Conjuncture, comparison, and conditional theory in macrosocial inquiry

Recent debates on comparative historical method have focused on three issue s: (1) narrative and conjuncture, (2) the logic of comparison, and (3) the limits of theoretical generalization. The present article attempts to resol ve some of the issues raised in these debates by developing a distinction b etween universal and historically conditional theory through a contrast bet ween work by such leaders of the revived comparative historical tradition a s Charles Tilly, Theda Skocpol, and Immanuel Wallerstein and selected works by second-generation comparative historical sociologists. The conditional theories of the second generation incorporate narrative and conjunctural te mporality, theory-driven comparison, and historically conditional generaliz ation that were not emphasized in the universalizing theories and compariso ns of the first generation.