Contemporary political sociology involves much more than the study of the relations between state and society . Where a typical research question in political sociology might have been: "Why do so few American citizens choose to vote?" or even, "What difference does it make if women get elected?" political sociologists also now ask: "How is the body a site of power?" , "How are emotions relevant to global poverty?" or "What difference does knowledge make to democracy?"

The opening up of political sociology does not mean that old topics have been discarded.