Status Power And Legitimacy

Status, Power, and Legitimacy presents methodological, theoretical, and empirical essays by Joseph Berger and Morris Zelditch, Jr.—two of the leading contributors to the Stanford tradition in the study of micropro-cesses. This three-part volume brings together major contributions to the development of this tradition, in addition to a number of newly written essays published here for the first time. Berger and Zelditch integrate the essays and relate them to a larger body of theory and research as they explore the importance of a generalizing orientation in sociology. Their view of theory as flux and process, the blending of social process with theory-building, produces a picture of the social world in line with the great tradition of George Herbert Mead, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel. Status, Power, and Legitimacy explores the relation between the scope of a theory and testing, applying, and developing it; the relation between abstract, general theories and empirical generalizations; and how to use an understanding of this relation to construct theories that are neither historically nor culturally bound. In the first part, Berger and Zelditch discuss strategies of theory construction, the development of abstract, general theories of social processes, and the different ways in which theories grow. Status processes are the focus of the second part, which includes: the formation of reward expectations; the role of status cues in interaction; the evolution of status expectations; and the application of status characteristics theory to male-female interaction. Lastly, the authors dissect power and legitimacy: the effect of expectations on power; the legitimation of power and its effect on the stability of authority; and legitimation under conditions of dissensus. This volume is a fine theoretical effort of great depth and breadth. Berger and Zelditch review the background of each paper, place the new concepts and principles introduced by each paper in context and examine subsequent research generated by the paper. They carve out new research areas in the social world of class, status, power, and authority. This volume will be of interest to those in the fields of sociology and, in particular, social theory.

Status, Power, and Legitimacy presents methodological, theoretical, and empirical essays by Joseph Berger and Morris Zelditch, Jr.--two of the leading contributors to the Stanford tradition in the study of micropro-cesses. This three-part volume brings together major contributions to the development of this tradition, in addition to a number of newly written essays published here for the first time. Berger and Zelditch integrate the essays and relate them to a larger body of theory and research as they explore the importance of a generalizing orientation in sociology. Their view of theory as flux and process, the blending of social process with theory-building, produces a picture of the social world in line with the great tradition of George Herbert Mead, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel. Status, Power, and Legitimacy explores the relation between the scope of a theory and testing, applying, and developing it; the relation between abstract, general theories and empirical generalizations; and how to use an understanding of this relation to construct theories that are neither historically nor culturally bound. In the first part, Berger and Zelditch discuss strategies of theory construction, the development of abstract, general theories of social processes, and the different ways in which theories grow. Status processes are the focus of the second part, which includes: the formation of reward expectations; the role of status cues in interaction; the evolution of status expectations; and the application of status characteristics theory to male-female interaction. Lastly, the authors dissect power and legitimacy: the effect of expectations on power; the legitimation of power and its effect on the stability of authority; and legitimation under conditions of dissensus. This volume is a fine theoretical effort of great depth and breadth. Berger and Zelditch review the background of each paper, place the new concepts and principles introduced by each paper in context and examine subsequent research generated by the paper. They carve out new research areas in the social world of class, status, power, and authority. This volume will be of interest to those in the fields of sociology and, in particular, social theory.

David Beetham's book explores the legitimation of power both as an issue in political and social science theory and in relation to the legitimacy of contemporary political systems including its breakdown in revolution. 'An admirable text which is far reaching in its scope and extraordinary in the clarity with which it covers a wide range of material... One xan have nothing but the highest regard for this volume.' - David Held, Times Higher Education Supplement;'Beetham has produced a study bound to revolutionize sociological thinking and teaching... Seminal and profoundly original... Beetham's book should become the obligitory reading for every teacher and practitioner of social science.' - Zygmunt Bauman, Sociology

Kynell-Hunt (English, Northern Michigan University) and Savage (English, Illinois State University) collect work by academics and practitioners in technical communications who seek to redefine the role of the technical communicator. Authors challenge contemporary notions on what it means to be a technical communicator and propose strategies in the

This book, first published in 2001, provides a general approach to the psychological basis of social inequality.

The stature of Max Weber (1864-1920) as an interdisciplinary, historical-comparative social scientist has grown steadily. But in view of Professor Murvar, his work has been misinterpreted with remarkable frequency. The aim of this book is to put right certain misconceptions and misinterpretations of Max Weber's intellectual and scientific legacy. This book challenges assumptions about various aspects of Weber's work; the issues of modernization, evolutionary theories, world systems, growth of liberty, typologies of power structures and legitimacies, among others. As well as presenting precise criticism and appreciation of the way Weber's work has been handled by his successors, this book also details the specific advancement he himself made within the theory of liberty, legitimacy and power. There is special emphasis on how much Weber's work in these core areas has survived the test of time. This book was first published in 1985.

Political theory has undergone a remarkable development in recent years. A systematic study of legitimacy within social science, the book starts as a critique of Weber and examines the link betwen a social-scientific approach and the various philosophical traditions of theorizing about legitimacy.

Although there is no international government, and no global police agency enforces the rules, nations obey international law. In this provocative study, Franck employs a broad range of historical, legal, sociological, anthropological, political, and philosophical modes of analysis to unravel the mystery of what makes states and people perceive rules as legitimate. Demonstrating that virtually all nations obey most rules nearly all of the time, Franck reveals that the more legitimate laws and institutions appear to be, the greater is their capacity for compliance. Distilling those factors which increase the perception of legitimacy, he shows how a community of rules can be fashioned from a system of sovereign states without creating a global leviathan.