+44 330 818 7254This article highlights Lipset's divergent reception in both fields: While Lipset becomes more well-known in political science, his popularity in sociology only lasts a short time. This paper reconstructs the ideas that have received the most attention in both fields since the 1950s in order to better comprehend these distinct legacies. It also identifies key themes in Lipset's work. Lipset's demise in sociology can be explained by his declining influence on studies of social stratification and the fact those three major contributions Political Man, Party Systems and Voter Alignment, and Some Social Requisites of Democracy were never included in the field's canon. On the other hand, Lipset's work on democracy has established a solid foundation in political science, and his ground-breaking "cleavage theory" is still relevant to political scientists.
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