This paper offers a theoretical framework to study the circulation of (grand) theory, based on the hypothesis that theory does not circulate on its own but is mediated through social agents (individuals and institutions), and that its circulation follows certain regular patterns. This framework furthers Bourdieu's analysis of the social conditions for the international circulation of ideas, as well as the sociology of translation developed by the author. The article first addresses importation strategies and types of theory appropriation. Five types are distinguished: paradigm shift; creation of a new (sub)field; resolving scientific questions related to controversies; appropriation as a “research program” (Lakatos); and creation of new concepts. The second section focuses on the role of intermediaries, translators, and mediators in the making of world authorship, through translations, commentaries, and citations. The final section analyzes a set of factors that favor or impede the circulation of theory: linguistic asymmetries in the translation market; unequal power relations within the transnational academic field and the disciplinary fields; unequal power relations within the transnational publishing field; social properties and symbolic capital of the author; and properties of the book itself. Most examples are drawn from sociology, but other disciplines are also evoked.
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