Fundamentals of Political Sociology

Political sociology looks at how major social trends can affect the political process, as well as exploring how various social forces work together to change political policies. Political sociologists apply several theories to substantive issues. Three major theoretical frameworks are pluralism, elite or managerial theory and class analysis which overlaps with Marxist analysis. Pluralism saw politics primarily as a contest among competing interest groups. Elite or managerial theory is sometimes called a state-centered approach.