"Political sociology has traditionally taken the relationship between society and the state as its focus. However, theoretical and empirical changes mean that the nation-state has been displaced as the center of political activity. Contemporary Political Sociology provides an overview of developments in the field associated with these changes. There is growing interest in the politicization of social life, including the activities of social movements; challenges to citizenship rights as enacting exclusionary norms; and the elaboration of transnational and international political practices and institutions which have implications for an "internationalizing state.""--BOOK JACKET.