ANTH 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Médecins Sans Frontières, Rwandan Genocide, Elman Service
Politics & Power:
● Introduction:
○ Power: the ability to bring about change through influence or action. Power is a
natural part of almost every interaction between people and therefore it is a
natural part of human culture
○ Example: the Arab Spring in Tunisia- a salesman was very upset about the
corruption that was going on which led to four different governments being
overthrown. It was a struggle to rebuild these governments
○ Conversations about power and politics can be contentious or controversial
○ Sometimes power is welcome, and sometimes it is less welcome
○ Politics is the study of social relationships and how a society can be organized for
the well-being of the group
● Political History:
○ We cannot understand today’s geopolitical map without understanding the
history of colonization and political powers
○ In the 1950’s, anthropologists became more interested in politics and how the
structures of politics functioned and were formed. This was because there was a
lot of political complexities and controversies that were going on after the
conclusion of World War II when the Colonial era was coming to a close
○ As the Colonial era ended, the nation-states gave up their colonies and new
nation-states were formed. This meant that the political process had a lot of
significance, and the political process was in the hands of people who had never
had any sort of power or control over their political organization previously
● Political Anthropology & Cultural Typologies:
○ Because of the immense diversity that can be seen around the world, scholars
had difficulty in communicating
○ Elman Service came up with the four types: bands, tribes, chiefdom and states
○ Elman Service’s different types were very general and basic
○ There are different typologies of economies and different subsistence strategies
● Bands:
○ Made up of very small populations (typically 20 people to a maximum of a
hundred people)
○ These people are hunter/gatherers and use foraging as a means of subsistence
○ Social organization is based on kinship ties
○ Social power structures are pretty basic. They are flexible and based on a
consensus. The political structures are highly egalitarian and are not dominated
by one person or by one group but rather the community as a whole
○ Allows for the maintenance of a community through making sure everyone has
what they need
○ Kinship is the primary organizer of these communities
○ Bands are what anthropologists study to learn the natural aspects of community
organization- if egalitarian or hierarchical organization is more organic
● Tribes:
○ Typically have a population containing a few hundred to a few thousand people
○ Primarily subsist on pastoralism and horticulture, in some cases they may rely
on foraging
○ Generally tribes are more settled, although there may be some movement for
fertile ground or for domestic animals
○ Social organization is based on villages and kinship ties, which may include clans
and lineages. People identify to a high degree with their own village and family
○ Power structures are relatively egalitarian and based on consensus. There may
be some leaders, but these leaders have limited power
○ Leaders emerge due to achieving their status through personal achievements
(demonstrating leadership skills, or hunting, gathering or conflict resolution
skills)
○ The word “tribe” can be problematic because it can mean different things in
popular discourse than it does in anthropology
■ In popular discourse, the word “tribe” is often used to convey an idea of
being primitive and uncivilized
● During the Rwandan Genocide, the word “tribe” was used in a
non-anthropological manner. The genocide was called a “tribal
conflict”, and this phrasing limited its importance and brushed it
off the shoulders of other societies
■ In anthropology, the word “tribe” makes no assumptions about the value
of a people. Only on their particular social and political structure
● Chiefdoms:
○ Chiefdoms are a more complex form of organization. They are a transitional form
of organizational that eventually lead to state
○ This is the next step towards larger societies that require greater organization
and exertion of political power in order to keep the group organized
○ Populations are made up of thousands to tens of thousands of people
○ Chiefdoms typically organize several villages or communities together
○ Primary subsistence is from agriculture
○ They have a consolidated political structure and are organized around the chief.
Often the village in which the chief resides is larger than the other villages in the
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ANTH 1000 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Power: the ability to bring about change through influence or action. Power is a natural part of almost every interaction between people and therefore it is a natural part of human culture. Example: the arab spring in tunisia- a salesman was very upset about the corruption that was going on which led to four different governments being overthrown. It was a struggle to rebuild these governments. Conversations about power and politics can be contentious or controversial. Sometimes power is welcome, and sometimes it is less welcome. Politics is the study of social relationships and how a society can be organized for the well-being of the group. We cannot understand today"s geopolitical map without understanding the history of colonization and political powers. In the 1950"s, anthropologists became more interested in politics and how the structures of politics functioned and were formed.
