The Sociology of Politics and Democracy SOCI 101 November 17, 2011 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
The Sociology of Politics and Democracy SOCI 101 November 17, 2011 SOCI 101 () The Sociology of Politics and Democracy November 17, 2011 1 / 27 The Sociology of Democracy Political Sociology: Sociology and the State The American Political
The Sociology of Politics and Democracy
SOCI 101 November 17, 2011
SOCI 101 () The Sociology of Politics and Democracy November 17, 2011 1 / 27
The Sociology of Democracy
Political Sociology: Sociology and the State The American Political Character American Voting in Comparative Perspective Civil Society, Social Capital, and Democracy
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Political Sociology
The relationship between the State (government) and society Big questions:
When do people participate in politics and when not? When and why do social movements form, people protest, and movements make a social difference? Where do people’s political beliefs come from? How do they change? How do different countries organize social policies such as health care and welfare? How and when can citizens discuss and deliberate over important political questions? How do important social institutions (the media, organizations, etc.) contribute to, or detract from, democracy?
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Society and the State: Classical Theory
State Society/ Economy Culture
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Society and the State: Parsons
State Economy Religion Third Sector Leisure etc.
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Society and the State: Contemporary Visions
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Important Concepts in Political Sociology
Social networks Social capital Civil society Civic skills
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Important Concepts in Political Sociology (cont.)
Political cognition and political psychology Efficacy Political culture
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Important Concepts in Social Movements Research
Collective Psychology Resource Mobilization Political Process Model
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Important Works in Political Sociology: Tilly
Popular Contention in Great Britain, 1758–1834 How do disaffected groups make their needs known? The study of social movements begs the question: are social movements themselves really only one kind of “contentious behavior?” Contentious Repertoires: In different social, historical, and national contexts, similar kinds of grievances are approached differently.
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Important Works in Political Sociology: Skocpol (1992)
Protecting Soldiers and Mothers Against the myth of American exceptionalism The U.S. had a strong, significant welfare state for many years prior to the New Deal. Social policies in the U.S. tend to be stronger when they are:
Universal; and Associated with “categories of honor”
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Important Works in Political Sociology: Eliasoph
Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life The importance of deliberation and political talk What kinds of social circles are amenable to political talk and engagement? Often: none. The phrases “close to home” and “for the children” worked hard; they were pivotal in allowing volunteers to maintain that feeling that the world made sense.
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The American Political Character
Strange combination of individualism and collectivism Mistrust in government, trust in “private” institutions Avoids discussion of things “political” Political deliberation is seen as a means to an ideal end Opinion holding as a form of identity
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American Voting in Comparative Perspective
Americans vote much less than citizens of comparative democracies. Why? Demographic theories: Education Age Race Sex etc. . . . = ⇒ Voting Structural theories: Registration; Complexity; Frequency Ideological theories:
People are satisfied People are dissatisfied
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Social Explanations for Political Participation
Tocqueville: “a nation of joiners” Rosenstone and Hansen, 1993: organizational effects on voting Putnam, 1995: social capital as a citizenship resource Does democracy rest on a base of private interaction?
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Social Bases for Politics
Americans participate in nonpolitical organizations far more than citizens of other countries Churches and unions are the real outliers Verba et al. (1995): churches and unions as mobilizers Is civil society declining?
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Social Bases for Politics: Perrin, 2001
Participation in almost any kind of nonpolitical civic association is associated with citizenship behavior Some kinds of civic associations are more associated Some provide civic skills or political efficacy The key variable: access to political discourse Political culture is the key to citizenship
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The Meaning of the Vote
Zambia, 1991
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J¨ urgen Habermas: Origins of the Public
18th Century French Salons
Development of the modern bourgeoisie Development of the modern public
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Origins of the Public
Key points
The “public” has a history Our vision of democracy emerged from that history Louis Hartz: “fragment theory” Tocqueville and American deliberative democracy
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The Contemporary Public Sphere
Benjamin Page, Who Deliberates? Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone Frank Bryan, Real Democracy Ackerman and Fishkin, Deliberation Day
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The Contemporary Public Sphere
Perrin, Citizen Speak
The Democratic Imagination emerges from everyday life Deliberation happens all the time A rich democratic discourse enriches deliberation Real deliberation is an interactional, creative process
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Democracy as a Representative System
Perrin and McFarland 2008, 2011
Citizens’ Preferences Public Policy
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Democracy as a Representative System
Perrin and McFarland 2008, 2011
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Shifting gears...
Sociology in the Public Sphere
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Sociology in the Public Sphere
Public problems often have empirical dimensions Sociology can address:
What’s really going on? Who’s affected by it? How do policies, institutions, and decisions tend to affect people and groups? How do policies, institutions, and decisions tend to form and change? Why are people’s perceptions sometimes so wrong?
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