Brings together thirty-eight original essays covering the wide inter-disciplinary field of political sociology. This title covers traditional questions and various topics including debates on gender, citizenship, and political identity. It includes editorial introduction, abstracts, further reading lists, and a consolidated bibliography.

List of Contributors. Acknowledgments. Introduction (Kate Nash and Alan Scott). Part I: Approaches to Power and The Political. 1. Marxist Approaches to Power (Bob Jessop, University of Lancaster). 2. Pluralism and Elitism (Richard Bellamy, University of Reading). 3. Rational Choice Approaches to Analyzing Power (Keith Dowding, London School of Economics). 4. Power, Government, Politics (Barry Hindess, Australian National University). 5. Society, Morality and Law: Jurgen Habermas (Max Pensky, SUNY Binghampton). 6. A Political Sociology for Complex Societies (Niklas Luhmann, Stefan Lange and Uwe Schimank, Fernuniversität, Hagen, Germany). 7. "Postmodern" Political Sociology (David Owen, University of Southampton). 8. Studying Power (John Scott, University of Essex). Part II: The State and Governance. Formation and Form. 9. Theories of State Formation (Gianfranco Poggi, European University Institute, Florence). 10. Political Legitimacy (David Beetham, University of Leeds). 11. Gender and the State (Robert W. Connell, University of Sydney). Political Processes. 12. Administration, Civil Service and Bureaucracy (Antonino Palumbo, University of Palermo). 13. Policy Networks (Peter John, University of London). 14. Parties and Interest Intermediation (Herbert Kitschelt, Duke University). 15. Social Movements and Political Process (David Meyer, University of California-Irvine). 16. The Media and Politics (John B. Thompson, University of Cambridge). Violence and the State. 17. The Political Sociology of War (Alan Scott, University of Innsbruck, Austria). 18. Revolution (Michael Drake, University of East Anglia). 19. Terror Against the State (Donatella della Porta, University of Florence). Part III: The Political and The Social. State and Civil Society. 20. Civil Society and the Public Sphere (Larry Ray, University of Kent). 21. Trust and Social Capital (Arnaldo Bagnasco, University of Turin, Italy). 22. The State and the Market (Colin Crouch, European University Institute, Florence). 23. Markets Against States: Neo-Liberalism (Fran Tonkiss, University of London). The Politics of Collective Identity and Action. 24. Beyond New Social Movements: Social Conflicts and Institutions (Pierre Hamel and Louis Maheu, University of Montreal). 25. The Politics of Ethnicity and Identity (Aletta Norval, University of Essex). 26. Imagined Communities Alan Finlayson (University of Wales, Swansea). 27. Political Rituals (Sigrid Baringhorst, University of Technology at Sydney). 28. The Politics of Popular Culture (John Street, University of East Anglia). 29. Body Politic (Roberta Sassatelli, University of East Anglia). Citizenship. 30. Citizenship and Gender (Ruth Lister, Loughborough University). 31. Post-National Citizenship: Reconfiguring the Familiar Terrain (Yasemin Soysal, University of Essex). 32. Government and Citizenship (Giovanna Procacci, University of Milan). Part IV: Political Transformations. Democratization. 33. Transformation, Transition, Consolidation: Democratization in Latin America (Joe Foweraker, University of Essex). 34. Feminism and Democracy (Judith Squires, University of Bristol). Postmodernization, Fragmentation, Globalization. 35. Postmodernization of Politics (Jan Pakulski, University of Tasmania). 36. Nationalism and Fragmentation Since 1989 (John Schwarzmantel, University of Leeds). 37. A New Phase of the State Story in Europe (Patrick Le Gales, CEVIPOF (Sciences Po Paris)). 38. The "Singapore Model": Democracy, Communication, and Globalization (Danilo Zolo, University of Florence). Index.

The Blackwell Companion to Political Sociology brings together original essays covering the broad interdisciplinary field of political sociology. Each contributor uses concepts, theories, and case studies to investigate their topic and provide a complete overview of the scholarship. Contains 38 original essays by leading authorities creating the most comprehensive overview available in the field of political sociologyCovers traditional questions as well as emerging topics including recent debates on gender, citizenship, and political identityIncludes detailed editorial introduction, abstracts, further reading lists, and a consolidated bibliography. The volume presents an excellent guide for students as well as researchers seeking a complete reference to the field and a guide to future concerns.

"Putting together a reader or companion in the field of political sociology is notoriously difficult. Kate Nash and Alan Scott have done a splendid job in producing a collection that is comprehensive, coherent, and up-to-date. The quality of the contributions is outstanding." --Krishan Kumar, University of Virginia "An enormously comprehensive and pluralistic overview of contemporary debates in the field of political sociology. Though nobody will agree with all the contributors, everybody in the field will learn a lot from this stimulating volume." --Hans Joas, Freie Universität, Berlin "The parameters of politics are open and contested as never before. Nash and Scott's collection effectively captures the way contemporary social forces have disrupted older political assumptions. It fulfils the vital task of intellectual preparation for shaping new political agendas in a globalized and fragmented world." --Martin Albrow, University of Surrey Roehampton "The book's strong points would appear to be its catholic outlook in the best sense of the term, and its international, mainly British and European cast of established authors ..." (Canadian Journal of Sociology Online)

List of Contributors. Introduction. Part I: Approaches to Power and The Political. Part II: The State and Governance. Formation and Form. Part III: The Political and The Social. State and Civil Society. Part IV: Political Transformations. Democratization. Index.