Historical sociology, international relations and connected histories

This article addresses three recent developments in historical sociology: (1) neo-Weberian historical sociology within International Relations; (2) the 'civilizational analysis' approach utilized by scholars of 'multiple modernities'; and (3) the 'third wave' cultural turn in US historical sociology. These developments are responses to problems identified within earlier forms of historical sociology, but it is suggested each fails to resolve them precisely because each remains contained within the methodological framework of historical sociology as initially conceived. It is argued that their common problem lies in the utilization of 'ideal types' as the basis for sociohistorical analysis. This necessarily has the effect of abstracting a set of particular relations from their wider connections and has the further effect of suggesting sui generis endogenous processes as integral to these relations. In this way, each of the three developments continues the Eurocentrism typical of earlier approaches. The article concludes with a call for 'connected histories' to provide a more adequate methodological and substantive basis for an historical sociology appropriate to calls for a properly global historical sociology

Identity politics and the need for a ‘tomorrow’

Recent years have witnessed a general backlash against identity politics, both in the academy and the public sphere. This paper recognises the problems in identity politics as arising from an apparent difficulty in conceptualising identity separately from notions of fixity and exclusion. It argues that politicised identities could, instead, be premised upon an explicit affirmation of the provisionality of political identity that is oriented to a “tomorrow “ in which the identity will no longer be required

Perceptions, experiences and accommodations of Britishness; an exploration of national identity amongst young British Sikhs and Hindus in London

This paper is centred on exploring how young people from Sikh and Hindu backgrounds, who are British born and living in the London area understand Britishness. By utilising transcripted interviews from eighty respondents, this research uncovers and presents the core perceptions and understandings that these young people have about British national identity and the ways in which it is accommodated (or not) alongside other important sources of belonging in their lives. This paper presents the diverse ways in which these young people understand Britishness. In particular, ‘thick' and ‘thin’ conceptualisations of Britishness and the role of family structures in shaping belonging are examined. It is suggested that any discussion of how ethnic minorities relate to national identity requires a better understanding of the diverse ways in which this form of identity is understood and accommodated. This, in turn, will encourage a more inclusive and productive debate on the role of national identity in multi-cultural Britain. This is particularly salient in a post-Brexit Britain where the themes of nationality and belonging have been brought into the socio-political fore once more, and newer immigrants are facing the challenges of feeling included and becoming British

Postcolonial reflections on sociology

This contribution addresses the impact of postcolonial critiques on sociology by drawing parallels with the emergence of feminism and queer theory within the academy. These critiques were facilitated by the expansion of public higher education over the last five decades and the article also addresses the implications of the privatisation and marketization of the university on the processes of knowledge production

Interview with Manmit Bhambra: “young people throughout Europe have a more liberal, more open and inclusive sense of identity”

In the wake of global protests against racism and police brutality, Europeans have been called to address racial injustice across the continent. In an interview with EUROPP’s Managing Editor, Manmit Bhambra discusses what it means to be European in today’s Europe, and the crucial role of young people in shaping an anti-racist future

Connected Sociologies

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. This book outlines what theory for a global age might look like, positing an agenda for consideration, contestation and discussion, and a framework for the research-led volumes that follow in the series. Gurminder K. Bhambra takes up the classical concerns of sociology and social theory and shows how they can be rethought through an engagement with postcolonial studies and decoloniality, two of the most distinctive critical approaches of the past decades

Why are the white working classes still being held responsible for Brexit and Trump?

Why do we persist in holding the 'white working class' accountable for Brexit and Donald Trump's win, when the evidence suggests it was the backing of the white middle classes that secured them? Gurminder K Bhambra (University of Sussex) argues that a pervasive 'methodological whiteness' has distorted social scientific accounts of both these elections. It has enabled commentators to offer economic disadvantage as an explanation ..

The current crisis of Europe: refugees, colonialism, and the limits of cosmopolitanism

‘Cosmopolitan Europe’, the normative commitment that is widely understood to undergird the project of the European Union, is under threat as never before. This is manifest perhaps most prominently in Europe’s collective failure to respond to the crisis for refugees. As people flee war and destruction, we, in Europe, debate whether now is the time to give up on our human rights commitments. France is under a state of emergency and the UK in the process of withdrawing from the European Union and its associated institutions (including the European Convention on Human Rights). Voices have been raised against the burdens, financial and social, placed upon us by those we see as Other, with few public voices calling for Europe to remember its traditions of hospitality and stated commitments to human rights. In this article, I discuss the growing distance between the claims and practices of European cosmopolitanism, its roots in our shared colonial past, and the implications for the future