An original relational sociology grounded in critical realism

Pierpaolo Donati

pp. 431-456

in: François Dépelteau (ed), The Palgrave handbook of relational sociology, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

Abstract

This chapter presents an original version of relational sociology (critical realist relational sociology, or CRRS), developed beginning in 1983, which is also called "relational theory of society". It shares with the other relational sociologies the idea of avoiding both methodological individualism and holism. The main differences lie in the way social relations are defined, the kind of reality that is attributed to them, how they configure social formations, and the ways in which they are generated (emergence) and changed (morphogenesis). In particular, this approach is suitable to understanding how the morphogenesis of society comes about through social relations, which are the connectors that mediate between agency and social structure. The generative mechanisms that feed social change reside in the dynamics of the networks of social relations that alter the social molecule constituting structures already in place. The scope of CRRS is threefold. Theoretically, it can orient social research toward unseen and/or immaterial realities. Empirically, it can show how new social forms are created, changed, or destroyed depending on different processes of valorization or devalorization of social relations. Finally, it can help to design and implement social policies and welfare services based on networking interventions.