Political Sociology : Introduction (01)

    Political Science – one of the oldest disciplines among Social Sciences no longer considered as independent because it hires the mouth piece from Sociology. The Sociology not only altered the perspectives of Political Science but also reshaped the content and character of it, which lead to the emergence of a new discipline titled Political Sociology
(1)	Emergence of Political Sociology
(2)	 Definition of Political Sociology
(3)	Features of Political Sociology

1_ The Emergence of Political Sociology
   Political Sociology is not a discipline which emerged by accident but there are lot of factors for its emergence. Since the Second World War the western scholars have been doing empirical research on political phenomena with a touch of Sociology in it. The findings when analyzed showed that it is neither pure Politics nor pure Sociology. 
The major factors lead to the emergence of Political Sociology is as follows:
 The extension of the area of politics, which has penetrated into social arena. Because of the interdependence of politics and society, political institutions have been studied from Sociological perspective.
 Rise of modern concept of bureaucracy by Weber which explains that it has deep relationship with the society and culture of the country. Therefore, the Political Sociologists started to conduct large survey for the standard study of bureaucracy and social variables.
 Rise in tendency of the distinction between state and society due to the evolution of modern society.
 Rise in tendency of distinction between political and social relations.Like, Montesquieu claimed that social factors determine the nature of the government and administrators and the nature of state may change the
society.
 Growing dissatisfaction with the nature of traditional Political Science.
2_ Definitions of Political Sociology
Many times, the Political Sociology is used interchangeably with Sociology of politics even though both are distinct.Giovanni Sartori claimed that Political Sociology is the Sociology of Politics with something else. A.K Mukhopadhyaya says that “Political Sociology is indeed, this connecting bridge
that one finds so much missing in Sociology of Politics. Political  Sociology believes in a two - way relation between Sociology and Political Science, giving equal emphasis on both the social and political variables.”
 Political Sociology as “the study of the interrelationship between society and polity, between social structures and political institutions” - S.M. Lipset
 “Political Sociology starts with the society and examines how it affects the state”- R.Bendix
 Political Sociology as “being a subject area which examines the link between social structures and political structures and between social behaviour and political behaviour” - Michael Rush and Philip Althoff
 “Political Sociology as an interdisciplinary hybrid”- Giovanni Sartori
 Political Sociology “as the study of political behaviour within a sociological perspective framework” - Robert E. Dowse and John A.Hughes
 “Political Sociology is the product of a cross fertilization between sociology and political science that studies the impact of society on politics and also the reverse, although viewing the substance of politics in a social form”- A.K.Mukhopadhaya
3_ Features of Political Sociology
Some of the essential features of Political Sociology are given below:
(1) Political sociology is not political science, unlike the later, it is not a discipline or a study of the state craft.
(2) It is concerned not only with social but the political aspect as well.
(3) It revolves around the belief that there exists an identity of form between the social process and the political process.
(4) Political sociology tries to resolve the traditional dichotomy between state and society.
    In short, Political sociology acts as a theoretical and methodological bridge between political science and Sociology, what Sartori has called “an inter-disciplinary hybrid”.