political anthropology


political anthropology

that part of social anthropology which focuses on the study of the POLITICAL PROCESSES and political institutions in SIMPLE SOCIETIES. As well as being a particular focus within social anthropology, the study of the politics of simpler societies is also an essential part of POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY.

A distinguishing feature of the political systems of simpler societies is that they do not always exist as a differentiated set of relatively specialized, explicitly political, institutions as they do in modern state societies (see SEGMENTARY SOCIETY, STATELESS SOCIETY).