La sociologie contemporaine vue du Sud-Ouest Européen : un regard portugais

The late academic institutionalization of sociology in Portugal has not prevented the marking of this short story by a trajectory of success demonstrated by an increasing visibility of sociologists in the Portuguese society over the past thirty years. Nevertheless, Portuguese sociology is not safe from degenerative processes that some colleagues have highlighted here, in the debate in SociologieS, suggesting that the conditions which led to a crisis in contemporary sociology manifests itself in several European countries or even beyond Europe. It then becomes very interesting and very relevant to know whether in countries with a tradition rather close to applied sociology, the manifestations of this crisis are also present and with the same intensity. Beyond favorable socio-political conditions that are the result of the revolutionary process and the democratization of the country that followed in 1974, and after, the way the sociological field was set up explain greatly its positive development. But, although the recognition of sociology is undeniable, for now, in adverse economic circumstances and in a context of reinforced scientific competition, uncertainty is growing and it would be foolish not to seize the opportunity to develop and updated reflection on sociology and the dilemmas it faces. We think of, in particular, the younger generations whose academic and occupational trajectories are becoming more diverse on a background of instability. Our contribution to this reflection will focus specifically on the role of scientific and professional associations, from the experience of the Portuguese Association of Sociology (APS), both nationally and internationally, in a logic of mutual knowledge with sociology practiced in other countries.