Book contents
- The New Handbook of Political Sociology
- The New Handbook of Political Sociology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Tables
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- I Theories of Political Sociology
- 1 Power
- 2 Conflict Theories in Political Sociology
- 3 The Promise of Field Theory for the Study of Political Institutions
- 4 Culture in Politics and Politics in Culture
- 5 Political Sociology and the Postcolonial Perspective
- 6 Gender, State, and Citizenships
- 7 Theories of Race, Ethnicity, and the Racial State
- 8 Toward the Convergence of Culture and Political Economy?
- 9 Tasks for the Political Sociology of the Next Ten Years
- II Media Explosion, Knowledge as Power, and Demographic Reversals
- III The State and Its Political Organizations
- IV Civil Society: The Roots and Processes of Political Action
- V Established and New State Policies and Innovations
- VI Globalization and New and Bigger Sources of Power and Resistance
- Index
- References
3 - The Promise of Field Theory for the Study of Political Institutions
from I - Theories of Political Sociology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2020
Book contents
- The New Handbook of Political Sociology
- The New Handbook of Political Sociology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Tables
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- I Theories of Political Sociology
- 1 Power
- 2 Conflict Theories in Political Sociology
- 3 The Promise of Field Theory for the Study of Political Institutions
- 4 Culture in Politics and Politics in Culture
- 5 Political Sociology and the Postcolonial Perspective
- 6 Gender, State, and Citizenships
- 7 Theories of Race, Ethnicity, and the Racial State
- 8 Toward the Convergence of Culture and Political Economy?
- 9 Tasks for the Political Sociology of the Next Ten Years
- II Media Explosion, Knowledge as Power, and Demographic Reversals
- III The State and Its Political Organizations
- IV Civil Society: The Roots and Processes of Political Action
- V Established and New State Policies and Innovations
- VI Globalization and New and Bigger Sources of Power and Resistance
- Index
- References
Summary
Field theory is a promising and flexible framework for understanding social order and change with broad applicability to the concerns of political sociologists. While many in the subfield are rightly concerned with the relationship between “the state” and civil society, the implicit definition of political sociology as “the sociology of the state” has foreclosed opportunities for understanding how states, markets, firms, nonprofit organizations, and uninstitutionalized politics that include social movements are connected. This chapter presents field theory as a generative approach to understanding political phenomena that moves beyond the limitations of state-based approaches to political sociology, providing opportunities for sharing theoretical insights across subfield boundaries.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The New Handbook of Political Sociology , pp. 79 - 101Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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