Abstract
Public sociology, civil society, and democratic governance may not be wolves in sheep’s clothing—lacking malicious intent—but at the same time they are neither benign nor free of duplicity, according to political sociologist and critical social theorist Patricia Mooney Nickel. In Public Sociology and Civil Society, Nickel works to unmask these phrases, arguing that although such concepts are presented as radical transformations of power relations, they instead serve to reinforce the status quo. Though a slim text, the scholarship is by no means light reading.
Utilizing public sociology as an entry point into her examination of “the politics of academic disciplines, knowledge, and discourse,” Nickel begins by critiquing sociologist and primary champion Michael Burawoy’s conception and popularization of the discipline. Nickel draws and builds upon the works of Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Michel Foucault, and Ben Agger among others. In Part II, she investigates civil society and its relationship to governing, first placing the phrase within its historical context and then as institutionalized nongovermental organizations (NGOs). In the latter portion of this part, she specifically targets the claims of Lester Salamon and his work at the Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, which has helped legitimize NGOs as indicators of democracy; as well as the extensive works of Eva Sørensen and Jacob Torfing on network and postliberal governance.
Finally, in Part III Nickel shows that the practices of public sociology, civil society, and neoliberal network governance preserve power relations rather than alter them, specifically examining the intersection of these in the concepts of “public sociology for human rights,” or as Nickel reveals—public sociology for human rights according to traditional development and market rites.
Less accessible to those outside the discipline, despite the fact that the insights are widely applicable, Public Sociology and Civil Society would do well as literature for graduate level coursework in sociology or public affairs, and for those scholars particularly interested in critical theory and power relations as reinforced by the practices of governing through NGOs and knowledge production.