"This monograph explores the interplay between ideas of the political and the way that we, as sociologists, look at the phenomena that we study. Shows what empirical sociological enquiries into the political reveal on theoretical and conceptual levels Discusses how sociologists should study and understand the political Evaluates how the political intersects with current social identities and divisions Includes empirical and theoretical cases"--Provided by publisher.

"The central theme of this monograph is the interplay between ideas of the political and the way sociologists look at the range of phenomena we study. The political and its relation to the social has of course long been a source of profound debate within political sociology as well as more generally. What we want to mark in this volume are some key ways in which the ever-burgeoning lines of inquiry and analysis within sociology alter conceptions of the political, with mutually profound implications for understandings of the social across the discipline of sociology. Parts 1 and 2 explore the complex interrelations between the social and the political, through their traditional focus on the entangled themes of borders and belonging. The examination of discourse, Part 4, and social movements, Part 5, provide analytical routes through which the boundaries between theoretical and empirical research are also called into question. For all this, as the papers in Part 3 demonstrate, theoretical contributions--if taking a less central, legislating role--remain as important as ever. Taken together, the articles in this volume provide key insights into the many, many ways with which a commitment to the political affects understandings of the social in contemporary sociology"--Provided by publisher.