Charles Tilly’s historical sociology: research evolution and methodological orientations

The article examines the research evolution and methodological approaches of Charles Tilly’s historical sociology. It highlights that a defining feature of the scholar’s methodology is innovative research approaches, which can be characterized as theoretical synthesis. Theoretical synthesis is understood as the integration of diverse research perspectives, including disciplinary ones, theoretical approaches, concepts, or paradigms, to develop conceptual frameworks for explaining complex social phenomena and processes. It is argued that, in the case of Charles Tilly, theoretical synthesis was arguably the most significant hallmark of his research evolution and innovative methodology. This involves not only the integration of sociological approaches (micro- and macro-, agency and structure, continuity and relationality) but also the combination — or rather the transcendence — of conventional disciplinary boundaries across sociology, history, political science, economics, urban studies, and cultural studies. The relevance of Tilly’s theoretical contributions and integrative approaches in the Ukrainian context is emphasized, particularly during Ukraine’s defensive war against external military aggression. The interplay and interaction in the Ukrainian case of complex processes such as nation- and state-building, resistance and mobilization in the war for state independence, civic protest mobilizations, and democratization processes in all their complexity, especially in the context of war, represent precisely the thematic and problematic fields on which Charles Tilly focused his research attention.