The structural and functional differences in political systems give us different kinds or types of political cultures. Broadly speaking, they are of five types, as under:
(i) Parochial political culture, in which there is loyalty and allegiance to the tribes or tribal groups, as in the Stateless societies of the primitive times or of the sub-Saharan African tribes of the past & present times. The parochial-subject political culture, in which the first loyalty and allegiance of an individual is towards his caste or tribe or local community, and lesser allegiance to the State. The State also fulfils minima] demands of its subjects. As the culture is parochial, the people do not make many demands on the State; they are not citizens, but subjects. This type of culture existed in ancient and medieval times, as in the Gupta Empire of ancient India, or the Mughal Empire of medieval India, or in the Ottoman Empire, etc.
(ii) Parochial Participant Culture. The parochial participant ‘v political culture is one in which commitment and allegiance to the parochial ; communities, like caste, tribes and local communities or baradaries is still
strong but the people also participate in the political activities of the State, such as elections, in which they cast their votes in the interest of their parochial groups, not for the political parties or national interest. This kind I of culture is found mostly in the newly independent countries of Asia and Africa and of South America.
(iii) Subject political culture. It is one in which there are I several political sub-cultures and therefore the subjects (people) participate
in the political authority to a limited extent; hence they are not citizens, e.g. I in the Bourbon France before the French Revolution of 1789. It becomes I subject-participant culture, when die subjects (people) participate in the I political system to some extent. In this culture, there is some alienation and I apathy among the people. This type of political culture is found in modem I France, Germany, Italy, etc.
(iv) Participant Political Culture. In this type of political [ culture the people participate in the political authority. They are, therefore, not subjects, but citizens. G. Almond and S.Verba have called this type of political culture as civic culture, as for example, in the United Kingdom or in the United States. This type of political culture requires two things of the I citizens: rationality and active participation in political affairs. Political thinkers, from Locke to Harold Laski, have always favoured this kind of the rationality-activist model of political culture. According to this model, a successful democracy requires the citizens to be involved and active in politics, informed about the political affairs as well as influential in them.
Their decisions, including that of voting, should be based on a careful evaluation of evidence and careful weighing of alternatives. The passive, non-voting, poorly-informed, or apathetic citizens may weaken democracy. Moreover, they should not be motivated by any lesser loyalties or solidarities, as do the voters in parochial participant cultures. Such a model of active and rational participation emphasises die participant orientation to politics, and especially to political inputs, or demands of the people. Their allegiance is also primarily to the State or nation, even though they differ among themselves on party or policy matters.
Authoritarian participant culture: It is the type of political culture in which participation in political affairs and decisions is according to the authority of the State or government The ruler is the real decision-maker and the people, as voters, are to comply with his decisions. This type of culture existed in Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and exists now in the Soviet Union, Communist China and such other countries.