SOCY 21 Political Sociology
Politics exists everywhere, when certain decisions affect two or more human beings. Immediately emerge political questions: who makes the decision, and how? Is it a result of dialogue and negotiations, or unilateral imposition of the most powerful? Who benefits? Who loses? Political Sociology studies processes of decision making and power relations at larger levels of society. In this Introductory course we will study basic questions of political processes, starting with the historical formation of States in Europe during centuries of Wars, their violent expansion overseas by colonialism and settler societies, and the emergence of nationalism and democracy. We will study democratic decision-making processes, theories of power elites, pluralism and class domination. How democratic processes represent classes, ethnic groups and race, and how civil society, social movements and trade unions organize and demand representation, at local and global levels. Finally, we will discuss how globalization impacts democratic processes.
Instructor
Grinberg