Democratization and Politik Aliran

Abstract

Everyone knows that different political cultures affect democratization in different ways. Yet, merely to state this raises complex issues of interpretation and meaning that we all struggle to grasp. For instance, regardless of type, regimes seek legitimacy for their authority and leadership. An authority and leadership that for Max Weber ([1924] 1962) fell into three archetypes, traditional, emotional, or rational-legal, and in reality, it is usually some mixture of all three. In Gramscian terms, however, this search for legitimacy involves nothing as obvious as direct coercion. Rather, it relies on an enmeshment of coercion and consent. A reciprocity between the former and latter facilitates the reproduction of a hegemonic form of political domination. As complicity is elicited through an ensemble of material, ideational, and discursive practices and strategies that order and sustain the configuration of power. Under the pervasive influence of a hegemonic bloc, the general populace internalize the ideas, values, and norms of the dominant social grouping thus legitimizing their rule by accepting as normal the formation of authority and l eadership (Gramsci 1971: 57).