political sociology

political sociology The branch of sociology which is concerned with the social causes and consequences of given power distributions within or between societies, and with the social and political conflicts that lead to changes in the allocation of power. A major focus of political sociology is the description, analysis, and explanation of the state, the institution which claims a monopoly of the legitimate use of force within a given territory, and constitutes possibly the largest single concentration of power and authority in any society. Whereas political science deals mainly with the machinery of government, the mechanisms of public administration, and the formal political realm of elections, public opinion, pressure groups, and political behaviour, sociological analysis of political phenomena is concerned rather more with the interrelationships between politics, social structures, ideologies, and culture. Even if the state is the most common object of study, political sociology deals more broadly with the study of the sources and utilization of power, authority, and influence in all social contexts including, for example, the family, friendship groups, clubs, and local communities. Power relationships in the labour-market and the workplace could also be included, but are now usually studied under the label of industrial relations instead. A political system is any persistent pattern of human relationship that involves (to a significant extent) power, rule, or authority. Hence it is possible to study the politics of stateless societies, which have not yet developed any formal central institutions to monopolize power, but still have decision-making and rule-making processes which may be dominated by some members more than others.

Political sociology has been concerned with political parties as social institutions and relations between members and party leaders–for example in the widespread apathy of the majority of members that can leave greater power to the leadership, and in the iron law of oligarchy (See MICHELS, ROBERT), which argues that leaders of an organization tend to substitute their own self-interests for those of the organization and seek to retain their positions of power to serve these interests. It addresses the phenomena of despotic and totalitarian regimes as well as parliamentary democracies, seeking to explain the origins and stability of specific political regimes and institutional structures. Studies of political participation, especially through the electoral system, address the interest theory of political behaviour which argues that people choose options that maximize their narrow self-interests and wider class interests rather than the public good. Political sociology has concentrated attention on élites, their membership, and the wide gap separating them from the ruled classes. In one view ‘the study of politics is the study of influence and the influential … The influential are those who get most of what there is to get … Those who get the most are the élite; the rest are mass’ ( H. Laswell , Politics: Who Gets What, When, How, 1958
). Political sociology studies the manifestation and regulation of conflict, including social protest behaviour and the causes of revolutions; the formation and activities of interest groups (which are often not self-aware) and formal pressure groups; political ideologies, political cultures, and the formulation of political opinion and public opinion; political socialization in childhood, adolescence, and adult life, through educational institutions and experiences in the workplace. Analyses of the tensions and cleavages which arise from the social and economic order are often carried out on a comparative basis in order to show how political choices are made from among the full range of possible or available alternatives.

Political sociology employs all the methods of sociological analysis and attitude research, including case-studies of individual organizations, or particular local, state, or national governments; opinion polls; interview surveys of electors, political participants, and political representatives; documentary evidence and content analysis to study political ideologies and government policy-making; and mathematical modelling of decision-making processes and outcomes. Comparative cross-national studies are more common than in other fields of sociology. Robert E. Dowse and and John A. Hughes , Political Sociology (2nd edn., 1986)
is a good introductory text. See also COMMUNITY POWER; POWER ÉLITE; PSEPHOLOGY.