A look at the process of political socialization and how it contributes to the process of system destabilization.
Written in 2005; 2,794 words; 7 sources; APA; $ 83.95
Paper Summary:
This paper looks, first, at how an understanding of political socialization is an inherently important aspect of comprehending political life and then attempts to illustrate how a deeper understanding of political socialization can enhance our understanding of the role of socialization in political change, as opposed to political stability. The paper then uses the example of Egypt before the revolution of 1952, and then following it, to demonstrate how this process works.
Introduction
The Process and Theory of Political Socialization
Preparation for the Revolution: Socialization Towards System
Destabilization
From the Paper:
"Socialization is a complex phenomena, analyzing and theoritizing about the ways and means by which children become social beings and acquire the tools that help them function in society, on cultural, economic and political levels. As the term itself, "socialization" implies, this phenomena is really a cultural one but, nonetheless, has very important political implications. As a matter of fact, socialization impacts many aspects of human development and, as such, constitutes an important area of study within the humanities and social sciences. The study of this phenomenon may be defined as an attempt to dissect the core of socialization and explain how the process unfolds, the manner in which it differs from one culture to another or from one age to another, and identify its determining factors. To date and in spite of a great deal of research conducted into this area and numerous attempts to attain comprehensive understanding of socialization, Stanley Allen Renshon, a Political Sociology professor and scholar, argues that socialization and, more specifically, political socialization, demands further research. This research is important if political scientist, not to mention sociologists and psychologists, are ever going to understand "the process by which the child develops into the citizen." Even though the basic process of political socialization, or socialization, as such is understood as the teaching of behaviour and the acquisition of behaviour there are many questions regarding the extent to which these learned behaviours influence politics and political systems. Jack Dennis, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin and, author of Socialization to Politics: A Reader, emphasizes the importance of this set of question. He argues that they are important as a means of framing an understanding of "the system relevance of political socialization." In this regard, Dennis writes that answering the "question about what effects political socialization has upon political life," is crucial for understanding politics. In other words, once the elements of political socialization and the process by which it occurs, in addition to the identification of the factors which influence it, are fully understood, political life will become all that more clearer to read. Besides the necessity of understanding political socialization as inherently important to comprehension of political life, deeper understanding of political socialization will settle a major debate concerning the role of socialization in political change, as opposed to political stability. Dennis states that the exact role of political socialization in the stabilization, or destabilization of a political system is a topic of debate: "The assumption that every system engages in some program of political socialization needs to be tested; and it needs examination within the context of alternative means for building - or perhaps undermining - the support of the system's membership." The above does not simply communicate the existence of a debate regarding the role of political socialization in political systems but, expands our understanding of political socialization in a very important way. In the first place, it communicates that different systems have their unique political socialization goals and processes, directed towards the teaching of specific political beliefs and behaviors. In the second place, it informs readers that while political socialization usually functions towards the stabilization of the present political system, if new elements, communicating contrary messages enter into the process, political socialization may act towards the destabilization of a system and the creation of an alternative one. This is an interesting hypothesis which requires testing. As a way of testing that hypothesis, this research will argue that while political socialization does communicate established and accepted political behaviours and beliefs, from one generation to the next, certain economic, social and political conditions might lead to the rise of alternate beliefs and behaviours, determining political socialization towards revolutionary goals which, once successful and expressed in the collapse of a system and its replacement with another, will, once more, function towards stabilization of the system through the communication of the newly defined political behaviors and attitudes. In other words, political socialization is a cycle, beginning with stabilization, leading to destabilization, and ending with stabilization once again. By focusing on the political socialization processes operating in Egypt before the revolution of 1952, just prior to the revolution and then following it, the manner in which political socialization communicates behaviour intended to stabilize, destabilize then re-stabilize the political system shall be explained."
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