"Transforming politics is the theme that runs through the contributions to this collection. The relationships between political transformation, power and resistance are of recurrent importance in all societies and have a special relevance within contemporary sociological analysis. The social divisions and political questions that run through this book reflect the major social changes since the 1970s.

These changes show the widening intellectual and social impact of social movements and this is reflected in this collection where questions of class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and the environment loom large.".

"This volume examines the transformation of political action at the levels of identity, mobilisation, and the impact of social movements on the state. There is particular emphasis on the ways in which the British state has incorporated and 'tamed' certain radical agendas for social change. The final contributions to the book consider the broader intellectual debates stimulated by recent political movements."--BOOK JACKET.