Anthro Chapter 13: Political Systems
kingdom
a centralized political organization with the king as the paramount leader
confederacy
a form of political organization in which tribes and bands join together under common leadership to face an external threat
age grade (age set)
a sociopolitical association of people of more or less similar age who are given specific social functions
primogeniture
a system in inheritance of leadership in which the eldest child (usually the eldest son) automatically inherits the position of leadership for his or her parent
authority
ability to affect the activities and decisions me of others based not only on one's personal characteristics but also because of ones social role
influence
ability to have an effect on the activities of others and on the decisions taken by others. Influence is based on an individual's personal characteristic of intelligence, skill, oratory, and charisma
terrorism
act of violence of perpetrated by private citizens groups within their own country or against a foreign country without the cover and sanction of a state-declared
states
highly organized, centralized political systems with a hierarchical structure of authority
social control
informal and formal mechanisms in society through which people's actions are controlled and social norms or laws are enforced
bands
small, loosely organized groups of people held together by informal means
theocracies
societies ruled by religious leaders, in which the social order is upheld through beliefs in its divine origin and sanction
tribes
societies with some degree of formalization of structure and leadership, including village and inter village councils whose members regularly meet to settle disputes and plan community activities
associations
sociopolitical groups that link people in a community on that basis of shared interests and skills
republics
state societies with elected rather than inherited leadership
empires
states expanded into larger units through conquest and the occupation or annexation of new territories
chiefdoms
stratified societies organized by kinship
power
the ability to exert control over the actions of other people and to make decisions that affect them
political anthropology
the study of the ways that communities plan group actions, make decisions affecting the group, select leadership, and resolve conflicts and disputes both within the group and with other groups
factionalism
the tendency for groups to split into opposing parties over political issues, often a cause of violence and a threat to political unity
political organization
the ways in which societies are organized to plan group activities, make decisions affecting members of the group, select leadership, and settle disputes both within the group and with other groups