ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nature of the relationship between sociology and politics. It considers how the relationship might be developed to the mutual benefit of both social sciences. The chapter deals with a brief discussion of the problems arising from disciplinary fragmentation and the tendency to isolate concept development from theory development. The chapter also explores two central concepts within political science – power and ideas – and how they affect the motives of governments and non-governmental policy actors and how they can be integrated into middle-range theories of policy-making. The strong complementarity between political science and sociology in the nature and use of power is evident in the study of the consequences of the use of power. The chapter concludes with a discussion of areas for research where a closer integration of sociology and political science would be beneficial.
