Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
Functionalism (and its structural-functional variant) understands society as a structured system of functionally interconnected elements that contribute to the maintenance of social order. Institutions, roles, and norms are not primarily explained by individual motives or situational meanings, but by the functions they fulfill for stability, integration, and the coordination of action. At the center lies
Classical sociology establishes the central axes of tension in modern social theory. In response to industrialization, capitalism, political revolution, and secularization, the 19th and early 20th centuries produced different answers to a fundamental question: How is social order possible under the conditions of modernity? Sociology emerges as the science of a society that can no
Sociological theories do not primarily differ in their subject matter, but in how they respond to fundamental problems of social order. They address, in different ways, how society is possible, how stability is maintained, how power operates—and what role individuals play within these processes. At the core are recurring axes of tension: Structure vs. agency
With the concept of “liquid modernity”, Zygmunt Bauman offers a striking diagnosis of contemporary society: our world, he argues, has lost its solid forms. What used to be stable and predictable—work, relationships, life paths—is now flexible, uncertain, and in constant flux. Modernity has become liquid: structures dissolve, reference points vanish, and individuals are increasingly left
Risk Society (1986) by Ulrich Beck laid the foundation for a sociology of modernity that no longer focuses primarily on class and production relations but on socially produced risks. The book quickly became a classic in the social sciences and has significantly shaped debates on globalization, individualization, and ecological crises. What is a Risk Society?
Social Systems, published in 1984, marks Niklas Luhmann’s foundational contribution to his extensive sociological theory of society. The book represents a shift from an action-theoretical systems approach to an autopoietic theory of social systems centered on communication. Luhmann’s theory is among the most complex yet influential models of modern sociology—a key work that challenges existing