Introduction to Politics and Society
- Shaun Best - University of Manchester, UK
Students will discover the meaning of `power', `authority', `coercion', `surveillance' and `legitimacy'. The ideas of Weber, Marx, Foucault, Bauman, Sennett, Habermas, Baudrillard and Giddens are explained with clarity and precision. Well-chosen examples, many from popular political culture illustrate the relevance of fundamental theoretical debates. This book also examines:
- The central tendencies in the movement from modern to post-modern society
- The significance, strengths and weaknesses of `Third Way' politics
- The decline of organized party politics
- The development of new social movements
Developed with an understanding of the requirements of students and lecturers, this book is an extraordinary resource for undergraduate teaching and study needs. It will be required reading for undergraduate students in sociology, politics and social policy.
In my Gender and Politics course, I talk about the distinction between Social and Political. Introduction part of this book helps me to illustrate this distinction. Moreover, new social movements (Chapter 6) will help to demonstrate the importance of new social movements for LBGT movements
For political sociology course, it is crucial to explain the relationship between social and political. The introduction part of this book will help to clarify this distinction. Power, Authority, State (Chapter 2), Postmodern Politics (Chapter 3), Marxist and Elite Theories of Power (Chapter 4), Pluralism and Political Parties (Chapter 5), New Social Movements (Chapter 6) are the topics that I teach in this lecture. I found these chapters as informative.
An excellent introductory resource for undergraduate students.
