Skip to main content

Sage Social Science Thesaurus

Search from vocabulary

Content language

Concept information

social science subjects > sociology > social theory > comparative and historical theory > historical and comparative theory
social science subjects > sociology > social theory > macrosociological theories > historical and comparative theory
social science subjects > sociology > social theory > politics and government > historical and comparative theory
social science subjects > sociology > social theory > schools and theoretical approaches > historical and comparative theory

Preferred term

historical and comparative theory  

Definition

  • Historical and comparative theory seeks to identify patterns and causal relationships in long-term social processes, such as the rise of democracy, industrialization, the expansion of the working class, the development of welfare states, or national revolutions.Patterns and relationships are sought and tested through the detailed study of historical narratives and by examining long-run data describing economic, social, political, cultural, demographic, or other social features over time. Historical and comparative theory thus differs from deductive social theory, which draws conclusions from formal models of social behavior. [Source: Encyclopedia of Social Theory; Historical and Comparative Theory]

Broader concept

Belongs to group

URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/historical_and_comparative_theory

Download this concept:

RDF/XML TURTLE JSON-LD