Political sociology has traditionally taken the relationship between society and the state as its focus. However, theoretical and empirical changes mean that the nation-state has been displaced as the center of political activity. Contemporary Political Sociology provides an overview of developments in the field associated with these changes. There is growing interest in the politicization of social life, including the activities of social movements; challenges to citizenship rights as enacting exclusionary norms; and the elaboration of transnational and international political practices and institutions which have implications for an internationalizing state. The book focuses throughout on substantive areas of research.There are separate chapters on definitions of power and politics; economic, cultural, and political globalization; social movements; citizenship and the politics of difference ; and democracy and democratization. In each chapter, these topics are integrated through the development of a new model of politics informed by post-structuralist and recent sociological theory. It is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students in sociology and political theory, as well as making an original contribution to the redefinition of political sociology.