I have chosen to discuss the political culture of Costa Rica. Briefly defined, a political culture is the grouping of beliefs and values internalised within the general population that underscores their political activity as well as their attitude toward the government. Hereby it is mentionable that two things which immensely impact on the political culture of a country are its political histories and the cultural development of the country. These two conjoined factors largely formulate the political culture of a county. In this essay I will be discussing the political culture of Costa Rica.
Before analysing Costa Rica´s political culture, there needs to made clear distinction as to what culture is and how culture and politics interact. Culture is commonly understood as a shared belief system, shared value system and code of conduct of a people. The operative word being ´shared´ and can serve as a means of identity of a people or nation as well.
Culture influences politics in the way that strategies which are aimed at attaining national goals often reflect or are even dictated by the culture of the people. E.g. Costa Rican political culture as a model of classical liberalism reflected an avid entrepreneurial spirit among the Coffee Barons of Costa Rica´s classical period: Where wealth, status and class were the most valued features in society. There is empirical evidence showing that people´s viewpoints, whether realist, functionalist, conservative, liberal, mercantilist etc. will influence their actions. Culture is intrinsic to the conduct of political activity.
Costa Rica´s contemporary political culture is defined by an unprecedented belief in democracy, as it is Latin America´s oldest democracy. Despite this, it is...
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...les of democracy completely. The structure of the Dominican Republic has not always conformed to the west and democratic tradition. Instead it uses a lot of elaborate for with questionable substance. The country’s constitution has taken after the Constitution of the United States but the underlying political realities are very different. Politics are key to the success of the Dominican Republic’s future and democratic system. The noticeable difference with today’s politics and policy makers is that political leaders must now deal with a large amount of problems and public issues that require them to make all of these decisions by ruling not just for themselves but also for jobs, water, education, housing and social development. The Dominican politics have evolved into a quest for power and privilege that together will keep the country prospering and growing.
Elazar’s political culture typology divides state political culture into three dominant categories: moralist, individualist, and traditionalist. Moralists measure government by its commitment to the public good and concern for public welfare.
Suchlicki, Jamie, "The Political Ideology of Jose Marti" from: Beckles, Hilary and Verene Shepherd, Caribbean Freedom: Economy and Society from Emancipation to the Present. 1996 Marcus Wiener, Princeton, N.J.
I learned more than I ever imagined on my summer study abroad trip to Costa Rica. I learned that Costa Rica is a country like no other. The country is much different than what the United States of America is like. The lifestyles, customs, and practices of Costa Rica are very different than those that I am accustomed to. As an outsider looking into the country, I saw a country that is very poor financially but very rich in spirit. They do not appreciate wealth as United States citizens do, but instead appreciate love and gratitude. I noticed that Costa Ricans have very strong family values and cultural roots.
Green, Cencilia. (1997). Historical Roots of Modern Caribbean Politics. Against the Current. Vol. 12, (4), 34-38.
There are three different types of political cultures. Firstly, there is moralistic political culture, which believes that society is more important than the individual. In this political culture, government is seen as a positive force to help the people. Serving society as a whole is what defines this political culture, and it is mostly associated with Democratic beliefs. On the other hand, individualistic
Elazar, Daniel. "Explaining Policy Differences Using Political Culture." Reading. West Texas A&M University. Political Culture Handout. Dr. Dave Rausch, Teel Bivins Professor of Political Science. Web. 23 Mar. 2011. < http://www.wtamu.edu/~jrausch/polcul.html.>
The United States of America and Costa Rica’s constitutions have several similarities and differences. The United States and Costa Rica have two of the most successful constitutional republics in the history of the world. They are alike in several ways, however, there are some major differences that allows them to thrive in their own environments. There are many components that describe the two countries: physical structure, traditions and how the constitutions were established, how the constitutions work, languages, military, religion, education, voting rights, presidential elections, and structure of the legislative branch, presidential terms, vice presidents, and Supreme Court justices.
The idea of political culture is found within the state’s history. The history of the state is impacted by the people settled in the region, religious backgrounds, and geography. The history of the state influences the attitudes and beliefs that people hold regarding their political system. Daniel Elazar theorized a connection between the states’ history and attitude towards government by explaining differences in government between states. Every state is different with some common ground. Elazar’s theory divides states into three types: moralistic, traditionalistic and individualistic. The state’s constitution defines the powers of government with political culture bias. Because of the state constitution, the political culture influences the power and limitations of governors, legislative, and judiciaries.
Culture is everywhere we go and involves everything we do. There are different cultures all around us, weather it be where we are, whom we are with or what events are happening around us. One of the main identifiers of culture is based on which country we are in, as each and every country has its own unique culture dynamics within in. Throughout this paper two cultures will be compared and contrasted, those two being the countries of Canada and Costa Rica. These two countries have many differences yet still have similarities among them. To compare these different cultures, they will be looked at in light of three of the cultural dimensions identified by Geert Hofstead (Cultural Insights). Not only will these countries be looked at in regards
This fortified country has made shifts to obtain a true democratic system. From sacrifices, crisis, and authoritative rule, there attempt to rebuild their nation resulted in long lasting stability. Latin countries since colonial times have grown accustomed to the life of strife, in which changes are only made temporarily. For one to actually set out plan that will last for the future is true progression. As mentioned earlier where there is progress there is stability and vice versa. Costa Rica has made the effort to initiate program that will build their country. Democracy has a great deal of influence on Costa Rica becoming a cohesive nation through the economic, social, and political factors. The sense of unity that the country has been born through the seed of democracy. The citizens share a community based image of what they are an apart of. Benedict Anderson coined the phrase “imagined communities, stemming from Rousseau ideology, which I feel this nation can identify with. (Engel, 2005, pg.537). Not only can this nation relate to this imagined community by struggle, but also victory. Many countries can only associated their unity with the struggle the country has faced. This shows that the nation is not making the proper moves to better the quality of life for their people. Costa Rica is far removed from the typical assertion of a “Central American” country, because they were focused on
Political culture are broadly shared ideas about how the government should run and operate. Political culture is important because it establishes the backdrop against which politics unfolds. It establishes the outer limits of what is possible, or even probable, in the political realm. There are three main political culture categories which are traditionalistic, moralistic, and individualistic. These three cultures are different in many aspects such as how they developed, the focus of each culture, and how the government should run. Traditionalistic culture rooted in plantations which contain values of social hierarchy. The focus of a traditionalistic culture is focused on tradition and maintaining existing social order. Politics are engaged
According to our books, lectures and discussions from class, political culture is the values, attitudes, traditions, habits and general behavioral patterns. Political culture reflects the political values and beliefs of people. This explains how people feel about their government. It is developed by historical experience over generations. Texas’ political culture is conservative. Conservative is the system of ideas highlighted by the belief in a limited role for the government in taxation, economic regulation, and providing social services.
Political culture, according to the text, “consists of the values, attitudes, traditions, habits, and general behavioral patterns that develop over time and shape the politics and public policy of a particular region.” Political culture is important as it provides a background for political experiences. Political scientist Daniel Elazar identified three forms of cultures that are apart of U.S. and Texas: moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic.1 Moralistic culture is rooted in New England Puritanism, where people view the government should promote the public good and it is the citizens’ duty to be active in governmental decisions.1 On the opposite end, the individualistic culture viewed the government as an “adversary that taxed and
The political culture of a country is the basic values, attitudes, beliefs, and ideas of the people t...