Rapid and complex social change is of urgent concern in all human societies, but how can researchers do justice both to the objective complexities of causal relations and to subjective experiences of different types of change? The present volume focuses upon cases of 'accelerating change' in the contemporary world - including Russia, Iran, South Africa and Turkey - and examines some of the theoretical issues involved in conceptualizing social change and transformation and the methods for their study.

The fifteen essays in this well-integrated collection will be of interest to all students of history and the social sciences; and especially to students of social anthropology, sociology and development studies.