Political sociology in Great Britain

Samenvatting

A survey of recent developments of political sociology in the UK. Political sociology has only a tenuous connection with University Dept's of Sociology. True, British sociology teachers use concepts and data of political sociology as this term is understood in the US; but there are no British Schools of political sociology and most studies of empirical political behavior are made without benefit of sociological theory. Donald McRae noted that the term 'psephology' was coined to avoid the use of 'electoral sociol.' political scientists belong to the Political Studies Assoc. of the UK (founded in 1950) rather than to the British Sociological Association, and they publish in Political Studies (founded in 1953) rather than in the British Journal of Sociology. The recent work of British political sociologists is reviewed, and special attention is paid to studies of the British general elections of 1945, 1950, 1951 and 1955. Comments are included on the book of R. T. McKenzie, 'British political parties: the distrubution of power in the conservative and labor parties' (London, England: Heinemann, 1955); S. E. Finer's and R. A. Brody's studies of the political power of British capital; 'Small-town politics: a study of political life in Glossop by A. H. Birch' (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1959), which notes differences between the att's of national and local party organizations; and a study of democracy in the British cooperative movement: Co-operative democracy, by J. A. Banks and G. N. Ostergaard, (Co-operators Year Book, 1957). Modified AA.