Preface I Introduction 1 The Theory of Solidarity: An Agenda of Problems 2 A Theory of the State and of Social Order 3 The Microfoundations of Solidarity: A Framing Approach 4 The Management of Trust Relations via Institutional and Structural Embeddedness 5 A Mathematical Model of Group Dynamics Including the Effects of Solidarity III Affect and Solidarity 6 Conditions for Empathic Solidarity 7 Modelling the Interaction Ritual Theory of Solidarity IV Social Networks and Solidarity 8 Solidarity and Social Networks 9 Structures and Processes of Solidarity: An Initial Formalization 10 Group Formation in Friendship Networks V Assessment 11 Social Network Conceptions of Group Solidarity 12 Solidarity, Social Structure, and Social Control

Patrick Doreian, Thomas J. Fararo, both University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Presently the world is undergoing tremendous social, cultural and economic transformation. For sociologists, the challenge is arriving at a sound mapping of this tumultuous world stage.
In this book, the contributing authors consider solidarity as a cognitive problem of basic science. They examine how solidarity is produced and reproduced, how it is related to social processes, and how such processes can be formalized and create conditions for productively studying their properties. Mathematical models and representations are presented by the authors as a coherent set of tools for understanding many social phenomena.