Political sociology looks at how major social trends can affect the political
process, as well as exploring how various social forces work together to change
political policies. Political sociologists apply several theories to substantive
issues. Three major theoretical frameworks are pluralism, elite or managerial
theory and class analysis which overlaps with Marxist analysis. Pluralism saw
politics primarily as a contest among competing interest groups. Elite or
managerial theory is sometimes called a state-centered approach.