Critical Theory and Sociological Theory On Late Modernity and Social Statehood Critical Theory and Contemporary Society

Rearticulating critical theory with a contemporary focus, this book investigates how the conditions of democratic statehood have changed at key historical intervals since 1945. It argues that a sociological approach is needed to address conceptual deficits and explain how the mechanisms of democratic statehood can be updated today.

Colin Crouch, FBA, University of Warwick


Alberto Febbrajo, University of Macerata

Democracy in the twenty-first century faces numerous challenges, with populism, neoliberalism, and globalisation being three of the most pressing. Critical theory and sociological theory explores and addresses these challenges by investigating how the conditions of democratic statehood have been altered at key intervals since 1945. At a time when mediations between citizens and statehood are rapidly changing, it argues that a sociological approach is urgently needed to address conceptual deficits and explain how the formal mechanisms of democratic statehood can be complemented and updated.

Democracy in the twenty-first century faces a number of major challenges, populism, neoliberalism and globalisation being three of the most prominent. This book examines such challenges by investigating how the conditions of democratic statehood have been altered at several key historical intervals since 1945. It demonstrates that the formal mechanisms of democratic statehood, such as elections, have always been complemented by civic, cultural, educational, socio-economic and constitutional institutions that mediate between citizens and state authority. Rearticulating critical theory with a contemporary focus, the book shows why a sociological approach is urgently needed to address conceptual deficits and explain how the formal mechanisms of democratic statehood need to be complemented and updated in new ways today.