What is the political sociology of democratization? Political scientists and sociologists alike have long theorized about democratic transitions, though their focus has changed significantly over time. Although early models of democracy and democratization were largely based upon the experiences of today’s advanced industrialized nations, more recent frameworks offer an updated paradigm to account for the circumstances late democratizers face. Factors that were once considered irrelevant to democratization are now deemed part and parcel of the literature, including issues of power, inequality, history, state capacity, and globalization. A political sociology of democratization, then, is the study of the inherently political process of regime change that employs a sociological analysis of the circumstances and actors that surround and shape transitions, such as those mentioned above.