APSA president Theda Skocpol's research has had a profound intellectual influence that crosses disciplinary boundaries and spans several subfields in political science, including comparative politics, comparative-historical analysis, and American politics. Her work addresses major questions about politics and social organization in a remarkably diverse range of empirical settings. What are the causes of major social revolutions, such as the French, Russian, and Chinese revolutions? What is distinctive about the development of the welfare state in United States? How do basic forms of civic life influence American democracy? Running through this diverse body of work is a core concern: Skocpol's passion to show how politics works by studying patterns of conflict and institutional change at the intersection of government and society. This central goal drives the defining features of her work: the comparative-historical approach, attention to institutions and actors whose political role has been neglected, and a dedication to making social science address real world problems. Skocpol's research offers fresh perspectives and provocative arguments that have sparked spirited debates and launched whole new lines of research. In the process, her work has had a profound impact on both the questions that political scientists ask and the methods that they use. She has also served as a powerful voice in favor of universal social support for families in American public policy.