A famous and frequently quoted sentence by Max Weber states: “Interests, not ideas, directly govern the actions of people. However, the ‘worldviews’ created by ‘ideas’ have often determined the paths in which the dynamics of interests propelled action.” Recent sociology, however, has not done justice to this principle. Values and their effects are either assumed to be given (as in the case of Talcott Parsons) or considered entirely irrelevant (as in Rational Choice and System Theory). Exte...

This text presents the work of scholars from all over Europe who examine processes of integration and disintegration at the level of nation states, federations, regions and Europe overall.

Is there a typical European class structure? Have power patterns left any imprint in the European societies of today? Has the experience of socialist revolution in Eastern Europe created a distinctive social-structural pattern in that part of the continent? These are only a few of the questions taken up by the contributors to this collection of case studies and comparative research.

Max Haller's impressive book presents an analysis of the process of European integration which keeps the relation between elites and citizens at the forefront. It is shown on the basis of new empirical data (surveys, interviews, analyses of documents and biographies) that European integration has been led since the beginning by the elites and that today there exists a considerable split between elites and citizens; this split is becoming more profound in the course of time.The book...

The social sciences rely more on the comparative method than on experimental data mainly because the latter is difficult to acquire amongst human populations. The International Social Survey Programme has played a pioneering role in creating and sustaining methodologically-sophisticated mass attitude surveys across the globe. Starting in 1984 with five nations, it now encompasses forty-five nations spread over five continents, each administering an identical annual survey to a random sampl...

The modern world is characterised by pervasive economic inequalities. Strong economic growth in some developing countries has contributed to a degree to a reduction in the levels of inequality between nations, yet inequality within nations remains high and in some cases, continues to increase. Ethnic Stratification and Economic Inequality around the World investigates the reasons for these striking differences, exploring the coincidence and interaction between economic stratification and e...

The Dynamics of Right-Wing Extremism within German Society explores the prevalence of right-wing extremist attitudes in Germany.The book provides a thorough psychosocial and sociological theory of general authoritarian dynamics to explain broader societal attitudes, particularly focusing on right-wing extremism. It provides a uniquely long-term perspective on the different dimensions of right-wing extremism—the affinity for dictatorial forms of government, chauvinist attit...

Today, a new kind of freedom fighter has emerged in our midst: liberal and open-minded, these individuals champion liberty and resent the imposition of more and more rules and exhortations that constrain their freedom. They are angry, disgruntled, offended. Why should they have to wear a face mask, get vaccinated or follow new rules on diversity and equality? They should be free to choose. They do not long for a glorified past or the strong arm of the state but argue instead for individual...

The theory of justice is one of the most intensely debated areas of contemporary philosophy. Most theories of justice, however, have only attained their high level of justification at great cost. By focusing on purely normative, abstract principles, they become detached from the sphere that constitutes their “field of application” - namely, social reality.Axel Honneth proposes a different approach. He seeks to derive the currently definitive criteria of social justice directly from...

In this new book, Ulrich Beck develops his now widely used concepts of second modernity, risk society and reflexive sociology into a radical new sociological analysis of the cosmopolitan implications of globalization. Beck draws extensively on empirical and theoretical analyses of such phenomena as migration, war and terror, as well as a range of literary and historical works, to weave a rich discursive web in which analytical, critical and methodological themes intertwine effortlessly.

"After the Nazi Racial State offers a comprehensive, persuasive, and ambitious argument in favor of making 'race' a more central analytical category for the writing of post-1945 history. This is an extremely important project, and the volume indeed has the potential to reshape the field of post-1945 German history."---Frank Biess, University of California, San DiegoWhat happened to "race," race thinking, and racial distinctions in Germany, and Europe more broadly, a...

‘Jürgen Habermas’, wrote the American philosopher Ronald Dworkin on the occasion of the great European thinker’s eightieth birthday, ‘is not only the world’s most famous living philosopher. Even his fame is famous.’ Now, after many years of intensive research and in-depth conversations with contemporaries, colleagues and Habermas himself, Stefan Müller-Doohm presents the first comprehensive biography of one of the most important public intellectuals of our time. From his political and phil...