Sociopolitics: Political Development in Postmodern Societies

Joseph Garcea is a professor of political Studies at the University of
Saskatchewan.

“Sociopolitics” in this book refers to “wider social concern among
people [that] creates better citizenship and brings political
involvement much closer to its classical roots, which were sadly lost in
the mass societies.” According to the author, “this particular type
of politics is [currently] emerging in the developed world and may be
the vanguard of the social order in the next century.”

Each of the book’s three main sections deals with one of three
aspects of sociopolitics. Section 1 (“The Infosociety”) examines the
changes in social and power relationships that are being produced by new
information technologies. Section 2 (“Ecosociety”) looks at the
increased concern for the national environment, and at efforts to
convert consumer societies into conserver societies. Section 3
(“Technosociety”) examines how technology can improve democratic
institutions by facilitating participatory democracy. The book’s
individual chapters were originally written as reports for various
national and international governmental and nongovernmental
organizations. Sociopolitics will appeal to postmodernists,
technologists, ecologists, and populists, especially those who have an
insatiable appetite for jargon.