ABSTRACT
Theda Skocpol aimed at a balance between a narrative history of each revolution in particular, and revolutions in general, through the comparative method. It is easy to mistake Skocpol's aims as formulating a general theory of revolution as opposed to merely taking an alternative approach to explaining revolutions. There are two reasons Skocpol is reluctant to generalize: the causes of revolutions always change according to the circumstances of the world at any given time. The categories she uses to define things such as "the state" are also subject to change. Skocpol analyzes three cases —the French, the Chinese, and the Russian revolutions—where a similar set of circumstances led to social revolutions. She also examines the Prussian Revolution of 1848 and the Meiji Restoration in Japan in 1868, neither of which produced social revolutions. Skocpol's engagement with other theorists, especially her mentor Barrington Moore, was very important indeed to her writing States and Social Revolutions.
