Political sociology is a broad discipline and interrelated with several areas including sociology, political science, history and economics etc. It is basically the study of power and relationships between society, state, citizenships, political participation and their socio-political interactions. It has specifically focused on the questions about the nature of power, development of states, sources of political changes, idea of citizenship and notion of political participation. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is the analysis and explanation of certain aspects of the power, state, citizenship and political participation. Contemporary political sociology involves, but is not limited to, the study of these critical concepts and their interaction within the larger cultural context. They are fundamental components of the study of political sociology.
The Key Concept of Political Sociology: Power
Power is a central concept that located at the hearth of political sociology. It is also related to many …show more content…
For example, coercive power in the form of physical force is clearly exercised as one state invades and conquers another. The various resources used to coerce may include military, police and Special Forces. These types of power represent the purest and row form of power. The use of coercion for political purpose or advantage is an important aspect of power. For instance, modern states use coercion in many ways. The police power and specific agencies of the states control protests, rebellions, and conflicts. The coercive nature of police work in a free society can assess the boundaries between freedoms of action and seek changes in the nature of rules or status quo through protests to the authority. The maintaining social order and having the right of protest is important study area of political sociology (Dobratz et al.