SO407      One Unit
Politics and Society

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Availability

This course aims to explore some of the great debates about the relationship between politics and society. It will examine the interaction between political institutions, economic interests and cultural ideas, especially in societies that are both democratic and capitalist. The course will explore some of the classic empirical and historical controversies that have animated political sociologists. Each week, we will discuss questions like: What gave rise to states and nations? Why are some social movements more successful than others? How does social change shape parties and elections? Do repressive states give rise to radicalism? Why are welfare states more developed in some countries than others? Why is there no Labor Party in the United States? Under what conditions does democracy develop? What are the legacies of imperialism? What explains the growth of populism? And has neo-liberalism become hegemonic? The course will also look at the canonical writings of authors like Marx and Weber, as well as critically explore the use of some political concepts. In addition, it will enable you to build up your knowledge of a number of countries and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of some of the main theories and approaches that have dominated the study of political sociology. These include functionalist, rational choice, and institutionalist theories, as well as historical and comparative approaches.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.

This course is usually delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars. There will be two hours or more of teaching each week across AT and WT. There will also be seminars in early ST.

Seminars: Papers will be presented by participants and, on occasion, by guest speakers.

Presentation

Presentation

Essay

Essay

Members of the seminar will be required to present a number of papers during the course of the seminar. There will also be a written assignment in AT and WT.

• B. Anderson. Imagined Communities;
• R. Archer, Why is There No Labor Party in the United States?;
• K. Surak, The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires;
• P Evans et al, Bringing the State Back In;
• S M Lipset, 'The Social Requisites of Democracy Revisited', American Sociological Review, vol 59;
• S Lukes, Power: A Radical View;
• D McAdam, Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements;
• M Mann, The Sources of Social Power;
• M Olson, The Logic of Collective Action;
• T Skocpol, Protecting Soldiers and Mothers;
• C. Tilly, Coercion,Capital and European States; 
• L. Weiss, The Myth of the Powerless State;
• W. Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa;
• R. Brubaker, Why Populism;
• H. Stuart, March of the Neoliberals.

Exam (70%), duration: 180 Minutes in the Spring exam period

Essay (30%, 3000 words) in May

Attendance at all seminars and submission of all set coursework is required.