POLITICAL AND SOCIETY IN MODERN AGES 14TH TO 20TH CENTURY

The 14th and 20th centuries, the political and societal environment underwent a series of
dramatic and linked developments that shaped the contemporary world. The 14th century saw the
rise of feudalism in Europe, a socioeconomic system marked by a hierarchical structure of
landownership and obedience. However, this time period also saw the terrible effects of the
Black Death, a pandemic that dramatically lowered population numbers and caused significant
economic and societal changes.

As the fifteenth century began, the Renaissance arose as a cultural and intellectual movement
centered predominantly in Italy. This time period emphasized humanism, the rebirth of classical
learning, and artistic and literary achievements. Concurrently, the Age of Exploration began,
with European nations embarking on naval expeditions that led to the discovery of new
territories and the construction of global trade routes.

The sixteenth century saw seismic transformations, most notably the Protestant Reformation, led
by leaders such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. This religious movement challenged the
authority of the Catholic Church, resulting in the formation of several Protestant denominations.
Furthermore, political centralization gained traction in countries such as England, France, and
Spain.

The 17th century was a period of intellectual ferment, with the Scientific Revolution questioning
established beliefs and setting the framework for advances in astronomy, physics, and
mathematics. Simultaneously, the Enlightenment promoted intellectual ideals such as reason,
individual rights, and the separation of powers.

As the 18th century progressed, the world witnessed revolutionary fervor with the American and
French Revolutions. These movements promoted the values of democracy, liberty, and equality,
influencing political thought around the world. The Industrial Revolution marked the nineteenth
century, ushering in a transition from rural economies to industrialized ones. Nationalism and
imperialism gained traction, shifting political boundaries and global power balances.
The twentieth century was marked by extraordinary global conflicts—the two World Wars—that
redefined border and changed international relations. The Cold War ensued, defining global
politics as tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union created a divided world.
Socially, civil rights movements arose, protesting racial segregation and injustice.
Simultaneously, technology advancements accelerated globalization, resulting in an integrated
and interdependent world community.

POLITICAL AND SOCIETY

Sociology is the study of human conduct within a society setting. Sociology varies from
psychology in that it uses a society as its main unit of analysis, whereas psychology uses the
human being. A society can be defined as a distinct and coherent group of human beings living in
proximity, whose behaviour is distinguished by various common practices, norms, and beliefs
that set it apart from other human groupings with clearly different practices, norms, and beliefs.

Auguste Comte (1798-1857), a founding founder of the field, invented the term ‘sociology'. Both
Comte and another founding father, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), emphasised that society was
the fundamental unit of sociological research. Nominating the founding fathers of one of the
more recently established academic disciplines may appear to be a simple task, but it is always
subjective, and some observers may wish to add - or even substitute - one or more of the names
of Karl Marx (1818-83), Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), or Max Weber (1864-1920). Whether or
not they were founding fathers, all three made significant theoretical and empirical contributions
to sociology. Marx was a polymath - historian, political philosopher, and economist, and, of
course, actively engaged in politics.

The second and subsequent development was a particular concern among American political
scientists about the problem of studying the politics of Third World or developing countries -
those regions of the world in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that had, in most cases, been
subject to colonial rule or, like China, extensive Western influence. Earlier comparative studies
tended to follow the traditional pattern of institutional study, with little regard for the socio-
cultural context in which such institutions operated and the changes that this might cause. The
objections of the traditional approach were occasionally overstated, but they were not without
merit.

These two advances drew many political scientists closer to their colleagues in other social
sciences, particularly sociology. Several political scientists were particularly drawn to the
development of systems theory, most notably but not exclusively through the ideas of Talcott
Parsons, whose book The Social System (1951) had a significant impact outside of the area of
sociology. Parsons contended that all societies were social systems with several subsystems. In
addition, he claimed that a social system was self-regulating or self-adjusting, adapting to
changing circumstances. Its typical condition was one of equilibrium, and in response to external
demands, the social system modified itself to restore equilibrium.

References:

De Tocqueville, A. (1985). Selected letters on politics and society. Univ of California Press.

Jacobs, M. (1996). The Politics of the Real World: meeting the new century. Earthscan.

Peterson, M. J. (1992). Transnational activity, international society and world politics. Millennium, 21(3),
371-388.

Rush, M. (2014). Politics and society: An introduction to political sociology. Routledge.

Rush, M. (2014). Politics and society: An introduction to political sociology. Routledge.

Sakwa, R. (2020). Russian politics and society. Routledge.

Stone, L. (Ed.). (2019). The University in Society, Volume I: Oxford and Cambridge from the 14th to the
Early 19th Century (Vol. 5357). Princeton University Press.

Weeks, J. (2017). Sex, politics and society: The regulation of sexuality since 1800. Routledge.