David Sciulli – författare

Sciulli argues that the existing conceptual frameworks of political and social theory restrict both theorists and empirical researchers to a narrow definition of authoritarianism. This 1992 book focuses on government structure and fails to take account of forms of social control exercised outside the governmental sphere. Rather than define authoritarianism primarily by contrast to liberal democracy, Sciulli argues, we need to broaden our conception of authoritarianism to include 'social authoritarianism', referring to social control imposed by private organizations and institutions. Sciulli develops an alternative conceptual framework, which he calls the theory of societal constitutionalism. He explains how the theory can be used to assess whether social order in a society, whether democratic or authoritarian in political rule, is characterized by some degree of social authoritarianism. The book will be important reading for theorists in sociology, political science and legal studies.

Sciulli argues that the existing conceptual frameworks of political and social theory restrict both theorists and empirical researchers to a narrow definition of authoritarianism. This 1992 book focuses on government structure and fails to take account of forms of social control exercised outside the governmental sphere. Rather than define authoritarianism primarily by contrast to liberal democracy, Sciulli argues, we need to broaden our conception of authoritarianism to include 'social authoritarianism', referring to social control imposed by private organizations and institutions. Sciulli develops an alternative conceptual framework, which he calls the theory of societal constitutionalism. He explains how the theory can be used to assess whether social order in a society, whether democratic or authoritarian in political rule, is characterized by some degree of social authoritarianism. The book will be important reading for theorists in sociology, political science and legal studies.

The corporate mega-mergers of the 1980s and 1990s raise many troubling questions for social scientists and legal scholars. Do corporate globalism and the new, streamlined corporation help or hinder the development of civil society? Does the new power that increasingly deregulated businesses wield undermine the rights of citizens, or is this threat being exaggerated? Who has the authority to get things done in a corporation's name and who can be held legally responsible for a corporation's misbehavior? What role, if any, should the courts play in strengthening the rights of individuals who challenge the actions of big business?David Sciulli maps the legal limits of corporate power in our democratic society, and explores the role of the corporate judiciary in creating public policy. He argues that the judiciary must be more vigilant and act to curb corporate abuses. He demonstrates that when corporations exercise their private power in civil society, they are just as capable as the state of exercising it in ways that are dangerous, arbitrary, and challenge the basic institutional arrangements of society. Finally, Sciulli calls for sociologists to involve themselves more deeply in issues of corporate governance and commit their discipline to influencing the decisions of the courts.

Contributors to this volume respond to the normative capsule framing economic behaviour that Amitai Etzioni has explored. The text also looks at his works on organisations, public policy, socio-economics and communitarianism.

Contributors to this volume respond to the normative capsule framing economic behaviour that Amitai Etzioni has explored. The text also looks at his works on organisations, public policy, socio-economics and communitarianism.

Professions are central to any political sociology of major associations, organizations and venues in civil society underpinning democracy; they are not a subset of livelihoods in a mundane sociology of work and occupations. Professions in Civil Society and the State is at once elegant and startling in its directness and the sheer scope of its implications for future comparative research and theory. Not since Talcott Parsons during the early 1970s has any sociologist (or political scientist) pursued this line of inquiry. Sciulli’s theoretical approach differs fundamentally from Parsons’ and rests on a breadth of historical and cross-national support that always eluded him. The sociology of professions has come full circle, leaving behind Parsons, his critics, and two generations of received wisdom.

Among all sociologists in the world born after 1900, Amitai Etzioni ranks ninth in total citations. One reason for this is his thousands of publications span theory, organizations, international politics, democratic politics, socio-economics and communitarianism, and they have been adopted in undergraduate coursework within each of these areas. Written for social theorists as well as general readers (including undergraduates) David Sciulli's book is the first to explain not only how but also why Amitai Etzioni’s publications evolved from his dissertation to Active Society and Socio-Economics to Communitarianism.