Suchergebnisse

Argues that the sociology of law should continue its long-standing focus on law & governmentality, but also should expand its analysis to an examination of the interaction of legal & nonlegal forms of governance. The beginning of such an enterprise is provided by the work of Michel Foucault (1977), raising the question of law's role in modern forms of governmental rationality. It is suggested that Foucault's analysis ought to be revised to attend to the plurality of forms of law & governance, & to focus more explicitly on forms of state power. Using this conception, it is contended that the key link between law & modern power is that law plays the organizational & ideological role of providing temporary moments of unification within dispersed fields of social power. This approach to law & governance is favored over others because it facilitates an account that remains sensitive to variations in modes of governance & local power while remaining attentive to the role of the state in the condensation of power relations. 69 References. D. M. Smith

An exploration of science in professional associations focuses on international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) that are strictly science- or socially oriented. It is shown that, although science-oriented INGOs were the first to emerge, socially oriented bodies have expanded greatly in recent decades as science has become part of contemporary models of national development. The goals, structures, & activities of the approximately 350 international science associations that were active in 1994 are described, showing how they reflect & embody world culture. The implications of the increase in these organizations are discussed in regard to the general expansion of scientific authority, the "scientization" of many social realms, & the emergence of new cognitive models linking scientific activity to societal development that have led to greater levels of international organization around science. It is shown that scientific INGOs are not only important to professionals in peripheral states, but have often provided the impetus for states to develop science policies. Possible future implications of the increasing presence of science in governance are discussed. 2 Tables, 2 Figures. J. Lindroth

Reviews the nature & role of the Third World state, focusing on Marxist approaches. The terms nation-state & Third World are European inventions produced from the 16th-19th centuries both in practice & liberal political theory. State forms in the non-European context grew directly out of the colonial experience of the 17th & 18th centuries. Recent Marxist interpretations challenge the traditional liberal understanding of the state; much of Marxist literature analyzes class struggles for control of Third World states, & debates in this tradition in Africa & South Asia are briefly discussed. However, events have forced commentators beyond Marxist models because global forces have dismantled the notion of a unified Third World borne out of the anticolonial struggle. Context-specific research is needed to underpin a new unified theory of the state. D. M. Smith

Outlines a position in the sociology of science & technology that moves beyond postmodern concerns for relativism to link relativist & nonrelativist conceptions of knowledge to their respective roles. It is shown that there has been a traditional divide between realist & relativist conceptions of science that has recently been bridged by a common focus on the cultural significance of science & technology. Approaches to the sociology of science & technology that adopt this culturalist perspective are favored because they enlist scientific & technological change as vehicles for cultural criticism & as bases for agendas of cultural renewal. However, scientific advances are felt economically as much as culturally, & the Weberian realist tradition of viewing science as an extension of instrumental rationality has its place. This realist perspective is also applied to the sociology of knowledge itself, in the sense that social scientific knowledge has accumulated over time & thus, has economic & instrumental effects that are independent of any particular cultural component of its production. 46 References. D. M. Smith