The Sociology of Loyalty [Paperback]

Specifically, this book explains loyalties: why we have them and what they do for us and society. It also places loyalty into the study of emotions such as trust and shame. By drawing on current theories and current and historical examples this book clearly establishes the components of loyalty and its place with in the theories of emotion. Additionally it develops the theoretical understanding of emotions by taking a previously ignored  yet highly topical  emotion and placing it within the theoretical perspective.

A well-developed appreciation of emotions is absolutely essential for sociology because no action can occur in a society without emotional involvement. Jack Barbalet (2002:2) Why we engage in what we do is a consuming passion of our existence. Motivations are searched for, discussed, lamented and sometimes even wished away. A range of labels, descriptors, markers, terms, signs and symbols are invoked to explicate the why. This is particularly the case with the cluster of e- tion terms that are employed to explain our passions. Riven with anger, driven insane by jealousy, wracked with guilt, leaden with sorrow, twitching with an- ety, tormented by angstthese all speak to the way passion and action are linked or, in other words, how our emotions sign post the world. It is intriguing that we have such a range of emotional states, feelings and passions, that have, to a large extent, gone un-theorised. This is especially the case with specific, individual emotions and their role in social life. While some of the emotions or passions have been the subject of academic inquiry and debate, such as shame (Braithwaite, 1989), love (Cancian, 1987) or trust (Misztal, 1996), one, in particular, has a curious absence: loyalty. If, as Barbalet (2002:2) posits, emotions are central to social action, then the emotions offer a window into the why and how of social interaction.Loyalty and Theories of Emotion.- Elements of Loyalty.- Family Loyalty.- Natiol“5