CHAPTER ELEVEN

POLITICS AS A SOCIAL INSTITUTION

by

Akeem Olalekan AYUB1 and Ribah Yusuf Bala2

(ayubakeemola@gmail.com)

CHAPTER OBJECTIVE
Readers should be able to:
i. Understand politics and institution
ii. Define political Institution
iii. Differentiate between political institution and political system
iv. Highlight types of political system
v. Explain the structure of Nigeria’s political institution
vi. Identify the relationships between political institution and other social institutions

INTRODUCTION
Human society is a network of complex social systems which work together, not just to keep
society in place, but to ensure the continuity and progress of its parts to make a stable and
developed organization. Although there are indeed many institutions that work in a sort of
interdependency, a political institution is such a very important institution upon which the
overall development of human society rests. Politics is the social structure and methods used
to manage a government or a state just as there exist different types of economic systems
and theories, so also do political theories and systems. The political system adopted by a
country depends largely upon the nation-state, its historical antecedent and colonial masters
in the case of countries colonized in the past. Whereas a nation is a people with common
customs, origin, history or language, a state, on the other hand, denotes a political entity, with
a legitimate claim to monopolize the use of force over people with common customs, origin
and history. It should be noted that there are in existence, political systems that are functional in
different countries or have at least existed sometime in the past. They include totalitarianism,
authoritarianism, democracy, among others. The major objectives of the political institution
are to choose individuals that will run the affairs of the states/nations and keep them moving
through certain established principles of governance and development strategies.
DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS

Political Institution
A political institution is made up of two key concepts namely political and institution. For
clarity of comprehension, it is imperative to examine the two concepts.

Political
Political is an adjectival concept, carved out from politics to describe social institutions through
which power is acquired and exercised by individuals and groups. Politics is an institutionalized
system through which a society is governed. In other words, politics comprises activities
associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the competitions between parties
having power or making decisions in groups or other forms of power relations between
individuals. The word “politics” comes from the Greek word “polis” which means “city-
state” (Dobratz, Waldner & Buzzell, 2019). Accordingly, in the ancient world, city-states were
small entities regarded as centres of culture and civilization where people interact under a unified
government. What transpires in the ‘polis’ is politics. The origin of the word, therefore,
suggests that politics is a term encompassing the totality of human activities within the nation-
state. In other words, politics denotes all activities engaged by political actors and parties in the
country.
Bluntschli (2000), defines politics as the science of keeping an eye on state activities, fighting for
and comprehending the state and conditions, primarily the properties of development in various
forms or manifestations. Mitchell (1969), defined politics as the process of a society's collective
decision-making or policy-making. In other words, politics is a collective decision making or the
making of public policies for an entire society. In the view of Lasswell (1963), politics is defined
as who gets what, when, and how. For Easton (1981), politics is viewed as a society's official
allotment of values. It is also viewed as a distinctive form of rule whereby people act together
through institutionalized procedures to resolve differences, conciliate diverse interests and values
and make public policies in the pursuit of common purposes. From Oxford Advanced Learner's
Dictionary, Politics is defined as ‘the activities involved in getting and using power in public
life, and being able to influence decisions that affect a country or a society’ (Hornby, 2018).
In essence, politics denotes a social activity through the interaction of individuals. It is the
science of keeping an eye on state activities, fighting for and comprehending the state and
conditions to achieve peace and development. It is the means through which majority members
of society collectively design policies, set structures, purposes, and ideals in their lives to have a
harmonious relationship and sustainable development. Politics, therefore, does not emerge from
the activities of a single individual but a group of people. Politics is the creation, maintenance,
and amendment of societal norms or rules. The word ‘political’ is simply an adjective
qualifying or describing an activity or series of activities geared towards conflict resolution or
governmental structuring through which societal norms or rules are created, maintained, enforced
and amended.

Institution
Institutions are established ways of doing things, emerged to create and enforce rules and
regulations. ‘Essentially, institutions are durable systems of established and embedded social
rules and conventions that structure social interactions’ (Hodgson, 2001, p. 295). Institutions
comprise norms, regulations and laws that establish the ‘rules of the game’ - that is, that
the condition and modify the behaviour of individuals and groups so that their actions become
more
predictable to others. They do so through both formal rules that include laws and contracts
and, as well as through informal means such as social norms and conventions that evolve. The
rules, norms, and conventions help in governing human interaction. Institutions may be
formal in the sense of having constitutional rules, codified laws, and bureaucratic rulebooks or
informal in the sense of social and cultural norms.
Institutions have established rules that help in disciplining and curbing human emotions and
behaviour to create unity among the members which take the institution forward. Institutions
are organizations, establishments, foundations, societies, etc., devoted to the promotion of a
particular cause or program, especially one of a public, educational, or charitable character (Moe,
2019). An institution consists of a group of people who have come together for a common
purpose. These institutions are a part of the social order of society, and they govern the
behaviour and expectations of individuals. These institutions simplify the actions and work of the
individual, provide a means to control society and people who constitute it, assign roles
depending on which individual members can achieve and regulate their statuses, help to maintain
order in society, act as stimulants by giving the required freedom and create harmony and unity
among members of society. In the context of Nigeria, several basic institutions exist, namely,
education, family, law, health, economy, religion, etc. The ability of the state to provide and
maintain these institutions is, therefore, an important determinant of how well individuals in
society can fare.

Political Institution
A political institution is one of the institutions of society established to create, enforce and apply
laws. Political institutions provide the platform on how to organise the polity, how authority and
power are constituted, exercised, legitimated, controlled and redistributed (Abdulhakeem, 2017).
They often mediate conflict; make policy on the economy and social systems and otherwise
provide representation for the population. Political institution centres on exercising political
power (the government, parliament, the presidency, etc.). Political institutions serve two
very different purposes. On one hand, they help mitigate collective-action problems, particularly
the commitment and enforcement problems so debilitating to political exchange, and thus allow
the various actors in politics to cooperate in the realization of gains from trade. On the other
hand, political institutions are also weapons of coercion and redistribution. Political institutions
shape governance around the world by setting limits on the ability of the state to exercise its
power arbitrarily. In the case of Nigeria, the Constitution limits the power and authority of all
political actors including the executive, legislative and judiciary through checks and
balances. The constitutionalism in the constitution does not allow any political leader to use
power arbitrarily or for personal satisfaction rather than for public peace and growth.
Successful provision and maintenance of the political institution bring about good governance.
Good governance includes the creation, protection, and enforcement of laws as well as
fundamental human rights, without which the scope for running a country is limited. It includes
the provision of a regulatory regime that works to command obedience to norms and values of
society. It also comprises the provision of policies that create a stable environment for all
political actors and the general populace. A good political institution produces good governance
which prevents corruption that is capable to subvert the goals of policy and undermine the
legitimacy of other public institutions that support the political institution. Political institutions
help determine limits on the arbitrary exercise of power by politicians and bureaucrats. They
do so by delineating the rights between the state and the citizens and providing for their
enforcement (Besley & Case, 2003; Brown, 2013)
Characteristics/Features of Political Institution
The characteristics of the political institution below are summed up from the works of Besley
and Case (2003), Brown (2013) and Gerring and Thacker (2001).
i. Political institutions include the electoral rules that lay out the procedures by
which governments are elected and replaced.
ii. Political institutions also include the constitutional rules that determine the
division of power between the executive and legislative branches of government -
and the limits on the power of each.
iii. Political institutions are the structural means by which political winners pursue their
interests, often at the great expense of political losers.
iv. Political institutions delineate the division of power between federal, state and local
governments and the assignment of responsibilities to different agencies within the
government.
v. Political institutions may be formal (such as electoral rules), or informal (for example,
the role of shared beliefs among members of the same political party in shaping
behaviour).
vi. There are also important interactions between political institutions. For example, the
credibility of autonomous agencies will depend on the extent to which other political
institutions limit the power of governments to revoke the agencies’ independence
in the future.

FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL INSTITUTION

The political institution performs several developmental functions and these are documented by
the works of Dahl (1963), Verma (1989) and Brown (2013). The functions are:
i. Maintaining law and order: The political institution has the authority to enact
and enforce laws through the state by prescribing certain forms of behaviour and
prohibiting other behaviours that disrupt the social order. It is the responsibility of
the political institution through the state to make good laws and maintain order,
punish criminals and protect law-abiding citizens. The police and courts are
establishments of the political institution that carry out the responsibility of
maintaining law and order.
ii. Planning and directing society: The political institution formulates policies,
initiates laws, and launches programmes that affect every member of society through
the legislature, executive and judiciary. The legislature is responsible for enacting
laws that govern the behaviour of all individuals and institutions. The executive
formulates policies and programmes and administers the country in accordance with
the laws. The judiciary interprets the laws and safeguards the rights of all citizens.
iii. Providing welfare services: The political institution ensures economic stability and
general social welfare by initiating policies and programmes for the welfare of the
state citizens. Welfare measures include health, education, employment, public
services and retirement benefits. Equity, elimination of poverty, promotion of social
justice, and cultural development are among the contemporary main goals of modern
political institutions. Take, for instance, the National Social Investment Program
created by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2015 to ensure more equitable
distribution to a vulnerable population, including children, youth and women.
 iv. Defending against foreign danger/external attacks: The political institution
through the state apparatus protects its citizens against external aggression and
threat. Modern nation-states maintain standing armies and a large portion of the
national budget is utilized for defense purposes. The soldiers trained and equipped for
defense are also deployed for maintaining order in case of emergency.
v. Evaluating other institutions: The political institution controls and ensures that
other institutions in the State such as the health, legal, education, family,
economic, among others, are adequately assessed or examined through a number of
policies for optimal results. The policies develop, maintain and stabilize the
institutions.

POLITICAL SYSTEM
A system, according to von Bertalanffy (1968), refers to different elements interacting together.
The nearest and most familiar example of a system is the biological system, for example, a
human being. The various organs of a man's body, for instance, the heart, the lungs, the liver etc.
are interdependent parts of a whole. The parts are interdependent and interrelated in performing
their functions or discharging their respective roles. There is an understandable pattern in the
functioning of different parts of human organisms through a variety of processes such as the
circulation of blood, the decay of old cells and the birth of new ones. In other words, there is a
regularity in the behaviour of these parts and their interactions. Similarly, a clock, car engine and
computer are all examples of systems. The solar system may also be cited as another example. In
society, there are social, political, economic and cultural systems. Family is an example of a
social system where all the members are interconnected and interrelated to each other in a sense
of unity and welfare. In summary, a system is a set of elements or objects bound by
interconnected, interdependent and harmonious interactions for a particular objective or goal.
Therefore, Political System, according to Dahl (1963), is defined as any continuous pattern
of human relationships comprising power, rule, or authority. Many studies (Dahl, 1963;
Heslop, 2020) of sophisticated political regimes' legal or constitutional arrangements define
a political system as the collection of formal legal institutions that make up a "government"
or "state." However, in a broader sense, political system encompasses both actual and
prescribed forms of political behavior including the legal structure of the state and the
actuality of how it operates. The political system is also defined as a set of "interaction
processes" or as a subsystem of the social system that interacts with nonpolitical subsystems
such as the economic system. This stresses the study of political evolution and emphasizes
the role of informal sociopolitical processes.
The political system involves all parts including the political parties, political campaigns,
electoral activities as well as the electoral positions in the country. Therefore, the political system
supports adequate allocation of goods and services, public safety and policies that pertain to
family, health and sanitation. The political system also entails material support, for instance,
payment of taxes, military services etc.; obedience to the law, rule and regulation; participatory
support such as voting and political discussion; and paying attention to government
communication, or display of differences, or respect to a public authority, symbols and
ceremonials. Political system also encompasses demands for participation in the political system;
and demands for communication and information. It should be noted that while both the political
institution and political system appear different, they non-the-less agree in many ways.
Therefore, both political institution and political system can either be treated synonymously or
differently. The fact remains that both are systems that share similar characteristics in terms of
regulation of behaviour, interest articulation, interest aggregation, policymaking, policy
implementation, policy adjudication, political socialisation, political recruitment, political
communication and equitable distribution of resources.
Characteristics of Political System
i. Comprehensiveness: The political system is comprehensive in the sense that it
includes all types of interactions that take place among the various roles and
structures that the system contains. The Political System includes not only formal
governmental institutions such as the legislature, executive and judiciary, but also
informal institutions such as interest groups, political parties, riots and
demonstrations, etc. Political System is comprehensive because it includes all the
interactions from the formal as well as informal institutions in the society. For
example, it includes the interaction of regionalism, religious upheavals, inflation,
party-politics, tactics of pressure groups and social changes brought about by
modernisation.
ii. Interdependence: Interdependence means that when the properties of one
component in a system change, all the other components and the system as a whole
are affected. In a political system, the political parties having a wider base and mass
media (television, radio and newspapers) change the performance of all other
structures of the system and affect the general working of the system. Take, for
instance, the activities of the trade unions such as the Nigeria Labour Congress and
pressure groups such as Nigeria Bar Association, Academic Staff Union of
Universities, affect the working of the political parties, the electoral processes, the
legislature, the bureaucracy and the judicial system.
The failure of the government to check the ever-rising prices or inflation in
Nigeria may call the attention of labourers to demand for more wages. In case the
demand is not met by the employers, then the labourers may resort to strike which
may become violent in the long run. Hence, the employers may call the police and
the police may resort to firing to quell the disturbances. In such cases, the mill-
owners will close the mills. To solve this problem, the government will have to
intervene by appointing a tribunal consisting of the representatives of labour, the
management and the State. If the dispute is not resolved by the tribunal, then the
government will have to pass legislation fixing the minimum wages and increasing
the allowance according to the corresponding increase in the price index. The
government will fix the bonus, etc. All this amply demonstrates how a political
system comprises different parts and how a happening of a great magnitude
affects the entire political system.
iii. Boundary: Boundary implies the line of demarcation between the political system
and other systems. Yet another aspect of the concept of the system is the change of
boundary. The political system consists of interacting roles of nationals, subjects,
voters, and the non-political to political ones. For example, on Election Day, the
citizens leave their farms, plants and offices to go to the polling stations. In this way,
they are crossing the boundary from economy to politics. Similarly, during wartime,
large fluctuations in the boundaries of the political system take place. Therefore, the
boundaries of the political system frequently change.
iv. Interactions: They are an important feature of every human society. Therefore, the
political institution performs the function of interaction through integration and
 adaptation of all members of society involving the use of force or legitimate physical
compulsion. The political system does not only include governmental institutions
such as legislatures, executives, courts, administrative agencies but also all structures
therein. These structures interact and perform complementary functions which
contribute to the stability of the political system. Among these are formal
organisations like political parties, interest groups, and media of communication;
traditional structures such as kinship ties, caste groupings, as well as riots and
demonstrations. Consequently, the political system includes interaction between all
the formal and informal institutions. The process of interaction is divided into three
phases – input, conversion and output. The Nigerian Constitution reflects the various
interactions taking place in the political system.
v. Use of threat or use of legal force: The first characteristic of a political system is
that it allows the legal authority to use force. If David Easton speaks of the
“authoritative allocation of values”, and Dahl of “Power, “rule” and authority”,
all these definitions imply that legal authority can use force to compel anybody to
obey its orders. Therefore, the Political System possesses legitimate and heavy
sanctions and rightful power to punish. Consequently, Max Weber claims that
legitimate use of force is a distinct feature of the political system, giving it a special
quality and importance (Mitchell, 1969; Easton, 1981; Bluntschli, 2000; Heslop,
2020).

SIMILARITY BETWEEN POLITICAL INSTITUTION AND POLITICAL SYSTEM

i. Both are universal, that is, they exist everywhere.
ii. Both perform the same functions, though there may be differences in the different
political systems and their structures.
iii. Both have some structures, although, there may be some specialised structures
that may perform more functions than the less specialised structures.
iv. Both are influenced by culture and tradition.
v. Both have multi-functional purposes irrespective of the degree of specialisation.
vi. Both have a direct impact on the business environment and activities of a country
(Lasswell, 1963; Orum & Dale, 2009)

Types of Political Systems

Political System consists of both politics and government as well as law, economy, culture, and
other social components. The most popular political systems around the world can be reduced to
a few simple core concepts. Many additional types of political systems are similar in idea or root,
but most tend to surround concepts of democracy, republic, monarchy, communism and
dictatorship. Each of these political systems is briefly explained below:
Democracy: This is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members
of a state, typically through elected representatives. In other words, it is a system of government
in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through freely elected
representatives. At its most fundamental, a democracy is a form of government in which a
nation's citizens have the power to decide the laws under which they will live. These decisions
are made via either a vote of the people in a "direct democracy" (also called a "true" or "pure"
democracy) or through elected officials who vote on behalf of their constituents in a
"representative democracy". The word "democracy" comes from the Greek words "demos",
meaning "citizen", and "kratos", meaning "power" or "rule" (Heslop, 2020). Not all democracies
are the same. A myriad of democratic sub-types exists, including constitutional democracy, green
democracy, diarchy, liberal democracy, industrial democracy, and more. Examples of countries
that practise democracy are Nigeria, Norway, New Zealand, Canada, etc.
Republic: This is a state (such as Nigeria, Niger, Senegal and Serbia) in which supreme power is
held by the people and their elected representatives and that has an elected or nominated
president rather than a monarch. A republic is a form of government generally defined by three
characteristics:
i. the power of government is held by the people,
ii. the people give power to leaders by electing the officials who represent them and
serve their interests,
iii. citizens and their representatives are to work cooperatively to promote the
common good rather than their interests.
The government in republican countries is considered a “public matter.” It is not the
private concern of the rulers. The word ‘republic” comes from the Latin term res public,
which means “public things,” “public matter,” or “public affair.” Republics differ from direct
democracies. A republic is described as a state in which the people and their elected
representatives hold supreme power. Direct democracy allows citizens to govern the state
themselves, not through representatives. Despite this, many modern democracies are, by and
large, republics (Orum & Dale, 2009). Direct democracies and republics are considered the
opposite of dictatorships. Examples of countries that are considered Republic are Niger,
Philippines, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, etc.
Monarchy: This is a form of government in which one person reigns, typically a king or a
queen. The authority, also known as a crown, is typically inherited. A monarchy is a form of
government in which one ruler oversees the success, events, and decisions of a given nation.
Though the most common way of choosing who will lead a nation is through an election that the
country's people take part in, elections are not the only method of picking a monarch. Some
countries have monarchies that stay within one family's name, so the only way to become the
monarch of the said nation is if one is part of the family to inherit the position at some point in
their life. With inherited monarchies, the person who is the monarch remains the monarch until
they pass away. In rare instances, the monarchy is passed onto someone else in the family's
lineage if the reigning monarch has gone against rules that they had to follow as a monarch, but
again, this outcome is rare. It is most common for a monarchy to change rulers when the most
recent monarch has passed away.
The monarchy that the majority of people are most familiar with is that of the United Kingdom.
As the reigning ruler of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Queen Elizabeth II is a prime
example of a monarch who became the United Kingdom's monarch after being born into the
royal family. In theory, the next person to take the throne would be her children, and she just so
happens to be the mother of three sons. Her children are Prince Andrew, the Duke of York;
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales; and Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex. Countries
practising monarchical political systems also include Morocco, Qatar, etc. (Heslop, 2020).
Communism: This is a system of government in which the state plans and controls the
economy. Often, an authoritarian party holds power and state controls are imposed. Communism
is a form of government most closely associated with the ideas of Karl Marx, which he outlined
in ‘The Communist Manifesto’. Communism is based on the goal of eliminating socioeconomic
class struggles by creating a classless society in which everyone shares the benefits of labour and
the state controls all property and wealth. Communism is a classless social system with one form
of public ownership of the means of production and with full social equality of all members of
society. In the highest phase of communism, the directly social character of labour and
production will become firmly established.
Communism includes a variety of schools of thought which broadly include Marxism and
libertarian communism as well as the political ideologies grouped around both. All of which
share the analysis that the current order of society stems from capitalism, its economic system
and mode of production, namely that in this system there are two major social classes, the
relationship between these two classes is exploitative, and that this situation can only ultimately
be resolved through a social revolution. The two classes are the proletariat (the working class),
who make up the majority of the population within society and must work to survive, and the
bourgeoisie (the capitalist class), a small minority who derives profit from employing the
working class through private ownership of the means of production. According to this analysis,
a revolution would put the working class in power and establish social ownership of the means of
production which is the primary element in the transformation of society towards a communist
mode of production (Mitchell, (1969; Easton, 1981; Heslop, 2020)
Dictatorship: This is a form of government where one person makes all rules and takes
decisions with absolute power, by disregarding input from others. A dictatorship is a type of
government in which a single person - the dictator - or party has absolute power. This means
that the ruler or party has complete control. The rights of the people are typically suppressed in a
dictatorship, sometimes to a great degree. Dictators are usually backed (especially financially) by
groups of powerful people. Typically, dictators rise to power when a nation faces significant
social issues, such as strong economic crises or unrest among the nation's people. Dictators
typically retain their power by silencing any opposition to their rule and guidelines. This is often
done via questionable means, including intimidation, imprisonment (lawful or not), physical
violence, or even assassination. The leaders of dictatorships are not outwardly identified as
dictators when other people are addressing them. Most dictators adopt common appellations such
as "President" or "Prime Minister", so they must be identified via their actions and policies rather
than their title. Examples of countries termed dictatorship include Chad, Afghanistan, Ethiopia,
Azerbaijan, among others (Heslop, 2020)

Functions of Political System

The functions of a political system are as follows:
i. To maintain the integration of society by determining norms.
ii. To adapt and change elements of social, economic, and religious systems necessary
for achieving collective (political) goals.
iii. To protect the integrity of the political system from outside threats.
iv. To regulate behaviour such as provision for public safety, control over markets and
rules of marriage, health and sanitation (Verma, 1989; Heslop, 2020).

STRUCTURE OF NIGERIA’S POLITICAL INSTITUTION

Like the United States, Brazil and India, Nigeria as a federation and a colonial heritage has
36 States, a Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) and a 774 Local Government Area structure
and adopted the United States Presidential System since 1979 which replaced the British
Parliamentary System of Government. Nigeria is a federal republic with a presidential
system, comprising different elements, but all can be grouped under three arms/branches of
government such as the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. These arms/branches
institutionally work in tandem for the growth and development of the country through the
instrumentality of checks and balances and separation of powers. These powers are vested in
the National Assembly, the President, and the Federal Courts, including the Supreme Court,
respectively. The Federal, State, and Local Governments of Nigeria aim to work cooperatively to
govern the nation and its people. The Nigerian political structure implies that the life of the
Nigerian society is controlled by people operating at various levels. This means that some of
them are responsible for the exercise of power over the state, others are authorized to oversee
control and order only in some small areas, whereas some of them are to provide lawfulness,
peace, and order on the territory of the country.
Nigerian politics takes place within a framework of a federal, presidential, representative
democratic republic, in which executive power is exercised by the government. As a federal
republic, the executive power is exercised by the president. The president is the head of state, the
head of government, and the head of a multi-party system. The president of Nigeria is the
head of state; at the same time, he acts as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He
takes this position after a nationwide election for a period of 4 years and can hold office no
more than for two consecutive terms. The president’s main function is to bear
responsibility for the smooth administration of the country’s political system. He answers
for the readiness of the country to withstand enemies and to provide security for every
Nigerian resident. The President does not act as a member of the National Assembly, but he
has the right to visit during its sessions and is required to approve laws in cooperation with this
institution. The President is assisted by a Vice President, elected during presidential elections, as
every candidate for the presidency goes to the elections along with a person who will hold the
vice-presidential post. The vice-president is chosen from the same political party as the
president himself (Orum & Dale, 2009).
The legislative power is held by the federal government and the two chambers of the legislature:
The House of Representatives and the Senate. The Nigerian constitution provides for a bicameral
National Assembly, which consists of the Senate (upper chamber) and House of Representatives
(lower house/chamber) under the leadership of the Senate President and the Speaker,
respectively. Each state elects 10 members to the House of Representatives for four-year terms;
members of the Senate are also elected to a four-year term - three from each of the 36 states and
one from the Federal Capital Territory to make a total of 109 senators. The Chairman of the
Senate is elected by indirect voting by senators. The legislators are elected to either the House
of Representatives or the Senate to be representatives of their constituencies and to pass
legislation for the benefit of the public. The legislative process consists of bills being drafted and
presented in either of the two chambers. These bills can only become national law once they are
approved by the President of Nigeria who can veto bills.
The Judiciary consists of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Court of Appeal, the High Courts,
and other trial courts such as the Magistrates, Customary, Sharia and other specialised courts.
The National Judicial Council serves as an independent executive body, insulating the judiciary
from the executive arm of government. The Supreme Court is presided over by the Chief Justice
of Nigeria and thirteen associate justices, who are appointed by the President of Nigeria on the
recommendation of the National Judicial Council. These justices are subject to confirmation by
the Senate. The judicial branch of the Nigerian government is the only one of the three branches
of government in which its members are not elected but are appointed. The judiciary, and the
Supreme Court, in particular, are intended to uphold the principles and laws of the nation's
constitution that was written in 1999. Its goal is to protect the basic rights of the citizens. The
judiciary interprets the laws initiated by the executive and made by the legislative arm. This
structure is replicated at the state and local government levels. The main task of the court is to
ensure compliance with legislation, strengthening the rule of law and democracy. The decisions
of the Supreme Court are not subjected to further appeal and are considered binding for the
executive and legislative authorities (Olayinka, 2018).

Political Institution and Other Social Institutions in Society

This section highlights various ways through which the political institution is related with
the following:
i. Healthcare Institution
ii. Educational Institution
iii. Family Institution
iv. Religious Institution
v. Economic Institution

Relationship between Political Institution and Healthcare Institution

Healthcare institution means an institution (other than a hospital) by or at which health services
or health support services are provided. They comprise organizations that provide health care
and related services to the provision of inpatient and outpatient care, such as diagnostic or
therapeutic services, laboratory services, medicinal drugs, and other health services. Examples
of healthcare institutions include the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), National
Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), National Agency for the
Control of AIDS (NACA), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control
(NAFDAC), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA), among others. The
following present how the political institution is related to the healthcare institution.
i. The political institution plays a key role in determining the health and wellbeing
of the citizens through the provision of housing, income and employment. It helps
to tackle many of the major determinants of health inequalities that lie outside the
health sector and therefore require non-health sector policies.
ii. The political institution can commodify or ‘decommodify’ health through its policies
which promote the right to health, health equality, and even make health services and
a certain standard of living a right of citizenship.
iii. The political institution sets national standards for health personnel education and
develops systems for accreditation of training other social institutions.
iv. The political institution embarks on several initiatives through the ministries of
health and other related ministries to improve health outcomes by promoting the
social and economic determinants of health, such as a sustainable environment,
literacy, female education and empowerment, and poverty reduction.
 v. The political institution plays a major role in health care financing by mobilizing the
necessary resources through public budgets and other contributory mechanisms,
pooling resources allocated to health development, guiding the process of resource
allocation and purchasing health services from various providers.
vi. The political institution often steers the overall health development by designing
health policies and programmes, securing essential public health functions and
regulating the delivery of health services (Bambra, Fox & Scott-Samuel, 2005; WHO,
2006).

Relationship between Political Institution and Educational Institution

An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain knowledge, including
preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities.
They provide a large variety of learning environments and learning spaces. Education is a social
institution through which a society’s children are taught basic academic knowledge,
learning skills, and cultural norms. It is the social institution through which society provides its
members with knowledge, including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms and values. The
educational institution is responsible for the systematic transmission of knowledge, skills and
cultural values within a formally organized structure. It is one of the most influential institutions
in contemporary societies.
Every nation in the world is equipped with some form of education system, although, those
systems vary greatly. Universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and universal basic
education are all examples of educational institutions. Also, the National Universities
Commission (NUC) Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) National Teachers
Institute (NTI) West African Examinations Council (WAEC) National Examination Council
(NEC) National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), among several
agencies, fall within educational institutions in Nigeria. Both educational and political
institutions have symbiotic relationships. The relationship between the political institution and
the educational institution is presented below.
i. The planning, administration and management of educational institutions are
influenced by the political system of a country. Take, for instance, in Nigeria,
governments through the ministry of education and other stakeholders establish
tertiary institutions, their Acts, curriculum, conditions of service for educationists,
etc.
ii. Education is a tool for transmitting political culture and ideas as well as the selection
and training of political elites/actors. Take, for instance, students are taught political
sociology in the universities and government as a subject at secondary schools to
socialise and expose them to the culture of politics and the country’s political
structures.
iii. The educational system is in a way an extension of the political system because the
education system is funded by the government of the day hereby propagating
government policies. Therefore, both the educational sector and the political
institution work hand in hand in the formulation of policies for the smooth running
of the educational sector, that is, politics has an influence on education right from the
policy formulation stage to the implementation stage.
 iv. As education improves every day, the political scene also does, as education helps in
keeping the political institution stable, it organizes training to improve the
political institution.
v. The political institution ensures that social problems such as illiteracy,
unemployment, crime, gender-based violence, food insecurity, among others, are
addressed through the educational institution.
vi. As it is known that politics involves the allocation of scarce social, economic and
cultural resources to individuals, groups, regions, and classes; thus, the allocation that
goes into education is politically influenced (Gerring & Thacker, 2001; Olayinka,
2018).

Relationship between Political Institution and Religious Institution

Religious institutions are the visible and organized manifestations of practices and beliefs in
particular social and historical contexts. The churches, temples, mosques and other places of
worship are institutions that exist to support and manage the practice of a specific set of religious
beliefs. Like human emotions and attitudes, religious beliefs and practices project outward onto
the social and historical plan. They create identities and representations and determine attitudes,
emotions, and behaviour. Geographical, social, and political considerations modify attitudes and
practices. However, religious institutions take shape with both religious impulses and contextual
configurations. The following presents the relationship between political institution and
religious institution:
i. In a democratic society recognized by the constitution, political institution exercises
some form of control over the religious institution by allowing the freedom of
religion; and controlling and influencing religious activities. The constitution
emphasizes that national integration shall actively be encouraged and people should
not be discriminated against on the grounds of religion. Also, membership of political
parties is open to every citizen irrespective of religion. The principle ‘live and let
live’ is held by Nigerian state, her constitution and the citizens.
ii. Many of the key ingredients that shape political behaviour can be found in religious
contexts. Places of worship help to shape political attitudes and mobilize individuals
for political participation. Churches, synagogues, and mosques provide a regular
meeting place in which individuals interact and discuss public events and affairs.
iii. The religious institution presents an image of what the nation should be and motivate
members to become politically involved. The religious institution influences political
behaviour by directly shaping views on political issues (through doctrinal affinities)
and indirectly supporting specific policies and regimes (through the organizational
support and mobilization of religious authorities and institutions). Therefore,
relationship between these institutions leads to a strong increase in political
engagement.
iv. Political institutions relate with religious institutions by determining the political
attitudes and behaviour of religious adherents through motivation to pay taxes and
comply with tax regulations, vote during elections, etc. Similarly, a growing number
of religious groups have chimed in on contemporary political issues e.g. advocating
bans on gay marriage.
 v. The religious institutions also lobby legislatures, executives and set political agendas.
They can select and increase the salience of issues and lead voters to evaluate
politicians according to the criteria they set out - framing and priming, respectively.
For instance, members of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) had
sometimes lobbied the Federal Government of Nigeria to end strike with Academic
Staff Union of Universities, intervened for educational prosperity.
vi. The political institution creates different religious agencies and policies to promote
religious tolerance and freedom of religion as well as support, restrict, and regulate
it. For instance, in Nigeria, the Pilgrim Welfare Board was established by the
Nigerian government to control and influence pilgrimage through a lot of public
funds. Moreover, the government, at different levels, has sponsored pilgrims to
Jerusalem and Mecca, which has made the exercise to be an appendage of political
activity (Lahore, 2009; Robert, 2020).

Relationship between Political Institution and Family Institution

The family institution is the basic institution from which other social institutions have grown
and developed including producers, slaves, servants and other members of society. The family
refers to a group of people connected by common descent or blood relation. Family is a universal
and a key social institution in all societies. Similarly, values and norms surrounding marriage are
found all over the world in every culture, so marriage and family are both cultural universals.
Statuses (i.e., wife, husband, partner, mother, father, brother, sister, etc.) are created and
sanctioned by societies. Therefore, family is a socially recognized group (usually joined by
blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption) that forms an emotional connection among its
members and serves as an economic unit of society.
In simple terms, a family can be referred to as a group that is deliberately created or created
by birth. It may be created to serve various purposes like protection and security, a sense of
belonging, controlled and disciplined behaviour and even for mating purposes. Therefore,
the institution that houses these functions is called the family institution. Importantly, the
family institution is universal, its habitation is fixed, has financial provisions, promotes a
sense of responsibility, emotional connection/support among members, and supports
marriage system and legal mating relationship. The points below show how the family and
political institutions are both related:
i. Families perpetuate values that support political authorities and can heavily
contribute to children's initial political ideological views, or party affiliations. The
family may not directly convey the political attitudes, values, norms and beliefs to the
child. However, what children learn from their families may have political
consequences. The interconnectedness of our lives with government, especially self-
government, is first learned at home. The home is the most important learning
institution in a democracy.
ii. The political actors/politicians are members of the family institution. Therefore,
the political institution cannot exist without an adequate functionality of the
family system.
iii. Political participation has an important psychological role in addition to the
economic, cultural and social aspects of the family. The choices and decisions of the
people are
 supported by family members and are reflected in their political life as well as the
social life.
iv. Unwise economic policies by governments can immediately and profoundly affect
families and their welfare. For example, policies that devalue or discourage social
contributions made by mothers and housewives can deprive a generation of the
quality of parenting that prepares them most effectively for individual security,
productivity, and responsible citizenship.
v. The political institution fosters family structures to produce positive and socially-
beneficial results that avoid lost productivity, reduce tax expenditures for medicines,
health services, and social security. Therefore, such attempts prevent, to some degree,
the social costs of dysfunctional behaviour of struggling adolescents from broken
homes. Thus, society has a direct and measurable interest in fostering good, happy
marriages and stable, loving families.
vi. The instability in the political institution could trigger deviant behaviours and other
social problems in the family institution. Therefore, political instability could result
in detrimental effects of family disintegration which may also contribute to poverty,
high-risk personal behaviours (premarital sexual behaviours, abortion, drug use, etc.),
disadvantaged socialization, and increased criminal activity.
vii. The presence or absence of interest or commitment of the government in the welfare
of the family profoundly affects the quality and success of family relations and family
life. For example, the degree to which a government protects the privacy of the family
influences family welfare. By recognizing and respecting parental authority, the
governments may erect a barrier through the state's power to shape children and
standardize child-rearing. Similarly, by protecting children against child abuse and
serious neglect, the state underscores the community interest in and validates the
individual's social worth, even as a child, and fosters a sense of belonging.
viii. Inept and oppressive family policies can create tension between family and
government, thereby disrupting the natural harmony between the family and
democracy. High taxation imposes economic hardship on families, leaving them with
less disposable income to meet the financial needs of family members (Turan &
Tıraş, 2017; Lynn, 2000).

Relationship between Political Institution and Economic Institution

Economic institutions are responsible for organizing the production, exchange, distribution and
consumption of goods and services to ensure the survival of individuals and societies. The
economic system of every society ranges from simple to complex and remains the social
institution that ensures the maintenance of society through the production, distribution and
consumption of goods and services (Dadgar, 2020). An economic institution is a company or an
organization that deals with money or with managing the distribution of money, goods, and
services in an economy. Banks, government organizations, and investment funds are all
economic institutions. They are established to protect property rights, facilitate transactions and
permit economic co-operation and organisation. Dadgar (2020), World Economic Forum (WEF,
2019) and Moe (2019) have demonstrated the relationship between political and economic
institutions through the following:
 i. Political institutions indirectly determine economic growth and development by
channeling the incentives of politicians to choose and implement policies. In other
words, political institutions shape the fate of economic institutions and indirectly
determine economic growth and development by the type of policies, laws and
regulations approved and implemented by political actors.
ii. Achieving economic growth is one of the macroeconomic goals of any
government and this can be achieved through economic institutions. In a bid to
ensure economic prosperity, the political institution through the arms of
government adopts different economic reforms and policies to improve human
capital, infrastructure, technology and so on.
iii. The political climate, structure and invariably the government of a country are pivotal
to economic dynamics. The performance of the economy is one of the key
political battlegrounds. Many economic issues are inherently political because
they lend themselves to different opinions. Therefore, weak political institution
leads to weak economies (economic institution).
iv. The major functions of the economic institutions such as need satisfaction, income
generation and employment, provision of funds, division of labour, among others, are
made possible by the political institution.
v. The politicians become subtler with economists who back their political views.
Therefore, the economic institution needs the support of the political institution to
survive. In other words, the wealth of nations cannot be created unless a standard
government and a well-defined body of political administration work efficiently.
vi. The political ideology of a country influences the economic thought of that country.
Many economic issues are seen through the eyes of political beliefs. For example,
some people are instinctively more suspicious of government intervention. Therefore,
they prefer economic policies which seek to reduce government interference in the
economy. For example, supply-side economics concentrates on deregulation,
privatisation and tax cuts.
vii. Governments around the world spend billions of dollars every year to provide citizens
with basic services. Therefore, the political institution ensures the effectiveness of the
economic institution through public spending which can enhance and promote
policies that reflect the needs or wishes of the citizens. However, if the monies are not
well spent, either due to corruption, limited oversight of public spending, or poor
performance by civil servants, they result in losses and inefficiencies.
viii. The allocation of resources and their impact on individuals and societies are often
determined and made understood not only by the economic institution but also the
political institution. A considerable number of economic problems are intermingled
with politics. For instance, social entrepreneurship, labour migration, globalization,
and the role of constitutional law typically affect economic wellbeing.

Conclusion and Summary

This chapter dwells extensively on political institution as one of the most important institutions
that seek to manage human society to ensure a series of gradual changes or spectacular
transformations from simple to complex with a gradient complexity to produce a comparatively
better human society over time. It equally discusses some important components of the political
system and political institutions as the processes that keep the institution afloat. More
importantly, the chapter addresses the relationships between the political institution and
other various institutions in the society including health, education, religion, among others.
Evidently, political institution is indispensable in every stable, progressive and organized human
society. A political institution is a pivot upon which emergence, development and sustainability
of other social structures rest. This chapter highlights the indispensability of political institutions
to all other social structures/institutions for effective functioning. It confirms that human society
moves on the crest of certain social systems in a sort of interdependency. It equally recognizes
the existence of other social institutions. And it posits that the political institution is the
institution saddled with shaping the order of things in human society.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. The social institution that is essentially concerned with the provision of a platform on
how to organise the polity, authority and power are constituted, exercised, legitimated,
controlled and redistributed is called institution.
a. family
b. educational
c. political
d. economic
2. All of the following are functions of the political institution EXCEPT
a. producing goods and services
b. planning and directing society
c. defending against foreign danger
d. maintaining law and order
3. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a political institution?
a. Interdependence
b. Interaction
c. Procreation
d. Use of threat or use of legal force
4. is not associated with the political system.
a. Protecting the integrity of the country
b. Socialising the newborns
c. Regulating individual behaviours
d. Maintaining the integration of society
5. The political institution is related to the educational institution through implementing
policies that
a. protect the integrity of the country
b. promote freedom of speech and religion
c. build more religious centres for worships
d. build more learning centres

EXERCISE
 1. There is NO country without an established Political Institution. How true is this
assertion?
2. Discuss the Political Structure of Nigeria.
3. Compare Political Institution and Political system.
4. The Political Institution influences every bit of human life. Discuss.
5. Mention and discuss any three types of the political system discussed in this chapter.

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