Political Sociology in an Age of Complexity

Abstract

The core subject matter of political sociology is power, or, more precisely, the origins, form and application of social power. In the modern world, power was articulated in systemic forms of ideation that had a marked impact on patterns of self- and social identification. The core components of political sociology were thus power, ideology and identity. Throughout the twentieth century, these issues were at the heart of the discipline of sociology and, indeed, political sociology was a key and popular sub-discipline. In the twenty-first century, political sociology has become somewhat peripheral and less popular. The reasons for this are not difficult to find. In recent years, the dominant focus within sociology has been on the elision and liquidity of power, the decomposition of ideologies and the decentring of identities. These developments are a reflection of the various ‘turns’ which the discipline of sociology has taken over the past three decades: the ‘cultural’ turn, the ‘global’ turn and the ‘complexity’ turn. These turns have deconstructed, relativized and complexified the erstwhile solid foundations of modern political sociology and have tended to undermine rather than renew the sub-discipline of political sociology. In this book, I make the case for a renewed political sociology that takes on board the insights of these various sociological turns while retaining what remain useful insights from classical and modern sociology.