The book is a comparative analysis of all the major social science/political science grand theories. It focuses on developmentalism, dependency theory, the world systems approach, Marxism, institutionalism, rational choice, psychoanalysis, political sociology, sociobiology, environmentalism, neuro-politics, transitions to democracy, and non-Western systems of analysis. To facilitate comparison and analysis, a common framework and outline are employed throughout. An integrating introduction and conclusion help tie the book together.

Tlostanova examines Central Asia and the Caucasus to trace the genealogy of feminism in those regions following the dissolution of the USSR. The forms it takes resist interpretation through the lenses of Western feminist theory and woman of color feminism, hence Eurasian borderland feminism must chart a third path.