In this book I have discussed some of the basic principles of analytical sociology and I have sought to clarify what a mechanism-based explanatory strategy looks like. In doing so, I have touched on a range of issues of fundamental importance for the discipline as a whole. Most importantly, I have discussed how one can forge tighter links between the micro and the macro on the one hand, and between theory and empirical research on the other. In this concluding chapter I draw attention to some areas that are destined to become core areas of analytical sociology and I briefly summarize the most important themes of the book.

The history of analytical sociology can be traced back to the works of Weber and Tocqueville. The analytical agenda was further developed by prominent mid-twentieth-century sociologists such as Parsons and Merton. Only in recent decades, however, has a clearly articulated analytical approach started to emerge. Scholars such as Boudon, Coleman, Elster and Schelling have demonstrated the possibility of developing precise, realistic and action-based explanations of various social phenomena of great sociological interest. Building upon the foundations laid by them, an analytical middle-range approach to sociological theory can be developed.

A cornerstone of the analytical approach is the principle that explanations of social phenomena should focus on the social mechanisms that brought them about.