Page 53 - Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization Politics and Power

Changing Definitions of Politics and Power 39

“ methodological nationalism, ” the construction of societies as internal to
state borders, is no longer viable (Beck, 2000 ). Indeed, as a way of under-
standing empires, and the subsequent inter - connections of metropolitan
centers and post - colonial states, it was always limited (see Bhambra,
2007 ). Social life must be rethought in terms of multiple and multiscalar
networks and identities, and power and politics as an aspect of social life
rather than as separate institutions within a society governed by a single
determining base, as in the case of Marxism, a single inexorable logic,
as in Weber ’ s rationalization thesis, or functionalist social solidarity, as
for Durkheim. Globalization opens up issues that require a wider view of
power and politics than that provided by the framework of classical politi-
cal sociology.
In chapter 3 , we look at social movements, which displace the focus of
classical political sociology on social systems and questions of causality,
shifting attention to the way in which social actors make society through
cultural politics. Social movements transform social relations by challeng-

ing and redefining meanings and creating new collective identities across

the social field. The study of social movements also shifts the focus on
relations between state and society. Social movements are at least as con-
cerned with personal decisions and with changing the rules and routines
of everyday life as they are with policies and the law. The state is often
seen as biased and bureaucratic, too blunt an instrument to bring about
the detailed transformation in social relations at which they aim.
Nevertheless, contrary to the claims of some theorists of social move-
ments, the activities of social movements are not confi ned exclusively to
changing ways of life through micro - politics. Indeed, even the global
social movements that have become prominent over the last decade are

often engaged in redefining state policies and practices, both from below,
within national territories, and from above, through the international
organizations of global governance.
In chapter 4 , we examine how the cultural politics in which social
movements engage are transforming citizenship. Citizenship rights are as
much a matter of definition as the contestation of identity, lifestyle, media

representations, and ethical consumerism with which social movements
are more typically linked. Citizenship involves questions of identity and
membership that have been central to social movements concerned with
“ difference. ” Feminism, the gay and lesbian movement, and anti - racist
movements are sometimes thought of in derogatory terms as involving
“ identity politics. ” Challenging the way particular groups have been
identified as inferior, trying to change what is generally seen as a source

of shame into pride, they have been criticized for giving too much