HSE Publishing House

The monograph reviews and systematizes available empirical studies of power dynamics in urban communities, from the mid-20th century to the present day when it has become one of the most advanced branches of the sociology of power. It discusses some of the traditional explanations on the distribution of political power in cities; cognitive models that have been used in empirical studies of power, including their methodological, theoretical and conceptual foundations; polemics among competing schools of thought in their understanding of power dynamics; research findings and their implications; specific issues and challenges of studying political power in other social and political contexts; the heuristic potential of modern research methods and their applicability to studying political power in contemporary Russian society.