Power, state, and society : an introduction to political sociology / W. Lawrence Neuman.

W. Lawrence Neuman is Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1982. He is the author of several well-received research methodology textbooks and published in leading academic journals (American Sociological Review, Social Problems, Sociological Quarterly, Sociological Inquiry, Social Science Quarterly) on a range of political sociological issues. He is a University of Wisconsin-System Teaching Fellow, won his university’s Outstanding Researcher Award, and is listed in Who’s Who in America. He has received numerous grants to carry out curriculum innovations and instructional projects. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Japan, and also serves as director of Pacific Asian Educational Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 603-668) and indexes.

Chapter 1: Political Sociology: Power, The State, Hegemony, and Struggle
Introduction
What Is Political Sociology
The Relevance of Political Sociology
Political Sociology versus Political Science
How Did We Get to Where We Are?
Key Concepts: Power, the State, Hegemony, and Struggle
Power
State
Hegemony
Struggle
Issues in Contemporary Political Sociology
Conclusion

Chapter 2: Democracy, Nationalism and the Nation State
Introduction
Democracy
The Changing Meaning of Democracy
What Makes a Democracy?
Democratic Society
A Model of Ideal Democracy
Democratic Elitism versus Participatory Democracy
Citizenship
Defining Citizenship
T.H. Marshall and Citizenship Rights
Limits to Citizenship: Gender and Race
Citizenship Issues and Expansion
Nationalism
Nation as Ethnic Group
The Nation Grows within State Boundaries
The Nation as a Cultural Construction
The Nation State
Feudalism and the Absolutist State
The Nation-State Appears
Forms of the Nation State
The Liberal-Market State
The Totalitarian State
The Corporatist State
The Developmental State
Conclusion

Chapter 3: Theoretical Frameworks in Political Sociology
Introduction
Three Major Frameworks of Political Sociology
Pluralist Framework: Individuals and a Competing Plurality of Interest Groups
Managerial Framework: Elite Rule and the State's Organizational Capacity
Class-Analysis Framework: A Capitalist Mode of Production and the Ruling Class
Political Sociology Beyond the Three Frameworks
Constructionist Theory
Rational Choice Theory
New Institutionalism Theory
Conclusion

Chapter 4: The Polity of the United States
Introduction
Models of Political Sociology
American Political Institutions
A System of Courts and Parties
Patronage and Party Systems
Administrative Bureaucracy
Progressive Era Expansion
The New Deal Regime
The Welfare-Warfare State
Inclusion within and Exclusion from the Polity
Three Forms of Inclusion: Privileged Access, Encouragement, and Removal of Direct Barriers
Three Forms of Exclusion: Creating Indirect Barriers, Explicit Restrictions, and Repression
Processes of Inclusion and Exclusion
Conclusion

Chapter 5: Political Involvement and Conflict in the United States
Introduction
Democracy and Participation
Models of Political Sociology
Political Participation and Nonparticipation
Forms, Intensities and Channels of Participation
Nonparticipation
Explaining Participation
The Electoral Channel
Who does and does not vote?
Does Turnout matter?
Partisanship
Social Differences in Voting: Partisanship and Participation
Class Politics
Racial Politics and Participation
The Gender Gap
A Realignment in the 1970s-1980s?
A Race-Based Realignment?
Conclusion

Chapter 6: Protest and Movements
Introduction
Unconventional Politics
Political Sociological Models
Protest as Politics
Movements and Countermovements
Three Approaches to the Study of Movements
Resource Mobilization Approach
Political Process Approach
Constructionist Approach
Conclusion

Chapter 7: Political Ideas and Beliefs
Introduction
Ideas about Politics and Political Ideas
Models of Political Sociology
Symbolic Politics and Ideology
The Politics of Symbols Is Real Politics
Symbols of Politics: Heroes, Rituals, Public Celebrations, and Ceremonies
Civil Religion and Political Witches
Ideology
A Brief History of the Concept
American Views of Ideology
Ideology and Public Opinion
Types of Ideology
Major Formal Ideologies
Left-Right Continuum
Culture Wars
The New Christian Right
Explanations of the New Christian Right
Legacies of the New Christian Right
Conclusion

Chapter 8: Cultural Institutions and Tolerance
Introduction
Cultural Institutions
Models of Political Sociology
The Meaning and Purpose of Schooling
Schooling and Nation-Building
School Knowledge, Socialization, and Social Selection
Three Theories of Schooling
Political Struggles and School Reform Movements
Mass Media Forms and Functions
How the Mass Media Affect People
Changes in the Mass Media
Mass Media and Politics
Political Tolerance
Individual-Level Tolerance
Bigotry, Right-Wing Ideology, and Political Tolerance
Social Contexts that Encourage or Discourage Tolerance
Trends in Tolerance and Intolerance Triggers
Conclusion

Chapter 9: Law, Crime, and Control
Introduction
The Nation-State, Law, and Justice
Models of Political Sociology and the Law, Crime, and Control
Law and Legal Institutions
What Is Law?
Law and the Legal Order
The State, The Courts and the Legal Profession
Crime and Coercive State Power
Street Crime
Public (Mis)Perceptions of Crime
Control and Surveillance
Policing
Crime Control
Why Did U.S. Crime Policy Change?
Surveillance
Conclusion

Chapter 10. The Politics of Business Policy
Introduction
Historical Background
State and Economy
Models of Political Sociology
A Platform for a Market Economy
Industrial Policy and Political-Economy Systems
America's Post-World War II Economy
Politics of Taxes and Distribution
Politics of Taxes
Distributing Resources
The Regulatory State
Capture Theory and Iron Triangles
Regulatory Regimes
State Projects and Structural Constraints
Business Regulation, State Expansion, and Autonomy
Conclusion

Chapter 11. Social Programs And Policies
Introduction
Understanding the Welfare State
Confusion over the Welfare State
Defining the Welfare State
Models of Political Sociology and the Welfare State
Evaluation of the Explanations
Welfare State Expansion
Welfare State Regimes
Poverty Reduction
Gender and the Welfare State
American Exceptionalism?
The U.S. Case in Comparative Context
The U.S. Case in Historical Context
Shadow Welfare State
Race and the American Welfare State
Conclusion

Chapter 12. Conclusion
Introduction
Issues in Political Sociology
Cultural Politics and Moral Panics
Politics via the Courts
Dealignment
Military State and Society
Crimes of the State
Three Continuing Challenges
Globalization
Inclusion
Integrity
Models of Political Sociology
Conclusion

Glossary
Bibliography
Name Index
Subject Index

This comprehensive theoretically-grounded text provides advanced undergraduates with a highly accessible introduction to political sociology. Students are introduced to major theories of political sociology early in the book, and see them applied to various topic areas in subsequent chapters. Numerous specific examples, from current issues in the United States as well as various historical and comparative settings, illustrate the major political sociological theories. In addition to covering the traditional core of political sociology, the text consciously links major ideas in political sociology to related substantive areas within sociology (for example, race, class, and gender inequality; media; schooling; and law and crime). Students are also introduced to contemporary developments in the field, including politics of culture, rational choice models, and “new” social movements.