A substantially revised and completely updated new edition of a work in political sociology widely used as a course text and translated into nine languages. The book deals with a broad range of questions concerning the organization and exercise of political power: democracy and autocracy, the politics of social classes, social movements and political parties, the diverse historical types of political system, political change and conflict, nationalism and the formation of new nations and aspects of global politics in the late 20th century. Among the many issues examined that are relevant to recent events are the idea of citizenship, the relation between society and the state, the nature of totalitarianism, the resurgence of nationalism in some regions of the world and on the other hand, the development of supra-national organizations and institutions (from multi-national corporations to the EC). This work stands as a critical guide to fundamental ideas and controversies in modern political thought and is a text intended for students of sociology, politics, political theory and political philosophy.