This comprehensive theoretically-grounded text provides advanced undergraduates with a highly accessible introduction to political sociology. Students are introduced to major theories of political sociology early in the book, and see them applied to various topic areas in subsequent chapters. Numerous specific examples, from current issues in the United States as well as various historical and comparative settings, illustrate the major political sociological theories. In addition to covering the traditional core of political sociology, the text consciously links major ideas in political sociology to related substantive areas within sociology (for example, race, class, and gender inequality; media; schooling; and law and crime). Students are also introduced to contemporary developments in the field, including politics of culture, rational choice models, and “new” social movements.