Sociology and Political Science
Sociology
Sociology focuses on the study of all aspects of society and emphasizes how various institutions, including the government, are interconnected.
Thinkers like Max Weber contributed to what is known as political sociology, a field that increasingly examines actual political behaviour.
Contemporary examples, such as recent Indian elections, show extensive sociological analysis of voting patterns.
Research has also explored membership in political organisations, decision-making processes within institutions, sociological factors behind party support, and the role of gender in politics.
Marx argued that political institutions and political behaviour are deeply connected to the economic system and the structure of social classes.
Political science
- Political science is the scientific study of the state, government, and politics; the concept of politics is central to it, and both terms are often used interchangeably.
- Politics refers to the process through which people create, maintain, and modify the rules that govern their lives, involving both cooperation and conflict.
- Politics as an art of governance deals with public affairs, conflict resolution, decision-making, negotiation, compromise, consensus-building, and the distribution of power and resources.
Different Meanings of Politics
1. Politics as the Art of Government
- The word politics comes from the Greek polis meaning “city-state.”
- In this sense, politics refers to the affairs of the state.
- Political science as a discipline has historically followed this definition.
2. Politics as Public Affairs
- Politics mainly concerns public affairs but extends beyond the study of government.
- It includes public institutions like the police, army, and courts that serve society.
- It also involves private institutions like families and businesses that cater to individual needs.
3. Politics as Compromise and Consensus
- Politics focuses on negotiation, dialogue, and peaceful conflict resolution.
- It is known as “the art of the possible,” as it seeks solutions without relying on force.
- It involves decision-making and distributing power and resources to maintain social order.
4. Politics as Power and Influence
- Politics revolves around power—the ability to influence behaviour and control resources.
- It operates at all levels: family, groups, organisations, state, and global society.
- Political science studies power, governance, and state structure.
- Like sociology, it aims to produce knowledge rather than train individuals in political practice.
- The discipline has become increasingly interdisciplinary, adopting ideas and methods from sociology, which strengthens the connection between the two fields.
Thinkers’ Views
Lipset observes that sociology and political science are deeply interconnected, as both examine power, authority structures, administration, and governance.
Jain and Doshi (1974) state that political sociology emerges when the concepts and vocabulary of political science are reinterpreted through a sociological lens.
Similarities Between Sociology with Political Science
First, political science draws extensively from sociology for its foundational theories and research methods. For instance, mid-20th-century Michigan social psychologists and Parsonian scholars at Harvard significantly influenced political science through their work on political behaviour and political development.
Second, both disciplines share several areas of specialization that draw from common third-party fields such as economics, history, anthropology, and psychology.
Third, many influential thinkers—such as Marx, Weber, Gramsci, Pareto, Parsons, and Mosca—have made major contributions to the development of both sociology and political science.
Relationship Between Sociology with Political Science
In a rapidly changing and globalised world, an interdisciplinary approach is necessary to understand social problems and find effective solutions.
Sociology, defined as the scientific study of society, views society as a complex network of groups, institutions, communities, associations, and everyday human activities.
Politics and power dynamics are integral to all aspects of social life, and political structures have always been essential components of human societies.
No modern society can exist without polity or political institutions, as the state and governance are crucial for maintaining law and order, security, and development.
Sociology examines the social world by focusing on issues such as political traditions, caste and politics, ethnicity, cultural background, economic conditions, linguistic affiliations, and global interconnectedness.
Sociology also studies political behaviour and its social implications, showing a strong overlap with political science.
Despite this overlap, both disciplines differ in approach: political science studies the rise, fall, and functioning of governments and leaders, while sociology views governments as social institutions and interprets political behaviour as rooted in social dynamics.
Both disciplines intersect at many points and together provide a broader understanding of social reality.
Sociology focuses on interaction systems within groups, institutions, and organisations, while political science focuses on control mechanisms, power structures, and authority.
Scholars argue that applying sociological perspectives of interaction to political phenomena results in the field of political sociology.
Works like Almond and Coleman’s The Politics of Developing Areas (1960) and Rajni Kothari’s Politics in India (1970) showcase the early growth of political sociology.
Political sociology emerged from the intersection of sociology and political science and is a relatively new subfield of sociology.
Political sociology studies political institutions, organisations, interest groups, power dynamics, political parties, administrative and bureaucratic behaviour, social legislation, state policies, reforms, and political ideologies.
Differences between Sociology and Political Science
| Sociology | Political Science |
|---|---|
|
Sociology is a science of Society.
|
Political Science is a science of
state and government |
|
Sociology studies all kinds
of society, organised or unorganised. |
Political science studies only
politically organised bodies. |
|
Sociology has a wider scope. |
Political science has a narrow scope. |
|
Sociology studies man as
fundamentally social animal. |
Political science studies man as
fundamentally political animal. |
|
Sociology follows its own methods
in addition to usage of scientific methods. |
Political science focuses on human
relationship characterised by politics. |
|
Sociology is comparatively younger science. |
Political science is comparatively older science. |
Political sociology
Political sociology is viewed as a new and rapidly expanding subfield within sociology and acts as a bridge between sociology and political science.
Sociologists highlight a mutual, two-way relationship between the two disciplines, where each contributes to and benefits from the other.
Many scholars describe political sociology as a “marriage” between sociology and political science, studying areas that overlap between both fields but cannot be fully understood by either alone.
The subfield developed partly as a response to the limitations of behaviouralism in political science during the 1960s, especially its excessive focus on psychological explanations of human behaviour.
Political sociology examines social determinants, social contexts, and the deep interconnections between politics and society to reveal the social foundations of political processes.
In this approach, the structures of society and the social organs of politics become central units of analysis.
Applying sociological methods to political phenomena has greatly enhanced our understanding of political behaviour.
This interaction between sociology and political science has strengthened political sociology as an important subfield while also enriching both parent disciplines by expanding concepts, themes, and analytical tools.
Research in this area includes the functioning of public agencies, the role of groups and families in socialisation, voting behaviour, political ecology, and political community.
Political sociology studies how political processes shape membership, allegiance, ideological conflict, value orientations, and group identities, contributing to the field’s intellectual maturity.
Contributions such as Giddens’s work on international relations, Weber’s analysis of life spheres, and Bourdieu’s study of politics as a form of social activity demonstrate the discipline’s expanding trajectory.
Previous Year Questions
- Discuss the relationship between sociology and political science. (2023)
Important Keywords
Sociology, Art of Governance, Political science, Jain and Doshi, Michigen Social Psychologists, Parsonians, Marx, Weber, Gramsci, Pareto, Parsons, Mosca, Frame of Reference or Perspectives, Rajni Kothari, Social theory on international relations, Lacuna of Behaviouralism and Agent of Socialisation.
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