In the book, Edward Weisband and Courtney Thomas have discussed political culture, its application as well as the different aspects related to it. According to the authors, a political culture refers to all the factors that enable the thriving of a particular political system. In fact, the practices, the values, the beliefs, and the shared systems, all contribute to the formation of a political system that defines an administration. In as much as most people believe that such a culture is naturally formed, this notion is not true because it takes many years to develop fully and take strong roots (Weisband & Thomas, 2015). The activities of the people, the environmental setup, and their historical background are factors that facilitate the development of a particular political culture. Hence, as a result of such factors, countries do not have similar political cultures. Each nation has its unique political culture that may appear as strange to individuals from other regions.
In as much as each country has its political culture, the world as a whole has adopted a unique culture that has been forming for over 300 years. In particular, this aspect is known as the nation-state system. Notably, nations that are sovereign, and are defined by their borders are the order of arrangement in the world. Within each nation-state, a particular political culture, which sets out a country and its characteristics exist (Weisband & Thomas, 2015). The concept of nationality and nationhood may bring conflict because of different cultural groups finding themselves in one area. One may also experience culture shock when exposed to a new culture. In essence, anyone has a particular cultural affiliation that he or she subscribes. Therefore, anything that one does is in line with the cultural systems and beliefs of the group. When one is let into another way of doing things, the feeling may lead to a culture shock.
It is worth mentioning that the book by Weisbannd and Thomas enlightens the reader on several issues. For instance, after reading it, one can understand how countries operate and run governments across the world. Apart from that, the book enables one to comprehend why different countries have diverse ideologies concerning certain international issues. For instance, Russia and the European Union hardly agree on global issues (Leonard, Popescu, & European Council on Foreign Relations, 2007). After reading this book, one would be better placed to understand that the European Union and Russia have different political cultures, thus the constant disagreements.
I agree with the writers when they state that political cultures are formed and not naturally acquired. Specifically, when one observes the developing countries, especially in Africa, most of them are still struggling with their political systems (Escobar, 2011). It clearly shows that the countries are still trying to form their political cultures because most of them attained sovereignty barely fifty years ago. The European and American political cultures are fully developed because they were formed over hundreds of years. Therefore, it is evident that a political culture is developed over time.
Indeed the book contains a broad spectrum of knowledge concerning international affairs as well as cultural practices across the world. Learning about culture is essential for anyone who likes traveling to different parts of the world. Such an individual would find this book resourceful as the writers have analyzed the concept of culture from different angles, giving a holistic explanation of the concept, particularly political culture.
References
Escobar, A. (2011). Encountering development: The making and unmaking of the Third World. Princeton University Press.
Leonard, M., Popescu, N., & European Council on Foreign Relations. (2007). A power audit of EU-Russia relations (Vol. 9). London: European Council on Foreign Relations.
Weisband, E., & Thomas, C. I. (2015). Political culture and the making of modern nation-states. Routledge.
