Political culture is a characteristic of the political life of a society that is historically determined. It consists of the level of development of the subject of politics, its activities and its results, the subject of which is considered in the relevant institutions and relations.
If we consider this concept in a narrow sense, then this is a set of political methods and actions that are characteristic of a particular state and accepted by all its citizens.
The structure of political culture consists of a certain number of components that are interconnected with each other. Here are some of them: value-normative, cognitive, evaluative, behavioral and installation. However, in addition to the components, certain levels of political culture are also distinguished:
Worldview. This is a definite idea of the principles of political activity and various aspects.
Civil. Allocation of their own political status, which will correspond to existing opportunities.
Political. Formation of one’s attitude to the political regime, to opponents and allies.
There are certain types of political culture, distinguished on the basis of citizens' perceptions of it:
Democratic political culture. The state in this case acts as an instrument for the realization of the will of the people. The basis of this type of culture is the idea of the sovereignty of the people and the belief that the protest that arises in case of disagreement with the principles of political power will have an effect.
Authoritarian. Here, the state, regardless of the method of its creation, is considered by citizens as a force whose decisions must be strictly obeyed.
Revolutionary All types of political culture in some way characterize the behavior of citizens in relation to power, if they are unhappy with it. This view shows the essence of the protest as clearly as possible, consisting in a radical change in the existing state system. Moreover, it is believed that the degree of radicalism of the revolution is directly proportional to its sequence, i.e. the more drastic measures taken, the better the result.
Messianic. Its essence is that citizens are confident in the supreme mission of the state, that it must fulfill some mission. Note that this species exists in its pure form for relatively short time, but in its latent form can complement many types of political culture.
Patriarchal. This type is based on the relations of citizens and authorities, which can be compared with the relations of father and children. Political freedom in this case is absent, and its restriction is akin to children's prohibitions that exist in the traditional patriarchal family. This species is characterized by stability, but only until the moment when the "father" is alive.
American political scientists S. Verboi and G. Almond identified the following types of political culture:
Patriarchal. It is inherent only in a society where a political system has not yet been formed.
Yielding. It is characterized by the existence of specialized political institutions to which members of society are oriented. Moreover, they can show various emotions: pride, hostility, discontent, perceiving their existence and activities as legal and illegal.
Activist, or a culture of political participation. Members of a society can not only formulate their demands regarding political power, but they are given the right to take a direct part in it.
American political scientists argue that none of these types can exist in its purest form. They interact with each other and form species in which one or another component dominates.