The Internalization of Political Values in Stateless Societies

Bibliographic Data

ID2497700
AuthorsRobert M Levine (0000-0002-9499-9809, Northwestern University, corresponding author), Robert Levine (0000-0002-7459-9541)
Year1960
Volume19
Issue2
Pages51-58
Publication date1960-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Organization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-7259 • E-ISSN: 1938-3517
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.17730/humo.19.2.7w5673720623870r
OpenAlexW2082673133
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited4

The purpose of this paper is to suggest the following proposition: To understand and predict the contemporary political behavior of African peoples who were stateless prior to Western contact, one must take account of the traditional political values involved in their local authority systems, particularly since such values continue to be internalized by new generations after their society has come under the administration of a modern nation-state. Most anthropological students of stateless societies have concentrated their attention on the total-society level, analyzing the structure of intergroup relations in the absence of a central authority. In my opinion, a concept such as society, which is at the total-society level of analysis, is an inadequate tool for the investigation of political variation and adaptation in African societies. To illustrate this point, I shall compare political behavior in two East African societies having segmentary lineage systems: the Gusii of Kenya, among whom I

Biology · Computer security · Internalization · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Stateless protocol · African history and culture analysis · Law

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub