ABSTRACT
Comparative sociological research has its origins in the work of the “Founding Fathers” of sociology. The major external force Else Oyen suggests is the growing internationalisation and concomitant export and import of social, cultural and economic manifestations across national borders. The sudden transition of Bulgaria from a one party government and a centralised, state planned economy to democracy, a market economy and a constitutional state was exactly the type of sudden, sharp and unexpected transition that E. Durkheim had in mind when he introduced the concept of anomie. The Australian study forms part of a larger programme of research, the Asia-Pacific Anomie Research Project, which aims to develop a working model of the way in which accelerating rates of social change conducive to the development of anomic structures impact on quality of life, particularly in urban areas in the Asia-Pacific region.
