Political Sociology as Science

Political sociology is a special branch of sociology that studies various types of relationships between people in the political sphere with such institutions as the state, social movements, parties.

The basis of political life lies in the issue of power. Political sociology as a science can develop only in a democratic state , since it develops the ideology of civil liberties and rights, studies the mechanisms of power, explores the processes of the emergence of a certain social order.

Political culture is a mechanism that ensures the regulation of the individual's behavior in the political sphere.

The political process is characterized by a two-layer structure. On the one hand, it consists of official actions leading to levers of power, on the other hand, from unofficial ones. In the structure of politics , political relations, political norms, political organizations (in the form of the state, parties, political entities), political culture are singled out.

Political sociology began to develop in the process of democratization of public life, when sociology gradually began to penetrate into the political sphere. The formation of this science in Russia did not begin "from scratch." In foreign countries there has already been experience of sociological research. Taking into account this experience, it is necessary to consider the problems of singling out political sociology in a separate science.

In the West, political sociology, as a separate branch of sociological science, was established in the 30s-50s of the 20th century. But the elements of the sociological approach in the manifestation of political life existed already in scientific theories developed in the Ancient East, in Ancient Greece and Rome, then they were developed in the writings of N. Machiavelli, T. Hobbs, S. L. Montesquieu, J. Boden and others .

Many researchers hold the opinion that the founders of political sociology should be considered K. Marx and M. Weber. The political sociology of Weber made the power of the central concept as an opportunity to impose one's own will on all other participants in social relations, regardless of their resistance.

Important works in the formation of the theoretical foundations of science were the works of V. Pareto, P. Sorokin, G. Mosca, T. Parsons, M. Duverger, R. Michels, G. Lasswell, and in the Marxist direction- G. Plekhanov, V. Lenin, A. Gramsci, K. Kautsky and others.

In the XX century. Political sociology was divided into many approaches to the study of political life: institutional (A. Bentley, J. Bryce), behaviorist (C. Boulding, D. Waldo, C. Merriam), postbehaviorist (S. Dodd, R.C. Mills) , Modeling (G. Almond, K. Deutsch, D. Iston,), value (G. Lasswell, F. Bro, L. Hoffman).

In Russia, this science developed under the influence of Western doctrines. However, in the process of development has reached a very serious heights, often ahead of Western researchers. Such results are explained by the severity of the social contradictions existing in Russian society.

A significant contribution to the development of domestic political sociology was made by KD Kavelin, BN Chicherin, AD Gradovsky, MM Kovalevsky, SA Muromtsev, VI Sergeevich, NM Korkunov, NI Kareev, GF Shershenevich, BA Kistyakovskii.

The turning point in the development of Russian science is connected with the work of P. Sorokin. He created a sociological study, developed a program of empirical research. His pen belongs to the "Public textbook of sociology", in which he cited methodological calculations that significantly influenced the further understanding of the subject of this science.

M. Ya. Ostrogorsky made a decisive contribution to the further development of science.

The subject of political sociology is still the subject of scientific discussions (they are called the essence of power, human rights and freedoms and social groups, and there are other opinions on this matter). The object of it is called the political life of a developed civil society.