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Charles Tilly’s historical sociology: research evolution and methodological orientations

stmm. 2025 (3): 103–123

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2025.03.103

Full text: https://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2025-3/7.pdf

VIKTOR STEPANENKO, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Chief Research Fellow at the Department of History and Theory of Sociology, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal «Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing» (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

vikstepa@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3623-0057

The article examines the research evolution and methodological approaches of Charles Tilly’s historical sociology. It highlights that a defining feature of the scholar’s methodology is innovative research approaches, which can be characterized as theoretical synthesis. Theoretical synthesis is understood as the integration of diverse research perspectives, including disciplinary ones, theoretical approaches, concepts, or paradigms, to develop conceptual frameworks for explaining complex social phenomena and processes. It is argued that, in the case of Charles Tilly, theoretical synthesis was arguably the most significant hallmark of his research evolution and innovative methodology. This involves not only the integration of sociological approaches (micro- and macro-, agency and structure, continuity and relationality) but also the combination — or rather the transcendence — of conventional disciplinary boundaries across sociology, history, political science, economics, urban studies, and cultural studies. The relevance of Tilly’s theoretical contributions and integrative approaches in the Ukrainian context is emphasized, particularly during Ukraine’s defensive war against external military aggression. The interplay and interaction in the Ukrainian case of complex processes such as nation- and state-building, resistance and mobilization in the war for state independence, civic protest mobilizations, and democratization processes in all their complexity, especially in the context of war, represent precisely the thematic and problematic fields on which Charles Tilly focused his research attention.

Keywords: Charles Tilly, historical sociology, sociological theory, theoretical synthesis, interdisciplinarity, social processes

References:

  1. Calhoun, C., Koller, A. (2009). Charles Tilly's interdisciplinary influence. Swiss Political Science Review, 15(2), 333-339. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1662-6370.2009.tb00133.x

  2. Castañeda, E., Schneider, C.L. (Eds.). (2017). Collective Violence, Contentious Politics, and Social Change. A Charles Tilly Reader. New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315205021

  3. Fukuyama, F. (2004). State-Building. Governance and World Order in the 21-st Century. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

  4. Goldstone, J.A. (2010). From structure to agency to process: The evolution of Charles Tilly's theories of social action as reflected in his analyses of contentious politics. The American Sociologist, 41(4), 358-367. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40983485 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-010-9106-x

  5. Kutuiev, P.V. (2017). Modernity/ies: Histories, Theories and Practices. [In Ukrainian]. Odesa: Helvetyka.

  6. Kutuiev, P.V., Yakubin, O.L., Herchanivskyi, D.L. (2015). The development-promoting state: A historical-sociological introduction to the issue. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 4, 32-40.

  7. Landes, D., C. Tilly. (Eds.). (1971). History as Social Science. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

  8. McAdam, D., Tarrow, S., Tilly, C. (2001). Dynamics of Contention. New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511805431

  9. Stepanenko, V. (2011). De-democratization in Ukraine in the Context of Liberal Democracy's Modern Dilemmas. Agora. Rethinking Democracy: Ukraine and the Global Context, 10, 5-13. https://political-studies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Agora-10_2011.pdf

  10. Tarrow, S. (2018). The Contributions of Charles Tilly to the Social Sciences. Contemporary Sociology, 47(5), 513-524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094306118792214

  11. Tarrow, S. (2018). The Contributions of Charles Tilly to the Social Sciences. Contemporary Sociology, 47(5), 513-524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094306118792214

  12. The survey by NDI. (2024). Despite the burden of war, Ukrainians' commitment to inclusive democracy remains strong. [In Ukainian]. Reterieved from: https://www.kiis.com.ua/?lang=ukr&cat=reports&id=1422&page=1

  13. Tilly, C. (1964). The Vendée. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  14. Tilly, C. (1975). Reflections on the history of European state-making. In: C. Tilly (Ed.), The Formation of National States in Western Europe (pp. 15-115). Princeton University Press.

  15. Tilly, C. (1978). From Mobilization to Revolution. New York: McGraw-Hill.

  16. Tilly, C. (1981). As Sociology Meets History. Series: Studies in Social Discontinuity. New York: Academic Press

  17. Tilly, C. (1983). Speaking Your mind without elections, surveys, or social movements. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 47(4), 461-78. https://doi.org/10.1086/268805

  18. Tilly, C. (1984). Big Structures, Large Processes, Huge Comparisons. New York: Russel Sage Foundation.

  19. Tilly, C. (1990). Coercion, capital, and European states, AD 990-1990. Basil Blackwell.

  20. Tilly, C. (1995). Popular Contention in Great Britain, 1758-1834. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  21. Tilly, C. (1997). Democracy is a lake. In: C. Tilly, Roads from past to future (pp. 193-216). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

  22. Tilly, C. (1998). Durable Inequality (1st ed.). University of California Press. Retrieved from: https://www.perlego.com/book/552706/durable-inequality-pdf https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520924222

  23. Tilly, C. (2002). Stories, Identities and Political Change. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

  24. Tilly, C. (2005). Trust and rule. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511618185

  25. Tilly, C. (2006). Regimes and Repertoires. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226803531.001.0001

  26. Tilly, C. (2007). Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511804922

  27. Tilly, C. (2007). State extraction and democracy. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 4, 38-49.

  28. Tilly, C. (2008а). Contentious Performances. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511804366

  29. Tilly, C. (2008b). Explaining Social Processes. Boulder: Paradigm.

  30. Tilly, C., Tarrow, S. (2006). Contentious Politics. Boulder: Paradigm.

  31. van der Linden, M. (2009). Charles Tilly's historical sociology. International Review of Social History, 54(2), 237-274. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859009000662

Received 09.06.2025

Charles Tilly’s historical sociology: research evolution and methodological orientations

stmm. 2025 (3): 103–123

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2025.03.103

Full text: https://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2025-3/7.pdf

VIKTOR STEPANENKO, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Chief Research Fellow at the Department of History and Theory of Sociology, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal «Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing» (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

vikstepa@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3623-0057

The article examines the research evolution and methodological approaches of Charles Tilly’s historical sociology. It highlights that a defining feature of the scholar’s methodology is innovative research approaches, which can be characterized as theoretical synthesis. Theoretical synthesis is understood as the integration of diverse research perspectives, including disciplinary ones, theoretical approaches, concepts, or paradigms, to develop conceptual frameworks for explaining complex social phenomena and processes. It is argued that, in the case of Charles Tilly, theoretical synthesis was arguably the most significant hallmark of his research evolution and innovative methodology. This involves not only the integration of sociological approaches (micro- and macro-, agency and structure, continuity and relationality) but also the combination — or rather the transcendence — of conventional disciplinary boundaries across sociology, history, political science, economics, urban studies, and cultural studies. The relevance of Tilly’s theoretical contributions and integrative approaches in the Ukrainian context is emphasized, particularly during Ukraine’s defensive war against external military aggression. The interplay and interaction in the Ukrainian case of complex processes such as nation- and state-building, resistance and mobilization in the war for state independence, civic protest mobilizations, and democratization processes in all their complexity, especially in the context of war, represent precisely the thematic and problematic fields on which Charles Tilly focused his research attention.

Keywords: Charles Tilly, historical sociology, sociological theory, theoretical synthesis, interdisciplinarity, social processes

References:

  1. Calhoun, C., Koller, A. (2009). Charles Tilly's interdisciplinary influence. Swiss Political Science Review, 15(2), 333-339. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1662-6370.2009.tb00133.x

  2. Castañeda, E., Schneider, C.L. (Eds.). (2017). Collective Violence, Contentious Politics, and Social Change. A Charles Tilly Reader. New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315205021

  3. Fukuyama, F. (2004). State-Building. Governance and World Order in the 21-st Century. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

  4. Goldstone, J.A. (2010). From structure to agency to process: The evolution of Charles Tilly's theories of social action as reflected in his analyses of contentious politics. The American Sociologist, 41(4), 358-367. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40983485 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-010-9106-x

  5. Kutuiev, P.V. (2017). Modernity/ies: Histories, Theories and Practices. [In Ukrainian]. Odesa: Helvetyka.

  6. Kutuiev, P.V., Yakubin, O.L., Herchanivskyi, D.L. (2015). The development-promoting state: A historical-sociological introduction to the issue. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 4, 32-40.

  7. Landes, D., C. Tilly. (Eds.). (1971). History as Social Science. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

  8. McAdam, D., Tarrow, S., Tilly, C. (2001). Dynamics of Contention. New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511805431

  9. Stepanenko, V. (2011). De-democratization in Ukraine in the Context of Liberal Democracy's Modern Dilemmas. Agora. Rethinking Democracy: Ukraine and the Global Context, 10, 5-13. https://political-studies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Agora-10_2011.pdf

  10. Tarrow, S. (2018). The Contributions of Charles Tilly to the Social Sciences. Contemporary Sociology, 47(5), 513-524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094306118792214

  11. Tarrow, S. (2018). The Contributions of Charles Tilly to the Social Sciences. Contemporary Sociology, 47(5), 513-524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094306118792214

  12. The survey by NDI. (2024). Despite the burden of war, Ukrainians' commitment to inclusive democracy remains strong. [In Ukainian]. Reterieved from: https://www.kiis.com.ua/?lang=ukr&cat=reports&id=1422&page=1

  13. Tilly, C. (1964). The Vendée. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  14. Tilly, C. (1975). Reflections on the history of European state-making. In: C. Tilly (Ed.), The Formation of National States in Western Europe (pp. 15-115). Princeton University Press.

  15. Tilly, C. (1978). From Mobilization to Revolution. New York: McGraw-Hill.

  16. Tilly, C. (1981). As Sociology Meets History. Series: Studies in Social Discontinuity. New York: Academic Press

  17. Tilly, C. (1983). Speaking Your mind without elections, surveys, or social movements. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 47(4), 461-78. https://doi.org/10.1086/268805

  18. Tilly, C. (1984). Big Structures, Large Processes, Huge Comparisons. New York: Russel Sage Foundation.

  19. Tilly, C. (1990). Coercion, capital, and European states, AD 990-1990. Basil Blackwell.

  20. Tilly, C. (1995). Popular Contention in Great Britain, 1758-1834. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  21. Tilly, C. (1997). Democracy is a lake. In: C. Tilly, Roads from past to future (pp. 193-216). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

  22. Tilly, C. (1998). Durable Inequality (1st ed.). University of California Press. Retrieved from: https://www.perlego.com/book/552706/durable-inequality-pdf https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520924222

  23. Tilly, C. (2002). Stories, Identities and Political Change. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

  24. Tilly, C. (2005). Trust and rule. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511618185

  25. Tilly, C. (2006). Regimes and Repertoires. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226803531.001.0001

  26. Tilly, C. (2007). Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511804922

  27. Tilly, C. (2007). State extraction and democracy. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 4, 38-49.

  28. Tilly, C. (2008а). Contentious Performances. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511804366

  29. Tilly, C. (2008b). Explaining Social Processes. Boulder: Paradigm.

  30. Tilly, C., Tarrow, S. (2006). Contentious Politics. Boulder: Paradigm.

  31. van der Linden, M. (2009). Charles Tilly's historical sociology. International Review of Social History, 54(2), 237-274. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859009000662

Received 09.06.2025

LATEST PRINTED ISSUE

LATEST FREELY ACCESSIBLE MATERIALS

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