nature and types of
democratic system the Nations have and questioned the participant three
different types of questions: cognitive, emotional and subjective. Their study
was conducted in five different countries to determine the nature of their
political culture- Parochial, Subject and please political culture. In our paper we
will focus on two different countries: Bhutan-A constitutional Monarchy and
second is India- A flawed democracy; and we will try to understand about the
differences that exist between their political culture and how it affects the
political stability of the country itself and how it touches every sphere of
human lives. In respect to the three types of political culture, they all form the
ideal type itself. No country have persisted any of these true forms of political
culture as it is not possible. In their conclusion Sidney and Verba pointed that
for a stable nation, one requires the mixture of Subject and Participant political
culture, which is defined as the civic culture. In civic culture, citizens are aware
of their duties and rights and also how to respect and incorporate them in the
institutions and government.

A sense of national identity is important to national cohesion and stability. To

arrive at some conclusion about what political culture exactly stands for and
what are the spheres it actually covers, we will try to understand it through
two different types of political culture in Bhutan and India. The focus will be on
the legitimacy of the government. If the citizens believe that they ought to
obey the laws, then legitimacy is high and if they don't feel the reason to obey
then the legitimacy is low. The following are the agencies which are
responsible for the dispersal of a particular hegemony throughout society.
Louis Althusser, a French Marxist philosopher, listed the responsible agencies
for the stability as the following:

1. Religion
2. Education
3. Family
4. Law
5. Politics
6. Trade Unions
7. Communication
8. Culture

On the above given agencies we will look at the stability of constitutional

monarchy in Bhutan and democracy in India.
BHUTAN
Bhutan or the Land of Thunder Dragon is a landlocked country bordered by
Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north, the Sikkim state of India and
the Chumbi Valley of Tibet in the west, the Arunachal Pradesh state of India in
the east, and the states of Assam and West Bengal in the south. Located in
South Asia, it is the second least populous nation after Maldives.
The two major religions followed here are Buddhism and Hinduism, former
being the major one. Dzongkha or Bhutanese is the official language of Bhutan
but other languages and dialects are also spoken here.

Prosperity and happiness is important to Bhutan because of which they are the
first country to come up with Gross National Happiness to measure it. Gross
National Happiness (GNH) is a philosophy that guides the government of
Bhutan. Happiness is also instituted as the goal of the government in the
Constitution of Bhutan which was enacted on 18 July 2008.

Until recently Bhutan did not fit into the story of the global triumph of
democracy. Bhutan started a silent transition from an absolute to a
constitutional monarchy by introducing parliamentary democratic elements.
Initiated by the King Jigme Singye Wangchuck rather than a revolutionary
movement or a national catastrophe, this step was unusual as it is usually the
voters who rise up to fight for the right to elect their leaders.

Historically, Bhutan was a country of fragmented and disoriented rule of the

different regions by local chieftains, lords and clans. Major change came when
in 1953, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck established the country’s legislature
known as Tshogdu, a 130 member assembly who met twice a year and passed
the legislation enacted by the King. The Royal Advisory Council was established
in 1965 to advise the king and his ministers on important questions and to
supervise the implementation of government programs and policies. In 1968,
the Council of Ministers, composed of the heads of the various government
departments, was set up. The Royal Advisory Council and the Council of
Ministers, along with representatives from the clergy, constituted Bhutan’s
cabinet. The state Buddhist monastic order was involved in government at
many levels, and its priests exerted considerable influence.
Upon his death in 1972, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck was succeeded by his son, King
Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who continued the process of reforming the
government. He introduced major changes in 1998, when he dissolved the
cabinet to have it reconstituted, in part, through election by the Tshogdu.
Moreover, he transferred most of his administrative duties to the cabinet and
granted to the Tshogdu, the authority to remove him through a vote of no
confidence. In other words, while the king retained his role as head of state, he
relinquished his power as head of government to the Tshogdu.

It was only in 1999, that the ban on television and internet was lifted by the
government as it was seen as a critical step to modernization of Bhutan as well
as a major contributor to the country’s Gross National Happiness index. Bhutan
was the last country on earth to legalize television and internet. And cell
phones came in 2003. Today, Bhutan is proportionately one of the most wired
countries on earth.

Though the drafting for Constitution of Bhutan began on November 30, 2001
after the King inaugurated the outset of its drafting with a ceremony, it was
only on 18 July, 2008 that the Constitution of Bhutan was enacted by the Royal
Government of Bhutan.

On 14 December, 2006, the King announced that he will abdicate his throne.
This was followed by the first national parliamentary elections in December
2007 (National Council, the upper house of new bicameral Parliament) and
March 2008 (National Assembly, the lower house). This led to the conversion
of Bhutan’s government from absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy.
On 6 November 2008, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the eldest son of
King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, was crowned the King.

Until mid 2007, political parties were illegal in Bhutan. It was only in April of
the same year, the ban was lifted by royal decree in anticipation of the general
elections that would establish Bhutan as a parliamentary democracy.
The first legal party to be registered was the People’s Democratic Party,
followed shortly thereafter by the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party. These
two parties were the sole contestants in the subsequent elections of 2007 and
2008. However, there remain a number of illegitimate (unregistered) political
parties, made up mostly of ethnic Nepalese that operate from abroad.

The organs of the Bhutanese government comprise of the Legislature, Judiciary

and the Executive. The King of Bhutan is the head of state. The executive
power is exercised by the Lhengye Zhungtshog, or council of ministers which is
headed by the Prime Minister. Bhutan consists of bicameral legislature (the
upper house and the lower house). The king is responsible for electing five
members of the National Council and the remaining twenty are elected by the
people. The lower house called the National Assembly is made up of 47
members that are elected by the people. The head of the party with the
majority of votes becomes the prime minister and is nominated by the king.
Both the National Council and the National Assembly serve a five year term.

Till now, Bhutan has had three general elections in 2008, 2013 and 2018.
In the first general elections for the National Assembly (held on 24 March
2008) the chief contestants being the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party (DPT)
led by Jigme Thinley and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) led by Sangay
Ngedup. The DPT won the elections by taking 45 out of 47 seats. Jigme Thinley
served as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013.
In the second general elections, held in 2013, People's Democratic Party came
to power. It won 32 seats with 54.88% of the vote. PDP leader Tshering Tobgay
served as Prime Minister from 2013 to 2018.
In the third general election held in 2018, Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (registered
on 20 January 2013) won largest number of seats in the National Assembly
Election, bringing Lotay Tshering to premiership and Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa
into government for the first time.

In Bhutan, suffrage is universal for citizens who are at least 18 years old.
However, women are underrepresented in the high levels of government, its
services and in politics due to customs and different aspects of Bhutan's
culture that dictate a woman's role in the household. These customs roll over
to a woman's public life and can cause them to be timid and not confident in
making their voice heard.

Until the early 1960s, no formal schools existed in Bhutan except those for
religious instruction. Since then considerable progress has been made in
education and primary and secondary schools have been established
throughout the country. It was by the end of the 20th century, a policy had
been adopted whereby a major portion of the annual government budget was
directed toward educational programs.

Education is not compulsory in Bhutan, and many of the country’s children

between the ages of 6 and 11 years are not enrolled in primary school.
Similarly, only a fraction of Bhutan’s older children are enrolled in secondary
school. Nevertheless, enrolment rates rose substantially since the late 20th
century, and the rate of adult literacy, although only about 60 percent in the
early 21st century, has also increased dramatically. Growing numbers of
students attend the country’s various colleges, as well as several teacher-
training colleges and technical-vocational institutes.

While, a large part of the Bhutan’s population is still illiterate and reside in
rural areas with approximately 1 in 5 still living under the poverty line, the
majority of all Bhutanese have shelter and are self-sufficient. Rapid
modernization has brought about vast improvements in the living standard of
the Bhutanese people. All villages now have access to basic amenities such as
education, running water, basic healthcare and are connected by roads and
electricity.
The Bhutanese economy is predominantly agricultural. Farmers supplement
their income through the sale of animal products such as cheese, butter and
milk and farmer’s markets are common throughout the country, supplying the
people with fresh, organic, local produce.
Religion is very important to the people of Bhutan. The country of Bhutan is
fairly new to the type of government they have which is a constitutional
monarchy. The political culture in Bhutan is very religious with Buddhism being
one of the major religions in Bhutan and the people’s religious beliefs and the
politics are both connected.
Since the 17th century, Bhutan has followed a dual system of governance,
known as the Chhoe-sid-nyi, which splits the government powers into a
religious branch headed by a chief abbot (known as Je Khenpo), and an
administrative branch headed by the king (now headed by the prime minister)
Bhutan’s political culture has been based on their religion for many years and it
is now recently that people are getting use to having a form of government
where everyone goes by the same laws. As their culture is mainly focused on
their religious beliefs and this has made them take a very slow role in the
modernization. They are a very cultural and traditional country making them a
modern conservative country. By tracing back in the Bhutan history, you are
able to see their very strong ties with religion, especially Buddhism even in
politics. It is just recently that they have expanded their monarchy to a
constitutional one, but even so they still follow their religious belief and put it
into their politics.
For many years, Bhutan has been isolated from the world and has just recently
changing their political views. Their government is based on making the
Bhutanese population happy by measuring the Gross National Happiness but
the ultimate judicial power is still held by the king. Little by little they are
adding to their politics by taking what they consider the good from what other
countries have done with their governments. They are adopting democracy
into their country but are being very careful to not change their culture and
beliefs.
When talking about the human rights in Bhutan, homosexuality is illegal. The
Penal Code (Articles 213 & 214) states that same-sex sexual acts (regardless of
whether they were consensual or done in private) are punishable by a prison
sentence of between one month to less than one year. Bhutan in the year
1990s expelled or forced most of its ethnic Lhotshampa population, which is
one-fifth of the country’s entire population, demanding conformity in religion,
dress and language. Even their property was expropriated.
A harassment campaign had escalated in the early 1990s leading to Bhutanese
security forces expelling people. According to the UNHCR, more than 107,000
Bhutanese refugees living in seven camps in eastern Nepal have been
documented as of 2008. The Nepalese government does not permit citizenship
for Bhutanese refugees, so most of them have become stateless. Careful
scrutiny has been used to prevent their relatives from getting ID cards and
voting rights. Bhutan considers political parties associated with these refugees
to be illegal and terrorist in nature. Human rights groups initially have claimed
that the government interfered with individual rights by requiring all citizens,
including ethnic minority members, to wear the traditional dress of the ethnic
majority in public places. The government also strictly enforced this law in
Buddhist religious buildings, government offices, schools, official functions, and
public ceremonies.
In Bhutanese families, inheritance is matrilineal in nature, that is, generally
passes through the female rather than the male line. Daughters will inherit
their parent’s house. A man is expected to make his own way in the world and
often moves to his wife's home. Love marriages are common in urban areas,
but the tradition of arranged marriages among acquainted families is still
prevalent in the rural areas. Although uncommon, polygamy is also accepted.
Women have begun to participate more in workplace but are still
underrepresented as compared to men. In culture of Bhutan, the idea of
selflessness is deep rooted for women in the context of household. This could
be seen a part reason of why they are less in number than men at workplace.
Women in general, work low quality jobs and the unemployment rate among
women is higher than that of men. In Bhutan culture, the idea of selflessness is
deep rooted for women in context of household which.
Even though Bhutan is one of the countries with youngest democracies, it is
able to work well for its people. Transition from absolute to constitutional
monarchy is not an easy one but Bhutan has worked well in making itself today
a parliamentary democracy.

INDIA
The Republic of India is a peninsular state situated in the South Asian region. In
the North part of the country lies the Himalayan ranges that are stretched to
far east, most of the western part of the country is occupied with the Thar
desert and the southern part of the country is surrounded by the Indian ocean.

India is a home for the world's second largest population which is fragmented
into numerous ethnic, religious, linguistic, and caste groups. Although the
identities are divided among the population based on their interests, the
national unity of the country remains unshaken.

It is estimated that 81 per cent of the Indian population is adhered to Hindu

religion, 12 per cent to Muslim, 2 per cent to Christian, 2 per cent to Sikh and
the remaining 2 per cent is devoted to Buddhism, Jainism and others.

The differences independent India inherited from its colonial past have been
exacerbated by the rebirth of religious fundamentalism, especially among
Hindus. Many Hindus think of themselves as an oppressed group, even though
they make up the 81 percent of the population. Politicized Hindu groups have
existed since the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded in 1925. In
some states, the Sangh and similar organisations are pressing for reforms that
would put the secular commitment of the country's founders into question,
because the growth of Hindu nationalism has been inextricably intertwined
with the meteoric rise of the BJP in the 1980s as well as in the present time.
Hindus believes that the Indian government considers them as the second-
class citizens because of the provisions that have been provided to the
minorities in the country.

Education helps in bringing a change in the mindset of people and it helps in

providing a rational explanation to every aspect of human lives. It assists with
the undoing of religious fundamentalism/ extremism which can create a
misfortune for other citizens of the country. According to 2016, India's literacy
rate is about 75 per cent which misses out the one fourth of its population.
Given the religious and other identities and such low level of literacy among
people, it is surprising that political participation in 2014 General Elections
reached about 65 percent which was a bit higher than USA itself. Even though
half of the electorate cannot read the description of the party but they can
identify the pictures of the party to vote for. The remarkable facts is that the
poorest and the illiterate section of the society vote at a higher rate than the
national average and are well informed about the issues and the politicians
they are voting on.

India is known to be a patriarchal society. Traditionally, the girls and women of

the house were supposed to stay inside the boundaries of the house doing the
household works and lookout for the fulfilment of the needs of the family. The
male member of the house used to be the head of house and later on succeed
by his son and so on. In most parts of the country male babies are still prized
whereas the girls are considered to be a burden for the family because of her
future spending and so called 'dahej’ (dowry). In some families medical care for
girls is often ignored. In case of any shortages, it is the girl who is taught to
compromise and not the boys. With the advancement of technology, the
widespread use of ultrasound to determine the sex (illegally) of the unborn
child has created a crisis for the survival of girls. According to the 2011 census
report, in India there was a sex ratio of 943 females per 1000 males just
because some parents prefer to abort their girl child before she is even born.

India has the lengthiest written Constitution of the world. The Indian
Constitution has drawn most of its provisions from the Constitutions of various
other countries as well as from the Government of India Act of 1935. The
doctrine of sovereignty of Indian Parliament is associated with the British
Parliament while the principle of judicial supremacy with that of the American
Supreme Court. Along with the establishment of supremacy of judiciary, it is
also considered to be integrated and independent. For the protection of
individual's rights the provisions for Fundamental Rights have been created in
the Indian Constitution, creating a sense of equality and freedom to the
population.

The politics of India is unique in its nature itself. A large number of political
parties at the state and national level stand in elections. The Indian party
system and politics in general involve many different and overlapping
cleavages. As a result, the party hoping to win enough votes has strike a
balance between the demands and interests of a large number of groups that
have been forged because of the different identities. That is the main reason
why the Congress was able to rule India for about 40-50 years followed by the
BJP which is currently forming the Central Government (since 2014) as well as
state governments in various states. In the 1980s the coalition governments
could not survive long enough because of its exhausting demands from the
coalition members. The appointment of Narendra Modi as the current prime
minister is different in itself. Most Indians support the regime because they are
happy with what it has accomplished.

In the contemporary times, westernized and high tech life is responsible for
the social and economic changes in the country. Machines are taking the jobs
of humans. The technology plays an important role in the agricultural sector
because half of the Indian population work on agriculture. Technology is a key
to raise agricultural productivity.

Last, we cannot ignore the continued importance of caste. Although the

Constitution and subsequent legislation banned discrimination against Dalits
and other formally outside the caste system, it continues to have a major
impact on people's daily lives from what they do for a living to whom they vote
for.

A first step in understanding why India has enjoyed more success than the rest
Global South lies in its political culture. Many thought that intolerance along
regional, caste, linguistic and religious lines might tear the country apart. Now,
however, there is a general agreement that Indian democracy is secure not
because those differences have disappeared but because politicians have
found ways to diminish their disruptive potential. That is an important point
we do not encounter in other countries.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
The countries of Bhutan and India neighbour each other and lie in the same
region of South Asia. The bilateral relations between Bhutan and India have
been traditionally close and both countries share a 'special relationship' with
each other.

Both countries share a good history with each other, beginning from August 8,
1949 when Bhutan and India signed the Treaty of Friendship, calling for peace
between the two nations and non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
However, Bhutan also agreed to let India guide its foreign policy and both
nations would consult each other closely on foreign and defence affairs. The
treaty also established free trade and extradition protocols.

In fact, the present Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi chose Bhutan as his
first foreign destination, placing regional cooperation before global
cooperation. While talking about his visit, Modi said that Bhutan was a "natural
choice" for his first foreign destination because of the "unique and special
relationship" the two countries shared. He also added that he was looking
forward to nurture and further strengthened India's special relations with
Bhutan. This clearly shows that there are strong ties between the countries of
Bhutan and India.

However, some differences can be seen in both the countries of Bhutan and
India. Bhutan is a country which recently transitioned itself from absolute
monarchy to constitutional monarchy by introducing parliamentary democracy
in its country. The early groundwork for democratization began in 1952 in
Bhutan, whereas, India became a sovereign democratic republic after its
constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950.

Political parties were illegal in Bhutan until mid 2007 and first general elections
were conducted in 2008. While in India, political parties have never been
considered illegal and after its independence in 1947, India had its first general
elections from 25 October 1951 to 21 February 1952.

In India, there is a the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act
or Right to Education Act (RTE) which was enacted on 4 August 2009, which
describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education
for children between the age of 6 to 14 years. While in Bhutan no such
provisions have been made and education is not compulsory.

It was only in the year of 1999, that Bhutan lifted ban from television and
Internet facilities whereas in India public access to internet have been
launched since 15 August, 1995.

In India, on 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court of India decriminalised

homosexuality be declaring Section 377 of the India Penal Code
unconstitutional. Sexual activity between people of the same gender is legal
however same-sex couples cannot legally marry or obtain civil partnerships.
While in Bhutan homosexuality is considered to be illegal. The Penal Code
(Articles 213 & 214) states that same-sex sexual acts (regardless of whether
they were consensual or done in private) are punishable by a prison sentence
of between one month to less than one year.

Also, a difference in part of marriage can be seen where in Bhutan, it is the

man who moves to his wife’s home after marriage, while in India its the girl
that moves to her husband’s home after marriage.

Not only differences but similarities can also be found in both the countries of
India and Bhutan.

In both India and Bhutan, agriculture is the predominant occupation or work of

its population. Both these countries, have a large number of people who are
illiterate and poor.

India and Bhutan both follow the Universal Adult Franchise i.e. individuals after
attaining a particular age can exercise their voting right. Both the countries
have a particular age of 18 and above to be able to vote. Democracy has been
adopted by both the countries and the governments are doing well in keeping
the essence of democracy.

However, not a good indicator for a progressive society nor for the idea of
equality, patriarchy can be seen deeply rooted in the structures and processes
of both India and Bhutan. In both these countries, women are told to be
selfless (to give) and not selfish. The concept of patriarchy can be seen through
how representative their government institutions are in terms of gender.
Women in both these societies are told to take care of household and then
later of children. While men, are seen as people who should go out and work.

Also, religion is an important value for people of both the countries. They
associate themselves with religion as a way of living life. Not only religion
defines how they live but also who they vote and how they see the new
changes occurring around them.
CONCLUSION

Political culture is all about perceptions and orientation of members of a given

community at a given time. The political culture of a state is never static but
dynamic in nature. When the studies were conducted by Almond and Verba,
the global scenario used to be different. With the increasing complexity on the
national as well as international level, the political culture seems to respond in
a multi dimensional way.

From the case studies of Bhutan and India, it is clear that political culture
affects the stability of the government. It's the way people want to be
governed and the way government wants to exercise its power on the people.

The stability of both the nations i.e. Bhutan and India depends on the
congruence of its each and every citizen as well as on their political
institutions. The political culture is not bound by the limits and rules as it
continues to grow and evolve.

REFEFERENCES

 Comparative Politics: An institutional and cross national

approach by Gregory Mahler
 Comparative Politics by Lichbach and Kopstein
 https://www.britannica.com/place/Bhutan/Government
-and-society
 https://www.britannica.com/place/India
 https://www.academia.edu/684136/Political_Culture_R
egulation_and_Democratization_The_Internet_in_nine_
Asian_nations
 https://www.bhutan.travel/page/political-system
 https://www.ukessays.com/essays/politics/the-political-
background-of-bhutan-politics-essay.php