Theories of social collapse are not only the views that characterize
?societies deep in crisis?, but rather an expression of lack of belief in
prosperity and central importance of the civilization in which we live. These
theories follow processes of degradation of human societies, the decline of
civilization`s powers and the loss of its cultural values resulting in their
complete disappearance. This paper defines the subject of study and provides
an overview of the history of these theories and their contemporary types by
taking the main causes of collapse criteria as the basis for theory building.
After the review of contemporary multi-factor analysis of collapse, mainly
within the science of complex systems, full attention is focused on two
atypical, yet very productive, contemporary theories of social collapse that
are elaborated in detail: Jared Diamond`s theory, which studies social
collapses by observing relations of other variables that can lead to collapse
with environmental problems as central; and Peter Turchin`s theory which,
revitalizing with modern scientific achievements Ibn Khaldun`s classical
theory of ?asabia? (group feeling, spirit of community), sees social
collapses as a consequence of the decline of cohesion provided by asabia. The
final part of the work gives a critical review of these two theories and
their relation with classical theories of social collapse (primarily those of
Arnold Toynbee) and points to their mutual productive complementarity.