A major re-examination of political sociology is long overdue, and this book is a most welcome addition to field of study that is generally seen as one of sociology's cul-de-sacs. This state of affairs has come about in no small part because of political sociology's lack of clearly defined borders as a sub-discipline. It is also the product of the fact that until recently political sociology was thought to be limited to the study of voting patterns, or the character of state and non-state political institutions and their relationship to the rest of society. Moreover, political sociology, perhaps more so than other branches of the discipline, has been hamstrung by sociology's insistence in taking the nation-state as its "natural" object of study. This book successfully breaks out of this mould and charts out a new area for political sociology made possible by the "postmodern turn" in social and cultural thought. Nash's political sociology is explicitly concerned with "cultural politics" and the "contestation and transformation of social identities and structures" (p. 3). Her theoretical reference points are post-structuralist and post-Marxist thought and upon this she constructs a plausible model of cultural politics and its importance in transforming contemporary societies. In addition, the importance of globalization is acknowledged and accorded central place in re-thinking power and politics. Indeed, this concern forms the central investigative strand in the book: the re-configuration of power and politics in contemporary societies and the tools that political sociology can put at our disposal in order to understand them.

The designation "new political sociology" is a curious one, and Nash offers little justification for describing her approach in this way. What is new about it would appear to be the embrace of the "postmodern turn", but there is very little new or recent material incorporated into the discussion of social movements in Chapter 3, for example. The retention of the state-civil society distinction which appears at various points in the book points to the survival of some very old political sociology thinking. Her discussion of globalization, for example, is undermined by the insistence on talking about "global civil society" and an "internationalization of the state". Similarly, the debate on the relationship between the state and society under conditions of European integration is much richer and more complex than is allowed for here. In terms of the theoretical perspectives which inform the work post-Marxist and post-structuralist writers (many of them non-sociologists) are given prominent treatment, while key sociological theorists such as Robertson and Albrow are under-represented in the discussion on globalization. Such a selection can be explained by the personal choices of the author. What is more difficult to understand, however, is the absence of any consideration of the work of the governmentality theorists who could surely make a major contribution to the debates on the nature of the state, the relationship between power and politics, and the changing relationships between the individual, state and society. Contemporary political sociology is an important book which deserves a wide readership. It covers many areas of interest to sociologists and non-sociologists alike, and brings important new insights to bear on key sociological issues. It offers a thorough examination of the theories which it utilizes and demonstrates their application to pertinent social and political issues. If it has one main weakness it is that in seeking to codify a "new political sociology" it may work to marginalise equally important strands of political and sociological thinking to which it does not direct its attention.

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