ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will present an overview of the broad trends in social stratification research found in the principal European countries. I will summarise the key developments that took place before the Second World War and will then move on to consider post-war developments and the impact of contemporary trends in the globalisation of social theory. I will concentrate my attention on work carried out in Britain, France and Germany, referring to research in other countries mainly insofar as it relates to the dominant themes within these three national traditions and the growing connections among them.
