The nature of social power, the ability of individuals to affect the behavior and belief of others, is central to any understanding of the dynamics of change in our society. It is therefore surprising that social scientists, and especially social psychologists, have devoted relatively little attention to the subject and have accumulated relatively little knowledge about it. But this gap may be more apparent than real argues James T. Tedeschi; there has in fact been a great deal of research on many aspects of interpersonal influence. What is missing is the kind of consensus about an operational definition of the concept of power that would bring this work usefully into focus. The purpose of Social Power and Political Influence is to bring together the best work of scholars from many disciplines in order to organize, develop, evaluate, and interpret scientific theories of social, political, and economic power. The contributors are drawn from anthropology, political science, sociology, and social psychology. They illustrate a variety of approaches, ranging from ethnographic case studies to mathematically formalized models. Presenting theory and methods, these chapters treat in provocative and creative ways such important problems as the factors that affect the use of power and the nature of response to its use, the linkages that affect the flow of power between individuals and social systems, the consequences of attributions of power by actors and observers, and the implications of trust as an alternative to explicit influence. This in-depth scholarly sampling of research and theory will be of great interest to everyone concerned with the scientific study of social and political power and the influence processes. The interdisciplinary nature of the topic itself and of the work represented here make Social Power and Political Influence an important contribution for students and scholars in many fields, from social psychology, political science and sociology to communications, management science, and economics.

It is time to consider changes in the field of comparative-historical sociology, as the discipline seeks to accommodate old and new trends as well as the transforming spatial scales in which political power and social theory are increasingly embedded. This title showcases articles that pursue similar themes.

Although the concept of power is central to the study of politics, there is no agreement as to what exactly power is. Power is often viewed negatively, as domination, though it is also the case that power is created by people acting in concert, in which case it can have positive effects. Making sense of this puzzle is one of the aims of this book, which provides the reader with a clear and coherent way of understanding the various forms and manifestations of power, and it does so by bringing together the most important and influential perspectives on power within the political and social sciences. From the Contents: Mark Haugaard and Kevin Ryan: Power in Social and Political Theory John Gledhill: Power in Political Anthropology Stewart Clegg: Foundations of Organizational Power Jill Vickers: Gendering Power: Feminist Approaches John A. Hall and Siniša Maleševic: The Political Sociology of Power Philip G. Cerny: Power and International Relations

This book is perhaps the first systematic treatment of politics from the perspective of cultural psychology. Politics is a complex that psychology usually fails to understand— as it assumes a position in society that attempts to be free of politics itself. Politics is associated both with an everyday practice, and the dynamics of globalization; with the way group conflicts, ideologies, social representations and identities, are lived and co-constructed by social actors. The authors of the book address these issues through their research grounded in different parts of the world, on democracy and political order, the social representation of power, gender studies, the use of metaphors and symbolic power in political discourse, social identities and methodological questions. The book will be used by social and political psychologists but is also of interest to the other social sciences: political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, educationalists, and it is at a level where sophisticated lay public would be able to appreciate its coverage. Its use in upperlevel college teaching is possible, and expected at graduate/postgraduate levels.

This second volume deals with power relations between the Industrial Revolution and the First World War.