Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Political modernization is generally agreed to have involved differentiation of politics from religion and morality, bureaucratization of the “body politic” and increasing political participation; the “freezing” of sociopolitical divisions; and the centrality of the sovereign nation-state. There is also a broad consensus on the corporatist contours of late modernity. “Postmodernization” and “postmodernity,” on the other hand, are much more contentious concepts. Nevertheless, there are a number of common trends in postmodern analyses. The state is shrinking as its modern role in providing external defense, internal surveillance, and citizenship rights is undermined. Furthermore, states are increasingly interdependent in a way that undermines sovereignty. “Transnational society” is a network of groups and organizations that operate outside and (at least partly) independently of the state. International and “post-international” politics generate a new “multicentric world.” There is a dedifferentiation of politics from private concerns, as democratic principles are extended beyond the political sphere, while politics becomes mass spectacle. Party-class dealignment and the rise of new political identities, particularly those mobilized by “new social movements,” further undermine the autonomy of political elites. Modern ideologies are eroded - especially socialism - and the left-right ... log in or subscribe to read full text