Political sociology

Political sociology is concerned with the sociological analysis of political phenomena ranging from the State, to civil society, to the family, investigating topics such as citizenship, social movements, and the sources of social power. The lineage of this discipline is typically traced from such thinkers as Montesquieu, Smith and Ferguson through the 'founding fathers' of sociology – Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber – to such contemporary theorists as Gellner, Giddens, Habermas and Mann. Where a typical research question in political sociology might have been 'Why do so few American or European citizens choose to vote?' or even 'What difference does it make if women get elected?', political sociologists also now ask: 'How is the body a site of power?', 'How are emotions relevant to global poverty?', or 'What difference does knowledge make to democracy?' Political sociology is concerned with the sociological analysis of political phenomena ranging from the State, to civil society, to the family, investigating topics such as citizenship, social movements, and the sources of social power. The lineage of this discipline is typically traced from such thinkers as Montesquieu, Smith and Ferguson through the 'founding fathers' of sociology – Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber – to such contemporary theorists as Gellner, Giddens, Habermas and Mann. Where a typical research question in political sociology might have been 'Why do so few American or European citizens choose to vote?' or even 'What difference does it make if women get elected?', political sociologists also now ask: 'How is the body a site of power?', 'How are emotions relevant to global poverty?', or 'What difference does knowledge make to democracy?'