Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material -- 1. Comparing Societies around the World / Henry Teune -- 2. Comparing Societies across Sizes and Scales / Mattei Dogan -- 3. Comparing Societies: Qualitative Methods / Julian Go -- 4. Comparing Societies: Quantitative Methods / Peter Ph. Mohler -- 1. Ancient Civilizations / S.N. Eisenstadt -- 2. Empires, Imperial States, and Colonial Societies / George Steinmetz -- 3. Modern Societies / John A. Hall -- 4. The Diverse Uses of Digital Formations / Saskia Sassen -- 1. Population Structures / Arland Thornton -- 2. Social Inequality and Mobility / Sandra Buchholz and Hans-Peter Blossfeld -- 3. State Structures / Victor Nee and Michael Siemon -- 4. Parties and Party Systems / Thomas Saalfeld and Margret Hornsteiner -- 5. Economic Systems: Comparative Historical Method in Economic Sociology / Andrew Savchenko -- 6. Multi-Ethnic Societies / Ralph D. Grillo -- 7. The Sociology of Religion / William D’Antonio and Anthony J. Pogorelc -- 8. Corporations and Commerce / Harland Prechel -- 9. The Metropolis / Anthony M. Orum -- 10. Voluntary Organizations and Civil Society / Joonmo Son -- 11. Family Systems in Comparative Perspective / Stephen K. Sanderson -- 12. Gender and Society / Harriet Bradley -- 13. Professions / Joseph C. Hermanowicz and David R. Johnson -- 14. Social Welfare Systems / James Midgley -- 15. The Sociology of Language: A Return Visit / Joshua A. Fishman -- 16. Comparative Sociology of Education / David P. Baker -- 17. Mass Media / Willam A. Gamson -- 18. Mass Culture / Mike Featherstone -- 19. Comparative Military Organization / Michelle Sandhoff and David R. Segal -- 20. The Social Organization of Science and Technology / Wenda K. Bauchspies -- 21. Cross-National Public Opinion Research / Tom W. Smith -- 1. Economic Development and Growth / Erich Weede -- 2. The Emergence of Nation-States / Hendrik Spruyt -- 3. The Development of Nationalism and Citizenship / Veljko Vujačić -- 4. Modernization and Globalization / Robert M. Marsh -- 5. Democratization / Luis Roniger -- 6. Political Socialization and Values / Henk Vinken -- 7. Voting Behavior and Public Opinion / Harald Schoen -- 8. Communication in the Internet Age / Karen A. Cerulo -- 9. Demography and Migration / Jack A. Goldstone -- 10. Crime, Imprisonment, and Social Control / Bill McCarthy -- 11. Social Problems / Robert Heiner -- 12. Social Deviance / Steve Hall -- 13. Social Movements and Collective Behavior / Mario Diani -- 14. Terrorism / Michel Wieviorka -- 15. Hazards and Disasters / Kathleen Tierney -- 16. Internal Wars and Revolution / Ekkart Zimmermann -- 17. International War / Jack S. Levy -- 18. Ecology and Environment / Andrew K. Jorgensone , Riley E. Dunlap and Brett Clark -- 19. Leisure and Consumption / Robert A. Stebbins -- 20. Small Groups, Networks, and Social Interaction / Linda D. Molm -- 21. Emotions and Social Life / Jonathan H. Turner -- 22. Trust / Piotr Sztompka -- 23. Collective Memory / Amy Corning and Howard Schuman -- 1. Asian Sociology in an Era of Globalization (with Emphasis on Japan, China, and Korea) / Masamichi Sasaki.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Comparative Sociology presents the current state of knowledge in comparative sociology for students, scholars, and the educated lay public. The major aim of comparative sociological research is to identify similarities and differences among societies, studying variation across both geographical regions and historical periods. This volume is divided into six broad categories: Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Comparing Societies, Comparative Historical Sociology, Comparing Institutions and Social Structures, Comparing Social Processes, Comparing Nation States and World Regions, and Biographies of Exemplary Comparative Sociologists. Nearly 60 essays written by distinguished experts in their fields focus on the first five categories, while the biographical section contains forty biographies of both classical and contemporary sociologists who have made major contributions to comparative sociology. Contributors include: David Baker, Wenda Bauchspies, Hans-Peter Blossfield, Harriet Bradley, Sandra Buchholz, Miguel Centeno, Karen Cerulo, Brett Clark, Amy Corming, William D'Antonio, Mario Diani, Mattei Dogan, Riley Dunlap, Shmuel Eisenstadt, Mike Featherstone, Claude Fischer, Joshua Fishman, William Gamson, Julian Go, Jack Goldstone, Ralph Grillo, John Hall, Steve Hall, Robert Heiner, Joseph Hermanowicz, Margret Hornsteiner, David Johnson, Andrew Jorgenson, Jack Levy, Robert Marsh, Bill McCarthy, David Johnson, James Midgley, Peter Mohler, Linda Molm, Benjamin Moodie, Victor Nee, Anthony Orum, William Outhwaite, Anthony Pogorelc, Harland Prechel, Danielle Resnick, Glenn Robinson, Luis Roniger, Thomas Saalfeld, Stephen Sanderson, Michelle Sandhoff, Masamichi Sasaki, Saskia Sassen, Andrew Savchenko, Harald Schoen, Howard Schuman, David Segal, Michael Siemon, Tom Smith, Joonmo Son, Hendrik Spruyt, Robert Stebbins, George Steinmetz, Piotr Sztompka, Henry Teune, Arland Thornton, Kathleen Tierney, Jonathan Turner, Nicholas van de Walle, Henk Vinken, Veljko Vujačić, Erich Weede, Michel Wieviorka, Ekkart Zimmermann.