Conceptions of Sociology in Contemporary Constitutional Sociology

Abstract

The goal of this article is to reflect on the conceptions of sociology that underpin some of the most interesting perspectives in what can be referred to contemporary constitutional sociology. Although it is not a unified program, its general orientation can be defined as an attempt to enquiry into the transformation of processes and structures with constitutional reach in contemporary modernity. The article begins by discussing the disciplinary claim that in my view is central to contemporary constitutional sociology and then compares it with the main aspects of the idea of philosophical sociology on which this author has been working in the past few years. I then discuss three main aspects that are key for both approaches: the problem of methodological nationalism, the foundation of their claim to universalism and, finally, the tension between descriptive and normative claims.