Book Review: The New Handbook of Political Sociology

Abstract

democratic regimes in relation to nondemocratic states in what could be labeled global market-oriented governance. Overall, Crouch’s book is a well-structured examination of democracy and the contradictory and critical relations crossing politics and economics. The book’s vantage point sensitizes readers to democratic sensibilities and good practices, far beyond the mere labeling of (post-) democracy as a formal societal container. It represents a “post-post-modernist” critique of hyper-capitalistic society and the challenging role citizens must play to reappropriate political rights and claim social justice. Social scientists and practitioners interested in democracy, neoliberalism, and society-economy relations will benefit greatly from reading Crouch’s theoretical and empirical observations.