Structuration and Late Modernity

While some thinkers have embraced postmodernism and argued that we have moved beyond the modern era, others have argued that we remain within modernity — albeit a transformed or radicalised version of it. The most important figures in this debate are Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck, whose work on structuration theory, late modernity, and risk society offers a sophisticated alternative to both traditional structural theories and postmodernism. For AQA A-Level Sociology, understanding these thinkers is essential for the theory section and for evaluating the structure-agency debate.

Key Definition: Late modernity (also called reflexive modernisation or high modernity) is the idea that contemporary society represents not a break with modernity (as postmodernists claim) but a continuation and intensification of modern processes, particularly individualisation, globalisation, and reflexivity.

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Anthony Giddens (1938–): Structuration Theory

Giddens developed structuration theory as an attempt to overcome the traditional divide between structure and agency in sociological thought. Rather than choosing between structural theories (which see individuals as shaped by external forces) and action theories (which emphasise individual meaning and choice), Giddens argued that structure and agency are two sides of the same coin.

The Duality of Structure