Theory and Evidence in Comparative Politics and International Relations (New Visions in Security)

This book explores the epistemology and the methodology of political knowledge and social inquiry. What can we know, and how do we know? Friedrich V. Kratochwil and Ted Hopf question all foundational claims of inquiry and envisage science as a self-reflective practice. Brian Pollins and Fred Chernoff accept their arguments to some degree and explore the implications for logical positivism. David A. Waldner, Jack Levy, and Andrew Lawrence address the purpose and methods of research. They debate the role of explanation versus prediction, the relationship of theory to evidence, and their implications for the Democratic Peace research program. A concluding chapter by Mark Lichbach offers a pluralistic reformulation of neopositivism. An alternative conclusion by Steven Bernstein, Richard Ned Lebow, Janice Gross Stein and Steven Weber contends that social science should be modeled on medicine and reformulated as a set of case-based diagnostic tools. The distinguishing feature of the book is the inclusion of authors who represent different approaches to social science and their willingness to engage with one another in a constructive debate.

This book explores the epistemology and the methodology of political knowledge and social inquiry. What can we know, and how do we know? Friedrich V. Kratochwil and Ted Hopf question all foundational claims of inquiry and envisage science as a self-reflective practice. Brian Pollins and Fred Chernoff accept their arguments to some degree and explore the implications for logical positivism. David A. Waldner, Jack Levy, and Andrew Lawrence address the purpose and methods of research. They debate the role of explanation versus prediction, the relationship of theory to evidence, and their implications for the Democratic Peace research program. A concluding chapter by Mark Lichbach offers a pluralistic reformulation of neopositivism. An alternative conclusion by Steven Bernstein, Richard Ned Lebow, Janice Gross Stein and Steven Weber contends that social science should be modeled on medicine and reformulated as a set of case-based diagnostic tools. The distinguishing feature of the book is the inclusion of authors who represent different approaches to social science and their willingness to engage with one another in a constructive debate.

ISBN-1: 9781403974563 Contents 8 About the Authors 10 1 What Can We Know? How Do We Know? 12 Part I: Foundational Claims 34 2 Evidence, Inference, and Truth as Problems of Theory Building in the Social Sciences 36 3 The Limits of Interpreting Evidence 66 Part II: The Product of Inquiry 96 4 Beyond Logical Positivism: Reframing King, Keohane, and Verba 98 5 Methodological Pluralism and the Limits of Naturalism in the Study of Politics 118 Part III: The Purpose and Methods of Research 154 6 Transforming Inferences into Explanations: Lessons from the Study of Mass Extinctions 156 7 Theory, Evidence, and Politics in the Evolution of International Relations Research Programs 188 8 Imperial Peace or Imperial Method? Skeptical Inquiries into Ambiguous Evidence for the “Democratic Peace” 210 Part IV: New Directions 238 9 Social Science as Case-Based Diagnostics 240 10 Theory and Evidence 272 Index 296 A 296 B 296 C 296 D 297 E 297 F 297 G 297 H 298 I 298 J 298 K 298 L 298 M 299 N 299 O 299 P 299 Q 300 R 300 S 300 T 300 U 301 V 301 W 301 Z 301 Annotation This book explores the epistemology and the methodology of political knowledge and social inquiry: what can we know, and how do we know? Contributing authors offer a variety of answers, addressing the purpose and methods of research and analyzing concepts, including the relationship of theory and evidence, the changing formulation of neopositivism, and the importance of medicine to social science Contributing authors offer a variety of answers, addressing the purpose and methods of research and analysing concepts, including the relationship of theory and evidence, the changing formulation of neopositivism, and the importance of medicine to social science