Over the past several decades leading sociologists in Europe and in the United States have expressed strong reservations about the explanatory power of sociological theory and research (e.g. Abbott 1998; Boudon 2002; Coleman 1986b; Sørensen 1998). They are concerned that much sociological theory has evolved into a form of metatheorizing without any specific empirical referents, and that much empirical sociological research has developed into a rather shallow form of variable analysis with only limited explanatory power. The main message of this book is that a path must be hewn between the eclectic empiricism of variable-based sociology and the often vacuous writings of the ‘grand’ social theorists.

This approach to sociological theorizing and research, which I refer to as ‘analytical sociology’, seeks to explain complex social processes by carefully dissecting them and then bringing into focus their most important constituent components. The approach focuses on traditional sociological concerns but uses explanatory strategies more often found in analytical philosophy and behavioural economics. It is an approach that seeks precise, abstract, realistic and action-based explanations for various social phenomena.

As a general road map to this book, in this introductory chapter I give a brief overview of the approach adopted. The overview is organized under the following four headings:

• Explanation

• Dissection and abstraction

• Precision and clarity

• Action

I will define the distinctive features of the approach in these terms. In addition, at the end of this chapter I situate it intellectually by briefly discussing the works of some of the most important contemporary contributors to the tradition.