ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at how one can theorize the social change that has been brought about by Europeanization, that is: By the adding of a supranational level of research funding to public science in Europe. Its aim is to clarify the conceptual architecture of the case study. The argument proceeds on two levels, a conceptual and an empirical one. Conceptually, the notion of social mechanism is introduced that recently became prominent through a particular 'intellectual school', Analytical Sociology (AS). An alternative understanding of the term is proposed with the purpose of explaining macro-social change in the realm of science, initiated by Europeanization. Empirically, the chapter illustrates an example of a cumulative mechanism in European research funding described by Robert K. Merton with the Matthew Effect theorem. The rise of AS has happened largely independent of controversies in the sociology of science.
