Political Sociology : Introduction (02)

(1)	Scope of Political Sociology
(2)	Subject Matter of Political Sociology

1_ Scope of Political Sociology
   Political sociology is mainly concerned with the analysis of the interaction between politics and society. The scope of political sociology is very vast. An important concern of political sociology is the decision-making process; it considers not only the social forces but also includes the economic factors which are regulated by forces such as money, market and other resources scarcities.
    According to Lipset, “If the stability of society is a central issue for Sociology as a whole, the stability of a specific institutional structure or political regime – the social conditions of democracy – is the prime concern of Political Sociology.”Lipset and R. Bendix explained that Political Sociology studies:
 Voting behavior in communities and in the nation.
 Concentration of economic power and political decision making.
 Ideologies of political movements and interest groups.
 Political parties, voluntary association, the problems of oligarchy and psychological correlates of political behavior.
 Government and the problem of bureaucracy.
     Years later, Greer and Orleans opined that the “Political Sociology is mainly concerned with explanation of the peculiar social structure called state". They more specifically pointed out the major concerns of the discipline:
(1)	 The structure of the state
(2) The nature and conditions of legitimacy
(3) The nature of the monopoly of force and its use by the State
(4) The nature of the subunits and their contention with the state.
2_ Subject matter of Political Sociology
It mainly focuses on four areas –
•	1_ Political structures (social class/caste, elite, interest groups, bureaucracy, political parties and factions) Political life (electoral process, political
communication, opinion formation) Political leadership (bases, types and operation of community power structure)
2_ Political life (electoral process, political communication, opinion formation)
•	3_ Political leadership (bases, types and operation of community power structure)
•	4_ Political development (concept and indices of its measurement, its social bases and prerequisites and its relationship to social change and modernization).
  Political Sociologists concerned with the topics of social stratification and political power, socio economic systems, political regimes, interest groups, political parties, political socialization, electoral behavior, political mobilization and social movements .