Conflict theory and interaction rituals. Randall Collins' microfoundation of conflict theory

Research in conflict theory within macrosociology has contributed to a cons iderable extent to the progress of knowledge in the social sciences in the last twenty years. However, this theoretical perspective lacks a sufficient microfoundation. The linkage between a realistic conflict theoretical macr osociology and a powerful explanatory microsociology is the main concern of the research and theorizing of Randall Collins, an American sociologist wi th only a modest reception in Germany. The main object of this article is t he attempt to reconstruct the systematic core of his theory from his scatte red publications. The article presents Randall Collins' innovative theoreti cal contributions to the solution of the micro-macro problem, to an interac tion theory founded on the theory of emotions, and to the conceptualization of meso- and macrosociology. The conclusion lays emphasis on the originali ty and possibilities of further development of his work, and offers some cr itical remarks on the insufficient systematization and differentiation of h is notions of culture and emotion.