CFP: Rethinking the Explanatory Foundations of Sociological Theory

Peter Hedström and Josef Ginnerskov would like to invite submissions to a special issue in Theory and Society on:

Rethinking the Explanatory Foundations of Sociological Theory:
Mechanisms, Emergence, and Model-Based Reasoning

The issue is motivated by a gap between developments in philosophy of science and their uptake in sociological theory. While philosophical work has significantly advanced our understanding of mechanisms, emergence, model-based reasoning, and explanation in complex systems, these insights have only been partially incorporated into contemporary sociological theorizing.

At the same time, much sociological theory continues to rely on general causal categories—such as norms, institutions, and power—without specifying the processes through which outcomes are generated. This raises the question of what it would mean to develop more explicit, formally articulated, and mechanistically grounded explanations in the social sciences.

We are particularly interested in contributions that:

·       examine standards of explanation in the social sciences,

·       analyze the role of mechanisms and emergence in social explanation,

·       explore model-based reasoning as a tool for theory construction,

·       or bring philosophical perspectives on explanation into dialogue with sociological theory.

The issue is intentionally interdisciplinary, and we welcome contributions from philosophy of science, as well as from researchers in other disciplines working on the modeling and explanation of social systems.

Key dates:

·       Abstracts (1–2 pages): June 1, 2026

·       Full papers: December 31, 2026

Abstracts can be sent to:
[email protected]
[email protected]

We would be very happy to discuss potential contributions.

Best regards,
Josef Ginnerskov
Peter Hedström