This collection of readings provides a compelling exploration of what arguably remains the single most important problem in sociological theory: the problem of social order. Linking classical texts on social order with contemporary theoretical extensions and recent empirical research, Theories of Social Order emphasizes the role of causal mechanisms in explanations of real-world phenomena.

Readings have been selected based on their relevance to classical theoretical issues and are accessible to a non-technical audience. Editorial introductions to each section discuss the causal mechanisms in each theory and make explicit links between the classical and the modern texts. This reader is specifically designed for Social Theory and Social Analysis courses.

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• This volume deals with one substantive issue—the problem of social order. Classical and contemporary readings are analyzed in terms of their ability to address this issue, and to describe causal relations and mechanisms.
• It emphasizes analysis and empirical validation of different social theories rather than presenting a historical survey or hermeneutic interpretation.
• Makes macro-micro linkages. Incorporating causal analysis into a theory usually involves explaining events occurring at one level of analysis (such as a group or society) by referring to events and processes occurring at a lower level (such as individuals).
• The aim is to reinstate the relevance of sociological theory. This new approach makes theory relevant for students’ lives, for research, and for social policy
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Michael Hechter is Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington. His publications include, Containing Nationalism (OUP, 2001), Internal Colonialism (UC Press, 1975), selected as one of Best Books of the Century by International Sociological Association; Principles of Group Solidarity (UC Press, 1987). He has served on the editorial board of the American Journal of Sociology, among others, and has been elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Christine Horne is Associate Professor of Sociology at Washington State University. Her research focuses on social norms – in particular their emergence and enforcement. Her recent work has appeared in journals including Social Forces, Social Psychology Quarterly, Sociological Theory, and European Sociological Review.

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"This is the best reader ever assembled, with judiciously chosen excerpts from classic theory pieces, illustrative empirical applications, and elegant commentaries that bring out the causal mechanisms deployed in these selections. As proponents of the "lean and spare" school of sociology, Hechter and Horne strip sociology down to its unit ideas about the sources of social order, forcing students to engage with these ideas in their most elementary form. The end result: a vision of theory as a toolbox of explanatory mechanisms that provides the perfect antidote to theory conceived as a mind-numbing parade of theorists or mere exegesis and interpretation."

"The hardest part of teaching social theory is to get students to move from discursive commentaries to analytic thinking. In Theories of Social Order we finally have a teaching text that meets this need. The selections provide broad exposure to classic and contemporary ideas, and the editors' lucid commentaries clarify the varieties of explanatory strategies. This is a book for those who value intellectual clarity and logical coherence, and who see theory as a form of analytic thinking that advances only through confrontation with evidence."

"I applaud the book as a pioneering and important attempt to overcome the temptation to teach social theory as a set of ideas relating only to "modern society" in its historical emergence in the West -- what I call the "world-historical" orientation to theory in sociology in which "theory" means only "conceptual framework" that helps us understand world-significant historical phenomena, as in Weber and Giddens, among others. By contrast, the strong emphasis on explanation and the steady focus on explanatory variants and their strengths and weaknesses throughout the text is a truly significant departure from that more usual approach."

"I've now used the textbook for two semesters, and it has gone very well. Basically, the biggest selling points of the textbook are the way in which the chapters are organized around theoretical themes rather than authors or schools of thought, as well as the clear introductory essays that precede each major part of the book. The uses of themes forces students to think about theories analytically and comparatively in a way that would not happen if each theoretical approach was presented separately. The introductory essays do a great job of pointing out the basic issues at stake for each view of social order, and how different theories agree or disagree with one another. Overall, I find that students tend to respond this much more creatively and are much less likely to engage in rote memorization than with a conventional book."

"Theories of Social Order is perfect for the first-time theory teacher. Undergraduates tend to find theory abstract, confusing, and of no real use; therefore, most students never move beyond mere memorization and regurgitation of concepts. However, the book's well-organized structure and intercalary chapters allow instructors to focus instead on higher-order cognitions, such as analysis and application. By ‘using’ classical and contemporary theories to explain a phenomenon, students learn not only the content of the theories but more importantly what theories are and what they do."