Origin of Political Sociology

Political sociology emerged through a combination of European theory and American methodology.

European Theory: There was renaissance, literally means, re-birth --- re-birth of knowledge.  This period was from 14^th century to 16^th century, and Machiavelli was the first modern thinker. Then, we had reformation known as the period of ‘Enlightenment’ 18^th century. In post Enlightenment, we had Liberalism, Nationalism, Democracy, and Industrial Revolution was the fourth stage.

Industrial Revolution took place in the USA, hundred years later than Europe. Capitalism emerged side by side or as a result of Industrial Revolution. Then, there came a break down in traditional society...!

People started to make distinction between public and private, between political and non-political matters. Philosophers explained this in a theoretical manner --- theorizing distinction between public and private; political and social, etc. Then, appeared a question: What is the relationship between political and social?

At least, three thinkers --- Marx, De Tocqwille, and Max Weber tried to answer this question. Their answers are different, but one thing is in common i.e. “though political and social are different, but both are related to each other.”

Marx says: social is basic and political comes later. However, Weber says: state is more important. At any rate, both works of Marx and Weber are very important sources for the origin of political sociology.

European thinkers before 1950 did not write about ‘political sociology’, but what they conducted was useful for this discipline. European theory has a long tradition of social theory starting with Machiavelli to Hobbes, Hegel, Marx, and Weber, and is an important source for the emergence of political sociology.

American Methodology: Political Sociology emerged around 1950 in the USA, mainly as a result of dissatisfaction of traditional political science. Methods of studying politics emerged in the USA. Philosophical methods, historical methods, and formal institution methods were already existed in the USA in the study of politics.

New politics says that politics should be studied in an objective, systematic, and scientific manner. We must not study only values and events; we also must study process and contemporary process. To understand contemporary politics, we need the help of non-political factors --- sociology, economics, psychology, etc.

We can understand politics through society. Process must be understood with the help of other disciplines. Concepts and theories from other disciplines must be used and information must be collected in a systematic manner.

Students of American political science expressed that interdisciplinary approach must be taken to understand politics. The methods of studying politics should be as follows: empirical and systematic, as well as, study of facts and actual experience… Modern sociology emerged with the empirical approach.

Wasburn talked of development of sociology in the USA beleived that sociologists had an influence on political science departments in the USA e.g. one were Chicago University which started Modern Political Science.  

American and European scholars were interested in process of development in new countries of Asia and Africa. Thus, this made them to have an interdisciplinary approach… The methods of studying politics changed totally from normative to empirical.

At the end, it should be added that disturbance in Europe at that time was a political factor that forced many scholars to migrate to the USA in search of good jobs. Among them were students and followers of Weber. Therefore, they brought the theory of Europe into USA and USA’s sociology grew in this period.

It is said that the founders of political sociology were Max Weber (Germany) and Moisey Ostrogorsky (Russia).