Sociology · Sociology Themes and Perspectives (Haralambos and Holborn)
Chapter 9 : Power, politics and the state
Table of contents83 sections
- 1.Power, politics and the state
- 2.Introduction
- 3.Key Terms
- 4.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 5.Defining power and the state
- 6.Max Weber - power and types of authority
- 7.Steven Lukes - a radical view of power
- 8.The state
- 9.Key Terms
- 10.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 11.Power - a functionalist perspective
- 12.Talcott Parsons - the variable-sum concept of power
- 13.Key Terms
- 14.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 15.Power and the state - a pluralist perspective
- 16.Classical pluralism
- 17.Elite pluralism
- 18.Key Terms
- 19.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 20.Elite theory
- 21.Elite theory and the USA - C. Wright Mills
- 22.Elite theory in Britain - Hywel Williams
- 23.Elite self-recruitment in Britain
- 24.Elite theory in the USA and Britain - an evaluation
- 25.Key Terms
- 26.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 27.Power and the state - Marxist perspectives
- 28.Marx and Engels on power and the state
- 29.Ralph Miliband - the state in capitalist society
- 30.Nicos Poulantzas - a structuralist approach
- 31.Evidence to support Marxist views
- 32.Criticisms of Marxism
- 33.Key Terms
- 34.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 35.Neo-Marxist approaches to power and the state
- 36.Antonio Gramsci - hegemony and the state
- 37.Bob Jessop - the future of the capitalist state
- 38.Key Terms
- 39.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 40.State-centred theories of power
- 41.Eric A. Nordlinger - the autonomy of democratic states
- 42.Theda Skocpol - Bringing the State Back In
- 43.Evaluation of state-centred theories
- 44.Noam Chomsky, capitalism and the power of the US state
- 45.Luke Martell - the decline of American power?
- 46.Key Terms
- 47.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 48.Globalisation and the power of the nation-state
- 49.John Baylis and Steve Smith - The Globalization of World Politics
- 50.Globalisation and transnational corporations
- 51.Leslie Sklair - Sociology of the Global System
- 52.Paul Hirst and Grahame Thompson - questioning globalisation
- 53.David Held and Anthony McGrew - democracy and the cosmopolitan order
- 54.Luke Martell - globalisation, the nation-state and democracy
- 55.Michael Mann - the sources of social power
- 56.Michel Foucault - power/knowledge
- 57.Postmodernism, politics and power
- 58.Key Terms
- 59.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 60.New social movements and the new politics
- 61.Simon Hallsworth - Understanding new social movements
- 62.Robin Cohen and Shirin M. Rai - global social movements
- 63.Malcolm J. Todd and Gary Taylor - new social movements and democracy
- 64.Stephen Crook, John Pakulski and Malcolm Waters - social movements and postmodernisation
- 65.Michael S. Drake - Political Sociology for a Globalizing World
- 66.Anthony Giddens - social movements and high modernity
- 67.The anti-capitalist and anti-globalisation movement
- 68.Key Terms
- 69.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 70.Voting behaviour
- 71.David Butler and Donald Stokes - the theory of partisan alignment
- 72.Bo Sarlvick and Ivor Crewe - partisan dealignment
- 73.Anthony Heath, Roger Jowell and John Curtice - the continuing importance of class
- 74.Competing theories of voting
- 75.Key Terms
- 76.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 77.The decline of politics?
- 78.The Power Inquiry
- 79.Gerry Stoker - Making Democracy Work
- 80.Colin Crouch - post-democracy
- 81.Key Terms
- 82.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 83.Quick-Recall Box
Chapter preview
Power, politics and the state
Introduction
- Political sociology is defined as the study of power in its broadest sense.
- Dowse and Hughes (1972) state that 'politics is about "power", politics occurs when there are differentials in power'. Thus, any social relationship involving power differentials is political (e.g., parents assigning chores, teachers enforcing discipline, managers organising workforces, generals ordering troops).
- Feminist sociologists have developed the idea that power relationships are present in everyday life, not just in state activities.
- Sociologists examine the state in relation to society as a whole, distinguishing between two forms of power:
| Concept | Definition |
|---|---|
| Authority | That form of power that is accepted as legitimate (right and just) and therefore obeyed on that basis. Examples: British society accepting Parliament's lawful decisions; students accepting teachers' rights to award marks and set deadlines. |
| Coercion | That form of power which is not regarded as legitimate by those subject to it. Examples: Basque nationalists viewing Spanish police/army activities as coercion; Iraqis rejecting the legitimacy of US/British occupation and attacking troops. |
- Note: The distinction is not always clear-cut; both forms are ultimately based on physical force, and power can have several faces/dimensions.
Key Terms
| Concept | Definition |
|---|---|
| Political sociology | The study of power in its broadest sense, encompassing any social relationship that involves power differentials. |
| Authority | That form of power that is accepted as legitimate - that is, right and just - and therefore obeyed on that basis. |
| Coercion | That form of power which is not regarded as legitimate by those subject to it. |
📌 Exam Tidbits
- Dowse and Hughes (1972): Defined politics as being about power and power differentials.
- Authority vs Coercion: The difference is that authority is accepted as legitimate and right by subordinates, whereas coercion is not regarded as legitimate by those subject to it.
Defining power and the state
Max Weber - power and types of authority
- Max Weber defined power as: "the chance of a man or a number of men to realize their own will in a communal action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action" (Weber, in Gerth and Mills,…
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