ABSTRACT
Can long-term processes comparable with those described by Elias for Europe be found in other historic cultures of the world? The question is an important and challenging one. It can be used to reorient the way we look at the development of non-European historic cultures, both in guiding new research and in reassessing already familiar historical evidence. Such research can also serve as a major test of the basic sociological propositions underpinning Elias’s theory. It is likely that in consequence the original theory will be qualified and amended, but also extended and refined. Given the scope of the theory of civilizing processes, any refinement and extension will potentially be of great value in increasing our understanding of long-term processes of social development generally.
