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Contents

Lists of Figures, Tables and Boxes xiii

Preface to the Fourth Edition xv
Notes on Contributors xvi

 1 Introduction 1
Vivien Lowndes, David Marsh and Gerry Stoker
What is politics? What is it that political scientists study? 7
What is a scientific approach to politics? 9
The discipline of political science: a celebration of diversity? 11

PART 1  THEORY AND APPROACHES

Introduction to Part 1  17
Vivien Lowndes, David Marsh and Gerry Stoker
  2 Behavioural Analysis 20
David Sanders
The rise of the behavioural movement and its core
characteristics21
Criticisms of the behavioural approach 25
Objections to the positivist claim that statements which
are neither definitions (useful tautologies) nor empirical
are meaningless 25
The tendency towards mindless empiricism 26
The assumed independence of theory and observation 28
The strengths of the behavioural approach: an example 30
Conclusion: the behavioural legacy in the twenty-­first century 37
Further reading 38

  3 Rational Choice  39
Andrew Hindmoor and Brad Taylor
Introduction 39
The methods of economics (and rational choice) 40
The logic of collective action 43
Collective action and the environment 46
What’s wrong with rational choice theory? 48
From imperialism to peaceful co-existence 52
Conclusion 52
Further reading 53
v

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vi  Contents

 4 Institutionalism 54
Vivien Lowndes
The ‘traditional’ institutional approach 55
The emergence of the ‘new institutionalism’ 57
The ‘three new institutionalisms’ 58
Core features of new institutionalism 59
Institutions as rules not organisations 60
Institutions as informal as well as formal 61
Institutions as dynamic as well as stabilising 62
Institutions as embodying values and power 62
Institutions as contextually embedded 63
New institutionalist dilemmas 64
What is an institution anyway? 64
Where do institutions come from, and how do
they change? 67
Are the normative and rational choice approaches
compatible?70
Conclusion 73
Further reading 74

  5 Constructivism and Interpretive Theory 75

Craig Parsons
Origins of constructivism 76
What is and isn’t distinctive about constructivism? 78
Variations within constructivism 83
Epistemological variations 83
Different mechanisms and different social constructs 85
Different methods 87
Conclusion 90
Further reading 91

  6 Feminist and Gendered Approaches 92

Meryl Kenny and Fiona Mackay
What is feminism? 92
Political science: gendered foundations 93
Women in political science 96
Gender and political science 97
Political representation 102
Feminising political parties 103
Gendering the state and state feminism 104
Dilemmas and challenges 105
Conclusion 107
Further reading 107

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Contents  vii

  7 Marxism: A Global Perspective 109

Ray Kiely
Marxism and capitalism: structuralist economism or
agency-led contingency? 110
Marxist economism and base and superstructure 110
Marx and capitalism 112
Marxism, capitalism and nationalism 114
Marxism and globalisation: economistic unilinearity or
contingent uneven development? 115
Marxist economism and capitalist diffusion 115
Marx and the unequal international order 116
Marxism, imperialism and uneven development as 
dependency118
Marxism and hegemony: the significance of Gramsci 119
Debating globalisation in the twenty-first century 120
Contemporary globalisation defined 120
The continued relevance of Marxist ideas I: globalisation
as uneven and combined development 121
The continued relevance of Marxist ideas II: hegemony
and the international order 122
Conclusion 123
Further reading 124

 8 Poststructuralism 125
Mark Wenman
French structuralism 127
From structuralism to poststructuralism 129
Poststructuralism in politics and international relations 130
The ontological and epistemological assumptions of
poststructuralism133
Criticism and evaluation 137
Conclusion 140
Further reading 141

  9 Political Psychology 142

Frank Mols and Paul ‘t Hart
An interdisciplinary enterprise 142
Political conflict and contention 144
Political leadership and followership 146
Who leads matters 147
How groups create leaders, and leaders gain
followers147
Political beliefs and voter attitudes 151
Perceiving the political world 151

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viii  Contents

Causes and consequences of political attitudes 152

Radicalisation and extremism: pathology or politics? 152
Understanding political decision-making 154
From homo economicus to homo psychologicus 154
Groups as asset or problem in policy
decision-making?155
Methods and prospects of the field 155
Further reading 157

10 Normative Political Theory 158

Chris Armstrong
Introduction 158
Methods in normative political theory 159
Rawls on reflective equilibrium 159
Cohen on facts and values 162
Normative theory and global justice 164
Political ideals and feasibility 166
Further reading 170

PART 2  METHODS AND RESEARCH DESIGN

Introduction to Part 2 173

Vivien Lowndes, David Marsh and Gerry Stoker
11 A Skin Not a Sweater: Ontology and Epistemology in
Political Science 177
David Marsh, Selen A. Ercan and Paul Furlong
Ontology and epistemology introduced 178
The meaning of ontology and epistemology (and
methodology)178
The relationship between ontology and epistemology 179
Distinguishing ontological and epistemological positions 181
Distinguishing broad ontological positions 182
Distinguishing broad epistemological positions 183
Interrogating different approaches to ontology
and epistemology185
Positivism 186
Interpretivism 189
Critical realism 193
Ontology and epistemology in empirical research 194
Empirical research on deliberative democracy – positivism
versus interpretivism 195
Conclusion 197
Further reading 198

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Contents  ix

12 Meta-Theoretical Issues 199

David Marsh
Conceptualising structure, agency and the ideational realm  200
Structure 201
Agency 202
The ideational realm 204
Dialectical approaches to the relationships between structure
and agency and the material and the ideational 204
Structure and agency: the dialectical approaches  204
Structuration theory 205
The Morphogenetic approach 205
The strategic-relational approach 206
Bourdieu and habitus 208
The material and the ideational: thin and thick ­constructivism 209
Stability and change 211
Hay: a linear conception of time 212
Tonkiss: a non-linear conception of time 212
A flexi-time model: a circadian conception of time 213
More on punctuated evolution 213
Conclusion 217
Further reading 218

13 Research Design 219

Dimiter Toshkov
What is research design? 219
The research process 220
The elements of research design 222
Research questions and research goals 222
Theory and empirical research 225
Conceptualisation and operationalisation 227
Types of research methodologies  228
Case and variable selection for different types of research 230
Experimental research 230
Large-N observational research  232
Comparative research 233
Single-case studies and within-case analysis 234
Conclusion: the power and promise of research design 235
Further reading 236

14 Qualitative Methods 237

Ariadne Vromen
Debates on qualitative methods: the rediscovery of qualitative
analysis237
What is distinctive about qualitative methods and analysis? 243

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Qualitative research techniques 244

Primary research: interviews, group discussion
and ethnography246
Secondary research: using text/document-based techniques 249
Conclusion: the use and future use of qualitative methods
in political science 252
Further reading 253

15 Quantitative Methods 254

Peter John
The collection and management of data 255
The power of description 257
Tables and inferential statistics 259
Multivariate analysis 261
Testing and reporting models 265
Recent developments 268
Conclusion 269
Further reading 270

16 The Comparative Method 271

Matt Ryan
Introduction 271
Comparative politics and comparative method – politics
beyond the armchair? 271
Comparative method and the scientific method –
why small-N research strategies? 272
Mill’s methods of experimental inquiry and their influence on
comparative political science 274
Method of agreement 274
Method of difference 276
Joint method 277
Most different and most similar strategies 279
The changing nature of comparative research strategies –
qualitative comparative analysis 280
Case studies, within-case comparison and ­process-tracing 284
Case selection 284
Within-case analysis 286
Conclusion: evolving comparison in response to challenges 288
Further reading 289

17 The Experimental Method 290

Helen Margetts and Gerry Stoker
What is the experimental method? 290
The rise of experimentation 292
Learning from laboratory experiments 293

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Contents  xi

Learning from field experiments 296

Learning from internet-based experiments 297
Learning from natural experiments 299
Pitfalls in the experimental method 300
Ethical challenges 300
Practical problems 302
Conclusion 304
Further reading 305
Acknowledgements 305

18 Big Data: Methods for Collection and Analysis 306

Michael J. Jensen
Introduction 306
Defining big data 307
Big data and data collection 309
Data formats 310
Extensible markup language (XML) 310
Application programming interfaces (APIs) 311
Web crawling 313
Web scraping 314
Big data and data analysis 315
Combining heterogeneous kinds of data 317
Limitations to big data 317
Conclusion: big data and the future of
social science 318
Further reading 319

19 The Relevance of Political Science 321

Gerry Stoker, B. Guy Peters and Jon Pierre
Position 1: political science should do good science and if
the science is good it will be relevant 322
Position 2: political science should be better at communicating
its results; if it were it would be more relevant  323
Position 3: political science should be prepared to have its
agenda set by problem-solving or puzzle-solving concerns
that matter to policymakers and citizens; if it did it would
be more relevant 324
Position 4: political science should be prepared to develop
a capacity not just for analysing problems but also for
developing solutions; that move would enhance its
capacity for relevance 325
Position 5: political science needs to develop a more engaged
co-production approach to research, working alongside
actors outside academia to address their concerns and so
advance the relevance of research 327

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xii  Contents

Position 6: political science needs to embrace a wider role

in creating a civic culture essential to democracy; if it
does that it will be relevant 328
Where next for relevance? 330

Bibliography 332

Index 380

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Chapter 1

Introduction

VIVIEN LOWNDES, DAVID MARSH AND GERRY STOKER

This book introduces the theories and methods that political scientists
use, which we think tells us a great deal about the nature of political science.
To us, political science is best defined in terms of what political scientists
do. Of course, there are thousands of political scientists around the world
and we have tried to capture and clarify the variety of ways they seek
to understand, explore and analyse the complex processes of politics in
the modern era. We are interested in how they differ in their approach,
but also in what they share. Our book identifies nine approaches used by
political scientists and then explores some of the specific research meth-
ods, which are used in different combinations by scholars from these
different approaches.
All disciplines tend to be chaotic, to some extent, in their development
(Abbott, 2001) and political science is certainly no exception. However,
we would argue that the variety of approaches and debates explored in
this book are a reflection of its richness and growing maturity. When
trying to understand something as complex, contingent and chaotic as
politics, it is not surprising that academics have developed a great variety
of approaches. For those studying the discipline for the first time, it may
be disconcerting that there is no agreed approach or method of study.
Indeed, as we shall see, there is not even agreement about the nature
of politics itself. But, we argue that political scientists should celebrate
diversity, rather than see it as a problem. The Nobel Prize winner Herbert
Simon makes a powerful case for a plurality of approaches, which he
sees as underpinning the scientist’s commitment to constant questioning
and searching for understanding:

I am a great believer in pluralism in science. Any direction you pro-

ceed in has a very high a priori probability of being wrong; so it is
good if other people are exploring in other directions – perhaps one
of them will be on the right track. (Simon, 1992: 21)

Studying politics involves making an active selection among a variety of

approaches and methods; this book provides students and researchers
with the capacity to make informed choices. However, whatever your
choice, we hope to encourage you to keep an open mind and consider
whether some other route might yet yield better results.

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2  Introduction

The study of politics can trace its origins at least as far back as Plato
(Almond, 1996); as such, it has a rich heritage and a substantial base on
which to grow and develop. More specifically, it has been an academic
discipline for just over a century; the American Political Science Asso-
ciation was formed in 1903 and other national associations followed.
As Goodin and Klingemann (1996) argue, in the last few decades the
discipline has become a genuinely international enterprise. Excellent
and challenging political science is produced in many countries and this
book reflects the internationalisation of the discipline in two senses.
First, we have authors who are based in the UK, elsewhere in Europe,
the USA and Australia. Second, many of the illustrations and exam-
ples provided by authors offer up experiences from a range of coun-
tries, or provide a global perspective. Our authors draw on experiences
from around the world and relate domestic political science concerns
to those of international relations. This makes sense in an ever more
globalised world.
The increasing influence of global forces in our everyday lives makes
globalisation a central feature of the modern era. Debates about collec-
tive decisions which we observe at the international, national and local
levels take place through a dynamic of governance (Chhotray and Stoker,
2009). In the world of governance, outcomes are not determined by cohe-
sive, unified nation states or formal institutional arrangements. Rather,
they involve individual and collective actors both inside and beyond the
state, who operate via complex and varied networks. In addition, the gap
between domestic politics and international relations has narrowed, with
domestic politics increasingly influenced by transnational forces. Migra-
tion, human rights, issues of global warming, pandemics of ill-health and
the challenges of energy provision cannot, for example, be contained or
addressed within national boundaries alone.
A new world politics (different from ‘international relations’) is emerg-
ing, in which non-state actors play a vital role, alongside nation states
(Cerny, 2010). The study of world politics is not a separate enterprise,
focused on the study of the diplomatic, military and strategic activities of
nation states. Non-state and international institutions, at the very least,
provide a check to the battle between nation states. At the same time, the
role of cities and sub-national regions has expanded, as they make links
across national borders in pursuit of economic investment in a global
marketplace, while seeking also to collaborate in tackling complex gov-
ernance challenges (such as migration and global warming), which do
not themselves respect national boundaries. Indeed, some analysts go
as far as to suggest that cities may become the ‘new sovereign’ in inter-
national orders in which both nation states and multilateral bodies are
challenged (Barber, 2013; Katz and Bradley, 2013).
Moreover, the breadth of the issues to be addressed at the international
level has extended into a range of previously domestic concerns, with a
focus on financial, employment, health, human rights and poverty reduc-
tion issues. At the same time, the nature of politics at the international

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Vivien Lowndes, David Marsh and Gerry Stoker  3

level has become more politically driven, through bargaining, hegemonic

influence and soft power – rather than driven solely by military prowess
and economic strength, although the latter remain important. However,
the questions to be asked about politics at local, national and global
levels are fundamentally the same. How is power exercised to determine
outcomes? What are the roles of competing interests and identities? How
is coordination and cooperation achieved to achieve shared purposes?
How are issues of justice and fairness of outcome to be identified and
understood? Consequently, the examples and illustrations of the aca-
demic study of politics in this book reflect the growing interlinkage of
domestic politics and international relations.
This book focuses upon the ways of thinking or theorising offered
by political scientists and the methods they are using to discover more
about the subject at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It is inevi-
table that the book will neither be fully comprehensive in its coverage of
political science, nor able to provide sufficient depth in approaching all
of the issues that are considered. Rather, our intention is to provide an
introduction to the main approaches to political science and a balanced
assessment of some of the debates and disagreements that have charac-
terised a discipline with several thousand years of history behind it, and
many thousands of practitioners in the modern world.
The book is divided into two broad parts. The chapters in the first
part map the broad ways of approaching political science that have
had, and are likely to have, a major effect on the development of politi-
cal science: behaviouralism, rational choice theory, institutionalism,
constuctivism, feminism, Marxism, poststructuralism and political psy-
chology (see ­Table  1.1). Each of the approaches focuses upon a set of
issues, understandings and practices that define a particular way of doing
political science. We asked each of our authors not simply to advocate
their approach, but also to explore criticisms of that approach. In this
respect, we hope that each author offers a robust, but self-aware and
critical, understanding of his or her way of doing political science. We
have also asked authors to provide ‘worked examples’ of their approach
in action within political science. As such, our understanding of theory
is neither abstract, nor abstruse. In our experience, students often regard
theory as a burden, something that gets in the way of studying real-life
politics. We want to show how theory facilitates, rather than obstructs.
The approaches discussed in this book show how theory frames new
questions and provides important leverage for understanding political
puzzles. Theory allows us to see things we wouldn’t otherwise see. Each
of our approaches could be seen as a different pair of spectacles; when
we put them on our focus changes, and different aspects of a phenome-
non come into view. Beyond the academy, political science not only influ-
ences the world of politics and governance by providing evidence from
research, but also has the potential to shape the way in which political
actors themselves regard their opportunities and develop their strategies
(as reflected, for example, in the influence of rational choice theory on

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 Table 1.1  Approaches to political science
Scope of Political Studies
Behaviouralism Concentrates on processes
of politics associated with
mainstream politics and
government
Rational Choice Concerned with conditions
Theory for collective action in main-
stream political world
Institutionalism Focus is on the rules, norms
and values that govern politi-
cal exchanges, tends to look
at institutional arrangements
in mainstream political world
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Constructivism Politics is driven by the
meanings that actors attach
to their actions and their
context. Politics can be broad
in scope, reflecting people’s
diverse world views about
what it involves
Understanding of the
Scientific Claim
The generation of general
laws and at a minimum the
development of theoretical
statements that can be
falsified. Keen to subject
claims to empirical test
through direct observation
The generation of general
laws and in particular laws
with predictive power
Science is the production of
organised knowledge. The
best political science is em-
pirically grounded, theoreti-
cally informed and reflective
Understanding of human
activity is inherently different
to that of the physical world
Attitude to Normative
Political Theory
In early phase keen to
emphasise difference between
the new science and old
armchair theorising. Now
gives due recognition to the
value of political theory
Gives recognition to the
value of political theory but
focus is less on what could be
and more on what is feasible
Keen to make connections
between empirical analysis
and normative theory
Tends towards the view that
there is fusion between all
types of theorising. Political
analysis is essentially con-
tested and has a necessarily
normative content
Relationship to the
­Practice of Politics
Claims to be value
free, neutral and
detached
4  Introduction
Claims to be able
to offer value-free
expert advice about
how to organise
politics
Keen to make con-
nections, sees itself
as working along-
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side the practition-
ers of politics
A mixed range
of responses but
tendency is towards
wry commentary on
the narrative bat-
tles of the political
world
 Psychological ap- Views politics through the
proaches lens of the personality and
cognition of the individuals
who engage in its practice,
primarily within the main-
stream political world
Feminism A broad process definition
and gendered that recognises that the per-
approaches sonal can be political
Marxism Politics is a struggle between
social groups, in particular
social classes
Poststructuralism Politics takes place and
achieves impact across a
range of social institutions
and environments and in a
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variety of ways
How individuals identify and
frame the political challenges
they face can be studied
in a way that allows for
theoretical generalisations
to be tested by empirical
investigation
A mixed range of responses
to this issue but with strong
tendencies towards anti-
foundational and critical
realist perspectives
Critical realist: the discovery
of below-the-surface forces
that guide but do not deter-
mine historical events
There can be no scientific
claim as our experience of
‘reality’ is intrinsically medi-
ated by language or discourse
Tends to view assumptions
made about human nature
in much political theory as
inadequate. Generally not
oriented towards normative
theory
Normative theory, like all
aspects of political studies,
needs to take gender issues
seriously
Normative theory is at its
most useful when it provides
a guide to action: the point is
to change the world
Some criticise it for ethical
relativism. But the approach
does sustain a normative cri-
tique of power and domina-
tion and promotes agonistic
theories of democracy
Often seeks to offer
insights into how
politics works and
how it could be
made to work better
Political engage-
ment is strongly
part of the feminist
impulse
Committed to en-
gagement in strug-
gles of suppressed
social groups or
classes
Arguably a major
impact through
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popular culture and
a strong capacity to
develop a critique of
others’ truth claims
Vivien Lowndes, David Marsh and Gerry Stoker  5
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6  Introduction

many right-wing governments, or of institutional approaches like gov-

ernance on transnational bodies and development agencies).
The final chapter in this first part of the book explores the issue of
normative theory, although it is important to recognise that there are
normative elements in all approaches. This is one of the most traditional
approaches to political science, but it remains relevant today. Political
science should be (and is) interested in understanding both ‘what is’,
usually seen as the empirical dimension, and also ‘what should be’, the
normative dimension. Further, we agree with Baubock (2008: 40) that
‘empirical research can be guided by normative theory; and normative
theory can be improved by empirical research’. The distinctiveness of
normative theory is clear, but the dialogue between normative theory
and the other approaches is crucial. Empirical theorists can benefit from
the specification and clarification of arguments provided by normative
theory and, in our view, normative theorists need to look to empirical
research, as well as hypothetical arguments, to help support their case.
Moreover, the emergence of new empirically driven theoretical insights,
for example those associated with the governance school (Chhotray and
Stoker, 2009), may open up new issues and challenges for normative
theory.
The second half of the book moves to issues of methodology and
research design. We begin, in Chapter 11, by introducing debates about
the ontological and epistemological positions which shape our answers
to the crucial questions of what we study, how we study it and, most
significantly, what we can claim on the basis of our research. These onto-
logical and epistemological positions also underpin what in Chapter 12
we term meta-theoretical issues, specifically, the relationships between
structure and agency, the material and the ideational and continuity and
change, which cut across all the different approaches.
Subsequently, in Chapter  13, we turn to the important question
of how we design our research project or programme. Finally, in the
last five substantive chapters we examine different research methods.
We  examine the range of both qualitative and quantitative techniques
that are available and how these techniques can be combined in meeting
the challenge of research design, before moving on to consider the poten-
tial and limitations of the comparative (often cross-national) method
for understanding political phenomena. We then turn to two methods
which have come to prominence in political science more recently, exper-
imental methods and ‘big data’. In an increasingly digital age enormous
volumes of data are generated outside the academy and can be used to
reveal patterns of human behaviour and interaction that have political
significance. The final chapter in the book assesses the utility of politi-
cal science not in terms of its methods, but by examining whether it
has anything relevant to say to policymakers, public servants and, most
importantly, citizens.
In the remainder of this introductory chapter we aim to provide an
analysis of the term ‘political’ and some reflections on justifications of

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Vivien Lowndes, David Marsh and Gerry Stoker  7

the term ‘scientific’ to describe its academic study. We close by returning

to the issue of variety within political science by arguing that diversity
should be a cause of celebration rather than concern.

What is politics? What is it that political

scientists study?

When people say they ‘study politics’ they are making an ontological
statement because, within that statement, there is an implicit understand-
ing of what the polity is made up of, and its general nature. They are also
making a statement that requires some clarification. In any introduction
to a subject it is important to address the focus of its analytical attention.
So, simply put, we should be able to answer the question: what is the
nature of the political that political scientists claim to study? A disci-
pline, you might think, would have a clear sense of its terrain of enquiry.
Interestingly, that is not the case in respect of political science. Just as
there are differences of approach to the subject, so there are differences
about the terrain of study.
As Hay (2002: chapter 2) argues, ontological questions are about
what is and what exists. Ontology asks: what’s there to know about?
Although a great variety of ontological questions can be posed (discussed
in ­Chapters 11 and 12), a key concern for political scientists relates to
the nature of the political. There are two broad approaches to defin-
ing the political, seeing politics in terms of an arena or a process (Left-
wich, 1984; Hay, 2002). An arena definition regards politics as occurring
within certain limited ‘arenas’, initially involving a focus upon Parlia-
ment, the executive, the public service, political parties, interest groups
and elections, although this was later expanded to include the judici-
ary, army and police. Here, political scientists, especially behaviouralists
but also rational choice theorists and some institutionalists, focus upon
the formal operation of politics in the world of government and those
who seek to influence it. This approach to the political makes a lot of
sense and obviously relates to some everyday understandings. For exam-
ple, when people say they are fed up or bored with politics, they usually
mean that they have been turned off by the behaviour or performance of
those politicians most directly involved in the traditional political arena.
The other definition of ‘politics’, a process definition, is much looser
than the arena one (Leftwich, 2004: 3) and reflects the idea that power
is inscribed in all social processes (for example, in the family and the
schoolroom). This broader definition of the political is particularly asso-
ciated with feminism, constructivism, poststructuralism and Marxism.
For feminists in particular there has been much emphasis on the idea that
the ‘personal is political’ (Hanisch, 1969). This mantra partly originated
in debates about violence against women in the home, which had tradi-
tionally been seen as ‘non-political’, because they occurred in the private

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8  Introduction

rather than the public realm. Indeed, in the UK at least, the police, his-
torically, referred to such violence as ‘a domestic’, and therefore not
their concern. The feminist argument, in contrast, was that such violence
reflected a power relationship and was inherently ‘political’.
Marxists have also generally preferred a definition of politics that sees
it as a reflection of a wider struggle between social classes in society. Poli-
tics in capitalist systems involves a struggle to assert the interest of the
proletariat (the disadvantaged) in a system in which the state forwards
the interests of the ruling class. Constructivists tend to see politics as a
process conducted in a range of arenas, with the main struggles around
political identity (hence the focus on identity politics). Poststructuralists
take this position further, arguing that politics is not ‘contained’ within
a single structure of domination; rather, power is diffused throughout
social institutions and processes, and even inscribed in people’s bodies.
Process definitions are usually criticised by those who adopt arena
definitions, because of what is termed ‘conceptual stretching’ or the
‘boundary problem’ (see Ekman and Amnå, 2012; Hooghe, 2014). If
politics occurs in all social interactions between individuals, then we
are in danger of seeing everything as political, so that there is no sepa-
ration between the ‘political’ and the ‘social’. The alarm bells might be
ringing here since it appears that political scientists cannot even agree
about the subject matter of their discipline. Yet our view is that both
‘arena’ and ‘process’ definitions have their value; indeed, the relation-
ship between process and arena definitions may be best seen as a dual-
ity, that is interactive and iterative, rather than a dualism, or an either/
or (Rowe et  al., 2017). Moreover, all of the different approaches to
political science we identify would at least recognise that politics is
about power and that we need to widen significantly an arena defini-
tion of politics.
Goodin and Klingemann (1996: 7) suggest that a broad consen-
sus could be built around a definition of politics along the lines: ‘the
­constrained use of social power.’ The political process is about collective
choice, without simple resort to force or violence, although it does not
exclude at least the threat of those options. It is about what shapes and
constrains those choices and the use of power and its consequences. It
would cover unintended as well as intended acts, and passive as well as
active practices. Politics enables individuals or groups to do some things
that they would not otherwise be able to do, while it also constrains indi-
viduals or groups from doing what they might otherwise do. Although
the different approaches to political science may have their own take
on a definition of politics, contesting how exactly power is exercised or
practised, they might accept Goodin and Klingemann’s broad definition.
It is clear that politics is much broader than what governments do,
but there is still something especially significant about political processes
that are, or could be, considered to be part of the public domain. In a
pragmatic sense, it is probably true to say that most political scientists
tend to concentrate their efforts in terms of analysis and research on the

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Vivien Lowndes, David Marsh and Gerry Stoker  9

more collective and public elements of power struggles. But, it is impor-

tant that we develop a sense of the collective or public arena that takes
us beyond the narrow machinations of the political elite.

What is a scientific approach to politics?

As Goodin and Klingemann (1996: 9) comment, ‘much ink has been spilt
over the question of whether, or in what sense, the study of politics is or
is not truly a science. The answer largely depends upon how much one
tries to load into the term “science”.’ If you adopt what they call a mini-
malist approach the question can be answered fairly straightforwardly,
namely that political science is science in the sense that it offers ordered
knowledge based on systematic enquiry. There is no reason to doubt that
political science in all its forms has achieved, or could achieve, that level
of knowledge. But, beyond such a basic agreement, the approaches that
we consider in this book take diverse views on the issue of ‘science’.
What is at stake here is the various ontological and epistemological
positions taken by the different approaches. As Marsh, Ercan and Fur-
long argue in Chapter 11, ontology is concerned with what we can know
about the world, and epistemology with how we can know it. There is
a fundamental ontological difference between realists (or foundation-
alists) and constructivists (or anti-foundationalists). The former argue
that a real world exists independently of our knowledge of it and can
be discovered as such if we use the right methods in the right way. Con-
structivists, on the other hand, view the world as socially constructed
and capable of being interpreted in different ways. Crucial for a con-
structivist is the idea that there is a double hermeneutic (Giddens, 1987),
that is, two levels of ‘understanding’. From this perspective, the world is
interpreted by the actors (one hermeneutic level), and their interpretation
is interpreted by the observer (a second hermeneutic level). For research-
ers, the aim becomes to explore their own interpretation of the interpre-
tations made by actors about their ­behaviour.
If ontological realists are epistemological positivists rather than criti-
cal realists (see Chapter 11), they are concerned to identify causal rela-
tionships, developing explanatory, and, most often, predictive models
(following natural scientists). Critical realists, in contrast, do not privi-
lege direct observation; rather, they posit the existence of deep structures,
which cannot be directly observed but shape the actions of agents. Con-
structivists can draw upon a long tradition within social and political
studies, but it is fair to say that this is an approach of growing impor-
tance in the discipline which has seen a growth in research within the
interpretivist school (see Chapter 5), alongside broader intellectual cur-
rents associated with poststructuralism (see Chapter 8).
It is by no means straightforward to divide the various approaches
considered in this volume on the basis of their epistemological position.

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10  Introduction

The behavioural and rational choice approaches are those that most
obviously claim the positivist position. The former aims to identify gen-
eral laws about political action/life, while the latter places more of an
emphasis on the predictive capabilities of its models. At the same time,
the epistemological positions underpinning the different approaches
reviewed in this book have been subject to change and development.
As Sanders points out in Chapter 2, behaviouralists have increasingly
acknowledged the first level of the hermeneutic, acknowledging that an
individual’s action may reflect the way in which s/he thinks about the
world, as much as any external ‘reality’. So, in explaining voting behav-
iour, they would recognise that a voter’s subjective perception of his/her
class position is as important as his/her objective class position. Never-
theless, a positivist, whether a behaviouralist or a rational choice theorist,
does seek to establish causal relationships between political phenomena,
which are reproducible and generalisable – a position which would be
questioned by any constructivist. At the same time, as Marsh, Ercan and
Furlong argue in Chapter 11, a positivist has great difficulty in accepting
the second level of the hermeneutic, which emphasises that the research-
er’s interpretation of what s/he discovers is partial, in both senses of the
word. Most positivists would defend the idea that a researcher can be
objective, with their conclusions unaffected by those partialities.
A similarly nuanced stance on epistemological positions is taken by
Parsons in relation to constructivist approaches. There are, as Parsons
points out in Chapter  5, several different positions within the broad
school of constructivism. One view argues that our concern should be
with understanding, not explanation, thus challenging the scientific pre-
tensions of positivists. In this view, there is no ‘real world’, independent
of the social construction of it, for political scientists to study. As such,
social science involves an interpretive search to understand the mean-
ings attached to actions, rather than a scientific search for explanation,
establishing causal relations between social phenomena. However, other
constructivists do not break so sharply with science and causality, allow-
ing for greater dialogue and exchange. Such constructivists would argue
that, although action depends on meaning, this does not necessarily
imply that there can be no explanation of why certain people do cer-
tain things. If we can show that people’s action is shaped by meaningful
social constructs, then a careful observer can show this to be the case,
thus offering an explanation of that action (while being circumspect
about the possibility of generalising from the case).
Of the other approaches that we cover in the first part of the book it is
clear that institutional, psychological and feminist approaches all include
scholars who take different ontological and epistemological positions.
The psychologists lean towards positivism, but many would be com-
fortable with the modern behaviouralist position outlined by Sanders
(Chapter  2). In contrast, institutionalism and feminism are marked by
ontological and epistemological debates, as Lowndes shows in relation
to institutionalism in Chapter 4. As for feminism, many contemporary

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Vivien Lowndes, David Marsh and Gerry Stoker  11

scholars adopt a constructivist position, while other feminist researchers

consider how gender explains political action in a way that would fit
with a positivist perspective (see Chapter 6). Poststructuralists, however,
see epistemology as prior to ontology, and argue that our experience of
‘reality’ is intrinsically mediated by language and discourse; as such, we
can never get beyond appearances to underlying essences (Chapter  8).
We certainly cannot assume that (political) ‘reality’ takes the form of
law-like relationships, nor are there any criteria (following Parsons) to
establish the veracity of certain modes of interpretation or interpreta-
tions; hence, this is a radical form of constructivism. The critical realist
position dominates the Marxist camp (Chapter  7), although it is also
evident among historical institutionalists; indeed, both approaches have
given some ground to constructivist arguments.
We finish this section by emphasising again that the different
approaches reviewed in this book have been, and are, subject to change
and development. Different parts of the discipline have listened to, and
learnt from, each other. We strongly support the idea of further dialogue.
The contributions in this book suggest that there may be more common
ground than we usually acknowledge. In particular, we would empha-
sise the need to be sensitive to the importance of meaning in explain-
ing human action, and a willingness to explore arguments in a rigorous
empirical manner, where appropriate.

The discipline of political science: a celebration

of diversity?

Read many of the reviews of political science and they agree that politi-
cal science has become more diverse and more cosmopolitan in character
(see, for example, Almond, 1990; Goodin and Klingemann, 1996; and
on the social sciences in general, see Della Porta and Keating, 2008).
Some of those who pioneered what they called the scientific treatment
of the subject expected that the scientific revolution would lead to a
unity in the understanding of political science (Weisberg, 1986: 4). There
can be little doubt that those ambitions have not been realised; indeed,
constructivists would say they can’t be realised. There is a basis for some
common agreement about what constitutes ‘minimal professional com-
petence’, but as Goodin and Klingemann (1996: 6) note, when it comes
to judging the value of work beyond some agreed baseline of coherence
and craftsmanship ‘the higher aspirations are many and varied’. Conse-
quently, there is a de facto plurality of views about the nature of political
science endeavour.
So, has peace broken out in the political sciences? There is a grudging
public acceptance of plurality, but in private there is a quiet war going
on. Some positivists are very dismissive of the ‘storytelling’ approaches
of others. Some constructivists imply that philosophical ignorance and

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12  Introduction

naivety about human behaviour are associated with the ambitions of

positivist, big data-driven and experimental political science. As James
Mahoney and Gary Goertz (2006: 227–228) suggest, when it comes to
the cultures of quantitative and qualitative methods each ‘is sometimes
privately suspicious or skeptical of the other though usually more pub-
licly polite. Communication across traditions tends to be difficult and
marked by misunderstanding. When members of one tradition offer their
insights to members of the other community, the advice is likely to be
viewed (rightly or wrongly) as unhelpful and even belittling.’
Our hope is that political science can move from at best grudging
acceptance to something closer to a celebration of diversity. We started
the chapter with Herbert Simon’s argument that, if you are not sure of
what the answer is, then there is inherent value in having the option
of several paths being travelled at the same time. Beyond this, we can
think of three factors to support the case for a plurality of approaches.
First, there is evidence of epistemological gain through the richness of
approaches. Broadly, as Sanders shows in Chapter  2, behaviouralists
have had to rethink and improve their approach under challenge from
constructivist perspectives. Equally, as Parsons notes in Chapter 5, con-
structivists have been encouraged to be more explicit about data collec-
tion and methods of analysis under pressure from those coming from a
more positivist tradition.
Second, although there is a danger of too much plurality – in the sense
that there could be so many varieties of political science that fragmenta-
tion makes effective dialogue impossible – such a point has not yet been
reached. There is the opportunity to learn from different approaches
at present, although this is certainly challenging, given the enormous
range and variety of journals, research outputs and books. Of course,
part of the aim behind this book is to enable political scientists with
different approaches to understand one another better. Perhaps we need
more effective rules of engagement. There are implicit shared standards
in most work – whatever tradition within which we are working – but
we need to make these more explicit. Good work, whatever its approach,
should be clear about its conceptual framing and also transparent, and
reflective, about its methods of data collection and analysis. It should
frame its arguments in the context of work that has gone before and,
where relevant, it should aim to address (or at least engage with) con-
cerns held by stakeholders and actors within society.
Our third argument for a plurality of approaches concerns the rel-
evance of political science to the wider world, which is the focus of the
final chapter of the book. There are, as noted in Chapter  19, several
ways for political scientists to address relevance; but what cannot be
avoided is a commitment to addressing it. Political science exists in a
society where politics plays a vital role and as such its findings should
be made accessible (and of value) to our fellow citizens. At times, it has
been argued that political scientists suffer from economist-envy. Because
that discipline has a promoted a strong one-size-fits-all approach to

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Vivien Lowndes, David Marsh and Gerry Stoker  13

understanding policy problems, it has often been more successful in gain-

ing the ear of policymakers (Bowles, 2016). Yet that strength has also
proved to be a significant weakness, as the limits to the role of incen-
tives and self-interested behaviour in steering good public policy have
been increasingly exposed (Thaler and Sunstein, 2008; Bowles, 2016).
Economists’ perceived capacity to make effective predictions has been
challenged, notably in relation to the global financial crisis of 2008 (Wil-
son, 2015). As political science steps up its commitment to relevance,
having a plurality of approaches could be an advantage. Reaching out to
a pluralistic world, where there is no one prince, principal or governor –
as economists tend to imagine – seems likely to require a diversity of
approaches.
We believe that, at this stage in its development, it is important for
political science not to depict itself as a small club of like-minded people.
Rather, it is a broad church with different starting points and concerns,
which also shares a commitment to developing a better understanding
of politics. The key challenge is not to launch a campaign for unity, but
to argue in favour of diversity, combined with dialogue. Almond (1990,
1996) warns that the discipline should avoid constructing itself into an
uneasy collection of separate sects. There is a plurality of methods and
approaches out there that should not be denied but, at the same time,
there should be interaction between the approaches rather than isolation
within an approach. Political science should be eclectic and synergistic;
this is why we think it is important to celebrate diversity. We argue that
political science is enriched by the variety of approaches that are adopted
within the discipline. Each has something of considerable value to offer,
but each can benefit from its interaction with other approaches. In giving
space to a variety of ways of doing political science, our book aims to
provide the essential ingredients for an ongoing exchange that can ena-
ble different approaches to gain a baseline understanding of one another.
In this introduction we have briefly addressed two questions. What is
the scope of political studies? And can it claim the label of science? We
conclude that, while political scientists are divided on these issues, there
is scope for identifying some common ground. We argue that diversity
within the field should be embraced at the present time. Utilising a plu-
rality of approaches is the best way to face up to the challenging task of
understanding a core human activity such as politics.

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Index

Abdelal, R., 84 banality of evil, 148

action Bananas, Beaches and Bases (Enloe),
explanation vs understanding 95
arguments, 78 Barry, B., 160
norms/beliefs and, 85 Basic and Applied Social Psychology,
Adam, B., 213 264
Adler, E., 79 Bates, D.W., 213–14
Adorno, T.W., 145 Baubock, R., 6
Affordable Care Act, 325 Bay of Pigs, 155
agency Bayesian models, 269, 287
conceptualising, 202–3 Becker, Gary, 42
poststructuralist perspective, 137 Beckwith, K., 98
structure and behavioural economics, 154, 331
the concept, 200 Behavioural Insights Team, 154
Giddens’ coin analogy, 205, 207 behaviouralism, 17, 20–21
habitus, 208–9 characteristics and rise of the
morphogenetic approach, 205–6 behavioural movement,
structuration theory, 205 21–25
voluntarism and, 137 criticisms, 25–30
Algeria, 116 legacy in the 21st-century, 37–38
Almond, G.A., 13, 94, 273 strengths, 30–37
Alsop, A., 328 Bell, S., 202
Altemeyer, R., 145 Bennett, A., 240, 287
Althusser, L., 129, 137 Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in
altruistic behaviour, accounting for, 49 the Social Sciences (BITSS),
Amazon Mechanical Turk, 293, 303 242
American Journal of Political Science, Bevir, M., 79, 191–92, 225
239 bias in research results, correcting for,
American Political Science Association 256
approval of DA-RT, 267 biased sampling, method of agreement
experimental research section, and, 276
292–93 big data
formation, 2 accelerating rate of information
‘Perestroika’ movement, 240, 327 production, 306
American Political Science Review, accessing, 310, 312
239 analysis, 315–17
Antonsich, M., 248–49 challenges for application of
Apple Inc., 121 statistical techniques, 269
Archer, M., 201–2, 205 collection, 309
Arendt, H., 148 data formats
Armstrong, C., 19 application programming
Armstrong, F., 328 interfaces (APIs), 311–13
austerity, 42, 71 extensible markup language
Australia, 239 (XML), 310–11
Australian Green Party, qualitative web crawling, 313–14
study, 247 web scraping, 314–15

380

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Index  381

defining, 307–9 non-linear conception of time,

ethical perspectives, 313–14, 319 212–13
examples, 311, 313 punctuated evolution model, 213–17
and the future of social science, stability and, 211
318–19 Chappell, L., 104
heterogeneous kinds of data, 317 Chesters, J., 203
limitations, 317–18 Childs, S., 103
Billig, M., 145 China, 110, 121–22
Bjarnegård, E., 100 choice architectures, smart, 154
Blair, Tony, 216 Chomsky, Noam, 139
Bleiker, R., 252 Chweiroth, J., 90
Blyth, M., 71 citizen social science, 328
Bond, R., 298, 303 citizenship education, impact of, 329
Bourdieu, P., 208–9 The Civic Culture (Almond/Verba),
bourgeoisie, 110, 113–16, 119–20 76, 94, 273
Bourque, S., 94 civic culture, importance of political
Bouwman, R., 292 science’s contribution,
Brady, H., 286 328–29
Bray, Z., 249 civil war, effects of inequality on the
Brazil, 69–70 occurrence of, 31–35, 37
Brexit, 128, 199, 215–16, 223, 284, climate change, 46–47, 62, 164–65
286, 299, 321, 323, 329 Cohen
bricolage, 70, 86–87 G. A., 159
British Political Tradition (BPT), G.A., on facts and values , 162–64
215–16 collective action
Buhaug, H., 30–31 and the environment, 46–48
Bukharin, N., 118 logic of, 43–46
Burtless, G., 297 Collier, D., 36, 286
Butler, J., 131, 138 commons management, Ostrom’s
study, 47–48
Cambridge Handbook on communication, importance of good
Experimental Political Science communication for political
(Druckman et al.), 293 science, 323–24
capillary power, 203 The Comparative Method (Ragin),
Capital Rules (Abdelal), 84 280
capitalism comparative method
the capitalist state, 29 case study selection strategies, 233,
Weber on, 76 284–86
case study selection strategies development of, 271–72
comparative research, 233, 284–86 as evolving and adaptable approach,
experimental research, 230–31 288–89
observational research, 232–33 vs experimental and statistical
single-case studies and within-case methods, 273–74
analysis, 234–35 Mill’s methods and influence, 274
Caterino, B., 79, 241 agreement method, 274–76
‘causes-of-effects’ approach, vs concomitant variation method,
‘effects-of-causes,’ 243–44 278
Cederman, L.-E., 30–31 difference method, 276–77
change joint method, 277–79
circadian conception of time, most different and most similar
213 strategies, 279–80
linear conception of time, 212 process-tracing, 286–87

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382  Index
comparative method (cont.)
qualitative comparative analysis,
280–84
small-N research strategies, 272–74
within-case analysis, 286–87
Comparative Political Studies, 242
comparative politics, work on gender
in, 106–7
‘Comparative Politics and the
Comparative Method’
(Lijphart), 273
concepts, the meaning of, 227
Connolly, W., 131
constructivism, 75–76, 90–91
contingency’s role, 82–83
epistemological variations, 83–84
features of, 78–83
mechanisms of social construction,
85
bricolage, 86–87
persuasion, 86
socialisation, 85
meta-theoretical issues, 209–11
methodological diversity, 87–90
modern vs postmodern, 84
origins, 76–77
constructivist institutionalism, 70,
209
content analysis, 238, 246, 250, 252,
256, 268
contingency, constructivist role, 82–83
A Contribution to a Critique of
Political Economy (Marx),
113
control, importance for
experimentation, 291
Crenshaw, K., 101
Crichlow, S., 156
Crick, B., 328–29
critical realism, 193–94
Crouch, C., 65, 68
Crowdflower, 293
crowdsourcing platforms, 303
Cuban Missile Crisis, 155
Daniels, N., 162
Data Access and Research Transparency
(DA-RT), 242–43, 267
data collection/management, 255–57
Dawes, R.M., 294
De Goede, M., 84
De Meur, G., 280
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deception, as ethical issue in
experimental design, 300–2
Deleuze, G., 125
deliberative democracy, 177, 194–97
positivism vs interpretivism, 195–97
democracy, defining, 97
democratisation, research strategies,
276–77
dependency, imperialism and uneven
development, 118–19
descriptive measures, the power of,
257–58
Designing Democracy in A Dangerous
World (Reynolds), 325
Designing Social Inquiry (King et al.),
240, 254
direct foreign investment, 120
Discipline and Publish (Foucault),
131
discourse analysis, 88, 240, 246,
251–53
discursive formations, 201
diversity, importance of in political
science, 331
Dixon, D., 180
doubly decisive test, 287
Douglas, M., 68
Dowding, K., 284
Druckman, J.N., 293
Dryzek, J., 243
Duffield, M., 65
Dunleavy, P., 68
Durkheim, É., 76
Eastern Europe, effect of democratic
transitions on institutions,
62–63
economic models, 41
economics
distinction from politics, 49
failure to predict financial crisis,
331
influence on laboratory-based
experimentation, 294
place of in the rational choice
approach, 39–43
political scientists’ envy of the
discipline, 330–31
role in the study of intergroup
conflict and atrocity, 145
Edward, P., 122
Eichmann, Adolf, 148, 152
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The Elementary Structures of Kinship
(Lévi-Strauss), 129
Emirbayer, M., 202
Engels, F., 110, 113
Enloe, C., 95–96
the environment, collective action and,
46–48
epistemic fallacy, Spencer on, 180
epistemology, 177–78
constructivist variations, 83–84
deliberative democracy, 195–97
in empirical research, 194–95
epistemological positions
anti-foundationalism, 182–83
constructivism, 182–83
critical realism, 193–94
distinctions, 183, 185
foundationalism, 182
interpretivism, 189–93
objectivism, 182
positivism, 184, 186–89
realism, 182
relativism, 182–83
scientific vs hermeneutic
approaches, 183–84
the meaning of ontology and,
178–79
relationship between ontology and,
179–81
equality, Rawls on the salience of, 161
Ercan, S.A., 9, 134
Erikson, R., 299
Escher, T., 291
Essex School, 131–32
Estlund, D., 168
‘ethical relativism,’ 136, 139
ethnography
association with hypothesis-
generating case studies, 285
big data and, 307, 319
ethnographic techniques, 191
as primary research technique, 249
European Election Studies, 224
European identity, focus group
orientated study, 248–49
European Union (EU), 20, 57, 85–87,
249, 284, 322; see also Brexit
evidence, testing the value of, 287
Evidence in Governance and Politics
Network (EGAP), 242, 267
expansionary fiscal contraction theory,
42
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Index  383
experimental method
case study selection strategies,
230–31
ethical challenges, 300–2
field experiments, 296–97
ingredients and characteristics, 291
internet-based experiments, 297–99
laboratory experiments, 293–96
Lijphart’s assertion, 290
natural experiments, 299–300
nature of, 290–92
practical problems, 302–4
rise of experimentation, 292–93
explanation, Hume’s definition, 79–80
exploitation, capitalist, 110, 113–15,
132, 137
extremism, radicalisation and, 152–53
Ezzy, D., 251
Facebook, 293, 298, 302–3, 305, 311,
317
Fairclough, N., 251
Falleti, T., 69
Farage, Nigel, 199
Fascism Scale, 145
Fearon, J., 36
feminism, 18, 92
defining, 92–93
dilemmas and challenges, 105–7
feminist institutionalism, 60, 63, 106
gendering the state, 104–5
importance of qualitative approaches
for, 239–40
origins, 92
political parties, 103–4
political representation, 102–3
political science
gender and, 97–102
gendered foundations, 93–96
women in, 96–97
qualitative methods and, 239–40
Feyerabend, P., 136
field experiments, 68, 255, 269,
293–98, 303, 305
file drawer problem, 264, 266
financial crisis of 2007/08, 42, 51, 123,
204, 331
Finer, H., 56
Finnemore, M., 89
Flinders, M., 324
Flyvbjerg, B., 79, 241, 279
focus groups, 174, 247–48
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384  Index

Ford, Henry, 119 groupthink theory, 155–56

Fox, C., 60 Guba, E., 182
Frankfurt School, 144 Guinjoan, M., 95
Freakonomics (Levitt/Dubner), 42 Guth, W., 301
free riders, 43
free trade, Marx on, 115–16 Habermas, J., 138–39
freedom, Rawls on the salience of, 161 habitus, 208–9
Freidenvall, L., 68 Haiti, slave rebellion, 112
Freud, S., 144 Hall, P.A., 58–59, 65–66, 214
Frey, B.S., 296 Hamilton, V.L., 148–49
Furlong, P., 9, 134 Hardin, G., 46, 71
Fuzzy-Set Social Science (Ragin), 281 Hart, H. L. A., 160
‘t Hart, P., 19, 142–43, 145, 147–49,
game theory, 44–45, 47, 238 151, 153, 155, 157, 160
Geertz, C., 191–92, 225 Hawkesworth, M., 101
gender, defining, 99 Hay, C., 7, 70–71, 179, 201, 204, 206–7
Gender and Party Politics (Lovenduski/ health care reform, in Brazil, 69–70
Norris), 103 health insurance, US experiment, 297
Gender Trouble (Butler), 131 hegemony
The General Theory of Employment, consent and, 194
Interest and Money (Keynes), Gramsci’s understanding, 111,
42 119–20, 133
genocide, 146, 148 and the international order, 121–23
Gerber, A., 266, 292, 297 Hegemony and Socialist Strategy
Germany, 144 (Laclau/Mouffe), 131
Giddens, A., 205, 207 Held, D., 120
Gladwell, M., 154 Hendriks, C.M., 197
Gleditsch, K.S., 30–31 Hermann, M.G., 143
global financial crisis of 2007/08, 42, heuristics, 154, 197
51, 123, 204, 331 Hilferding, R., 118
global justice, normative theory and, Hindmoor, A., 17, 202
164–65 historical institutionalism, 58–59, 193,
globalisation 209, 252
as central feature of the modern era, 2 historiography, 246, 250–52
defined, 120–21 History of the Peloponnesian War
ideational approach, 211 (Thucydides), 39
literature on, 210 Hitler, Adolf, 144
as uneven and combined development, Hoeffler, A., 36
121 Hollis, M., 184
Goertz, G., 12, 243 Holocaust, 145–46
Goodin, R., 2, 8–9, 11, 59, 69, 73 hoop tests, 287
Google Consumer Surveys, 293 Horiuchi, Y., 298
governance, determinants of Hovland, C. J., 145
outcomes, 2 Howarth, D., 126, 131
Gramsci, A., 77, 112, 133, 194 Huntington, S.P., 62, 96–98
Great Depression, 42, 71, 144 hypothesis, the meaning of, 226
Green, D. P., 292, 297
Greenberg, D., 302 ideational realm, conceptualising,
Grimmelikhuijsen, S., 292 204
Grossholtz, J., 94 Immergut, E., 65
group conflict, research into the imperialism, Marxist perspective,
origins of, 146 118–19

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Index  385

incentivisation, as logistical challenge Iraq, 65, 155–56

for experimentation, 303 Isaac, J., 242
India, 116, 121, 316 Italy, 144
inequality
constraints on as an ideal, 160–61 Janis, I.L., 155–56
effect on the occurrence of civil war, Jasmine Revolution, 234
31–35, 37 Jenkins, L., 258
horizontal vs vertical, 31 Jennings, W., 329
at the intersection of race and gender, Jensen, M., 175
101 Jessop, B., 205
voter responses, 152 Johal, S., 201, 203
informal institutions, impact on equal Johnson, Boris, 199
opportunities, 61, 63 Johnson, M., 182
information-oriented sampling, 279, Johnson, N., 56
288 Jones, J. P., III, 180
Instagram, 303 Journal of Experimental Political
institutionalism, 17–18, 54–55 Science, 293
feminist institutionalism, 60, 63, 106 justice, Rawls’s theory of, 160–62
historical institutionalism, 58–59,
193, 209, 252 Kedar, A., 79
new institutionalism, 54–55 Kelman, H., 148–49
cleavages, 58–59 Keohane, R. O., 188–89
core features, 59–64 Keynes, J.M., 42
contextual embeddedness, 63–64 Kiely, R., 18
dynamism, 62 Kinder, D.R., 292
embodiment of values and King, D., 266
power, 62–63 King, E., 240
informal focus, 61 King, G., 188–89, 191, 254, 263–64,
institutions as rules, 60–61 297
dilemmas, 64–73 King, L., 300
compatibility of normative and King, Martin Luther, 149
rational choice approaches, Kiser, L., 63
70–73 Klingemann, H-D., 2, 8–9, 11, 54, 73
defining an institution, 64–67 Kristeva, J., 125
genesis and transformation of Krook, M., 68
institutions, 67–70
emergence, 57–58 Lacan, J., 77, 130
methods, 68 Laclau, E., 131–33, 137
strands of, 60 Laitin, D., 36
traditional approach, 55–56 Lakoff, G., 182
intergroup hostility, competition over Lane, R., 94
scarce resources and, 145 Lanzara, G., 70
international order, hegemony and the, Lasswell, H.D., 144, 326
121–23 Lenin, V., 118
international relations, narrowing of Lévi-Strauss, C., 127
the gap between domestic Levitt, S., 42
politics and, 2 Lewis, C., 203
interpretive filters, 18, 75 Lewis, D., 85
interpretivism, 84, 179, 181, 188–93, Lijphart, A., 273, 302
195–96, 246, 251 Lincoln, Y., 182
intersectional identities, 18, 102 Lindblom, C., 201
intersectionality, 96, 101–2, 106 Lipset, S.M., 272–73

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386  Index

List, F., 116 ‘May 68’ movement, 125

Locke, J., 115 McAnulla, S., 201
Lodge, M., 329 McGrew, A., 120
The Logic of Collective Action Meier, S., 296
(Olson), 43 meta-theoretical issues
Lupton, D., 324 agency, 202–3
Lynch, C., 79 constructivism, 209–11
the ideational realm, 204
Madness and Civilisation (Foucault), stability and change, 211
131 circadian conception of time, 213
Making Political Science Matter: linear conception of time, 212
Debating Knowledge, non-linear conception of time,
Research and Method 212–13
(Schram/Caterino), 241 punctuated evolution model,
Making Social Science Matter: Why 213–17
Social Inquiry Fails and structure, 201–2
How It Can Succeed Again structure/agency debate, 204
(Flyvbjerg), 241 habitus, 208–9
Malhotra, N., 266 morphogenetic approach, 205–6
March, J.G., 55, 57, 62, 69, 74 strategic-relational approach, 206–8
Margetts, H., 175, 299, 303 structuration theory, 205
marginal seats, study into resource Mexico, 116, 297, 300
allocation, 265 Milgram, S., 148–49, 301
marriage, the lived experience, 188 militarism, masculinity and, 99
Marx, K., 112–13, 116 Mill, J. S., 115, 274
Marxism, 18–19, 109 Miller, D., 168
capitalism Miller, G., 60, 165, 168, 270, 293
Marx and , 112–14 Miller, H., 60
and nationalism, 114 Miller, W. L., 293
continued relevance of Marxist Mintz, A., 302
ideas, 121–23 Mische, A., 202
globalisation Mitchell, T., 79
defined, 120–21 Mols, F., 19
as uneven and combined Montreal Protocol, 47
development, 121 Moran, M., 202
hegemony morphogenetic approach, 205–6
Gramsci’s concept, 119–20 Morton, R., 291, 293
and the international order, 121–23 Mouffe, C., 131
imperialism and uneven Mudde, C., 216
development as dependency, Mueller, D., 40
118–19 multiculturalism, 152
and inequality in the international multinational corporations, 20, 121
order, 116–18 multivariate analysis, 261–65
Marxist economism Murray, R., 99
and base and superstructure, Mussolini, Benito, 144
110–12 Mutz, D.C., 195–96
and capitalist diffusion, 115–16
preferred definition of politics, 8 nationalism, 96, 114, 169
and realism, 193 natural experiments, 269
and realism in IR, 82 natural language processing, 315
masculinity, in politics, 100 new social movements, 125, 133, 153
May, Theresa, 216 Nietzsche, F., 131, 135

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non-academic research, importance of
inclusion for political science:
327, 327–28
normative theory
compatibility with rational choice
approaches, 70–73
facts and values , 162–64
and global justice, 164–65
institutionalism and, 58, 62, 69
normative wing of the new
institutionalism, 61
political ideals and feasibility, 166–70
poststructuralist approach, 131
reflective equilibrium, 159–62
Norris, P., 103
nudge approach, 154
obedience to authority, Milgram’s
experiments, 148–49, 301
observational research, 37–38, 219,
228, 231–32, 265, 268, 291
case study selection strategies, 232–33
Of Grammatology (Derrida), 129
Offe, C., 62
Olsen, J.P., 55, 57, 62, 69, 74
Olson, M., 43, 45–46
ontology, 177
deliberative democracy , 195–97
in empirical research , 194–95
epistemological positions
the meaning of epistemology and,
178–79
ontological positions
anti-foundationalism, 182–83
constructivism, 182–83
critical realism, 193–94
distinctions, 183, 185
foundationalism, 182
interpretivism, 189–93
objectivism, 182
positivism, 184, 186–89
realism, 182
relativism, 182–83
scientific vs hermeneutic
approaches, 183–84
relationship between epistemology
and, 179–81
ordinary least squares model (OLS),
261–63, 267
outsourcing, 120
ozone depletion, collective action and,
47
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Index  387
Pachirat, T., 79
Palfrey, T., 292, 294
panel data analysis, 268–69
paradox of thrift, Keynes’ concept, 42
Parsons, T., 76
path dependency, 63, 67, 209, 318
patriarchy, 130, 132, 184
Paxton, P., 96
Payne, A., 202
Peltzman, Sam, 41
‘Perestroika’ movement, 240–42, 318, 327
Perspectives on Politics, 241–42
persuasion, constructivist argument, 86
Peters, B.G., 55, 62, 66–67, 176
Pierre, J., 63, 176
Pierson, P., 65, 243
Plato, 2
Podemos, 19, 124, 132
Poletta, F., 197
policymaking, politics of, 327
political analysis, principal approach
in the early 20th century, 272
Political Life (Lane), 94
Political Man (Lipset), 272–73
Political Psychology (Journal), 142
politics
as academic discipline, 1
approaches to political science, 3
diversity of political science, 11–13
internationalisation of political
science, 2, 120
the nature of, 7–9
origins, 2
scientific approach, 9–11
world politics, 2
Politics and Markets (Lindblom), 201
Polsby, N., 56
populism, 19, 216, 234, 322, 329
positivism, 94
post-behaviouralism, 37–38
poststructuralism, 19, 125–26
criticism and evaluation, 137–40
defining, 125–26
emergence, 127, 129
the Essex School, 132
French structuralism, 127–28
‘normative deficit,’ 139
ontological and epistemological
assumptions, 133–36
in politics and international
relations, 130–33
from structuralism to, 129–30
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388  Index
post-truth politics, 329
post-war period, dominance of
positivist epistemology, 185
Pouliot, V., 79
poverty reduction, 121
power
capillary power, 203
constraints on the use of, 8
Foucault on, 138
pre-registration, 242–43
Preston, T., 147
prisoner’s dilemma game, 44–47, 51
privatisation, 57
process-tracing, 88–89, 235, 252,
286–87
productive forces, 113–15, 117
proletariat, 8, 110–11, 113–15, 120
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism (Weber), 76
psychology, 19
attitudes
causes and consequences of
political attitudes, 152
political beliefs and voter
attitudes, 151–53
case for importing into political
science, 142
the field of political psychology,
142–44
homo economicus to homo
psychologicus, 154
methods and prospects of the field,
155–57
political conflict and contention,
144, 146
political decision-making
and ‘groupthink,’ 155–56
understanding, 154–55
political leadership/followership,
146–50
charismatic leadership, 150
nature of the psychological
contract, 147–50
personality traits of leaders, 147
potential of identity-based issue
framing, 151–52
radicalisation and extremism, 152–53
Psychopathology and Politics
(Lasswell), 144
punctuated equilibrium, 67, 212
purposive sampling, 247, 279, 280
p-values, 264
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qualitative methods
core attributes, 245
debates about quantitative methods
and, 237–43
distinctiveness, 243–44
ethnography, 246–49
feminist approaches and, 239–40
group discussion, 246–49
interviews, 246–49
the label of qualitative methodology,
229
more detailed recording of research
design, 255
primary research , 246–49
rediscovery, 237–43
research techniques, 244–46
secondary research, 249–52
use and future use, 252
quantitative methods
data collection/management,
255–57
debates about qualitative methods
and , 237–43
descriptive measures, 257–58
divide between qualitative methods
and, 254
multivariate analysis, 261–65
non-parametric models, 263
recent developments, 268–69
tables and inferential statistics,
259–61
testing and reporting models,
265–68
quasi-experiments, 269
Quattrone, G.A., 296
Quine, W., 187
race-gendering, mechanisms, 101
racism, institutional, 63
Ragin, C.C., 280–82
Randall, V., 93
randomised controlled trials/
experiments, 154, 228, 268,
273–74, 299
rational choice theory, 17, 39–40
collective action
and the environment, 46–48
logic of, 43–46
compatibility with normative
approaches, 70–73
constructivism and, 80
criticisms, 48–51
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Index  389

institutionalism and, 50, 58, 62 levels of generality, 219–20

methods, 40–43 methodological choices, 228–30
organising perspective, 52 overview of the process, 220–22
prisoner’s dilemma, 44–45, 51 the power and promise, 235–36
and the puzzle of the Trump victory, questions and goals, 222
325 description, 223–24
and theoretical ‘border crossing,’ 40 explanation, 224–25
Rawls, J., 159 interpretation, 225
on reflective equilibrium, 159–62 theory and empirical research,
Realistic Conflict Theory, 145–46 225–27
Reed, M., 192 Research Network on Gender, Politics
reflective equilibrium, 159, 162 and the State (RNGS), 104
reflexivity, 190–91, 245, 251–52 resources, conflict over and intergroup
relevance of political science hostility, 145
better communication position, Reynolds, A., 325–26
323–24 Richardson, L., 328
civic culture contribution position, Right-Wing Authoritarianism scale,
329 145
good science position, 322–23 Rittberger, V., 65
importance of diversity and cross Robbers Cave experiment, 145
boundary engagement, 331 Roberts, M.E., 71
non-academic research Robinson, B., 120
co-production position, Robson, J., 56
327–28 Rodon, T., 95
problem-oriented focus position, Rogowski, R., 322
324–25 Rorty, R., 135
recommendations for the future of Rothstein, B., 62, 65
the discipline, 330 Rubinstein, A., 41
solution-seeking position, 325, 327 rules-in-form, 66
replication, 30, 242, 255, 264, 266–67 rules-in-use, 66–67
research Russia, 79, 110, 119
case-oriented vs variable-oriented, Ryan, M., 175
280–81 Rydgren, J., 145
non-academic, 328
qualitative methods Salganik, M., 294
primary research , 246–49 Sanders, D., 10, 17, 189
secondary research, 249–52 Sapiro, V., 105
research techniques , 244–46 Saussure, F. de, 132
testing the value of evidence, 287 Savigny, H., 239
text/document-based techniques, Sayer, A., 202
249–52 Scarbrough, E., 264
research design, 219 Schafer, M., 156
case/variable selection strategies Schmidt, Eric, 306
comparative research, 233 Schneider, C.Q., 282
experimental research, 230–31 Schram, S., 79, 241
observational research, 232–33 Schwartz-Shea, P., 79, 239, 242
single-case studies and within-case Schwindt-Bayer, L., 106
analysis, 234–35 Scotland, DevolutionMax, 217
conceptualisation and Scott, J., 98
operationalisation, 227–28 Sears, R.R., 145
detailed recording of in qualitative Seawright, J., 286
research, 255 Second World War, 118–19, 145–46

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390  Index

secularism, 57 Steinmo, S., 65, 68

Segerberg, A., 314 Stewart, M., 31
selection bias, 232, 250 Stoker, G., 175–76, 299, 325
Shapiro, I., 324 strategic-relational approach, 206–8
Sherif, M., 145 Strauss, Anselm, 247
Skocpol, T., 278 straw-in-the-wind tests, 287
slavery, and its abolition, 112 structuration theory, 205
Smirnov, O., 294 structure and agency
Smith, N., 214 the concept, 200–202
Smith, S., 184, 193 Giddens’ coin analogy, 205, 207
smoking gun tests, 287 habitus, 208–9
Snapchat, 304 morphogenetic approach, 205–6
social capital, volunteering as a structuration theory, 205
measure of, 259 Sumner, A., 122
social class, Bourdieu’s conception, 209 Superfreakonomics (Levitt/Dubner),
social construction mechanisms, 85–87 42
bricolage, 86–87 superstructure, 81–82, 110, 120
persuasion, 86 elements, 111
socialisation, 85 survey experiments, 269
social media Switzerland, 97
academics’ use of, 324 Syriza, 19, 124, 132
and collection of data, 317
and discourse analysis of visual Taiwan, 122
images, 252 Tajfel, H., 145
ethical challenges of using in Tanenbaum, E., 264
experimentation, 302 Taylor, B., 17
social revolution, Skocpol’s study, Taylor, R., 58–59
278–79 terrorism, research strategies, 275–76,
social science experiments, public 279
image, 301 Thailand, 100
socialisation, constructivist Thatcherism, 132
perspective, 85 A Theory of Justice (Rawls), 159–60
socialism, 111, 113–14 ‘thick’ description, 191, 225, 237, 242,
sociological institutionalism, 60, 77, 245, 249
88 Thiem, A., 281
solutions, importance of political Thies, C., 250
science’s capacity for Think Like a Freak (Levitt/Dubner),
development of, 325, 327 42
South China Sea, 122 thrift, Keynes’ paradox, 42
sovereignty, 81, 132 Thucydides, 39
Spain, 316 Tilly, C., 250
spatial models, 269 time
Spencer, N., 180–81 circadian conception of, 213
stability and change, 211 linear conception of, 212
circadian conception of time, 213 non-linear conception of, 212–13
linear conception of time, 212 Time-Sharing Experiments for the
non-linear conception of time, 212–13 Social Sciences, 298
punctuated evolution model, 213–17 Tonkiss, F., 212–13
standard operating procedures (SOPs), Toshkov, D., 174
66 ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’
States and Social Revolutions (Skocpol), (Hardin), 46
278 transformational leadership, 149–50

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Index  391

transparency, 236, 242, 255, 267, 298 Van Evera, S., 287
Trotsky, L., 112, 118–19 Verba, S., 94, 189, 254, 273
Trump, Donald J., 199, 234, 321, 325 Verge, T., 95
truth, poststructuralist reflections on Vietnam War, 299
the status of, 135 voluntarism, and agency, 137
Tunisia, 234 volunteering
Tversky, A., 296 quantitative study, 259, 261
Twitter, 300, 303, 305, 310–12, 316, relationship between wealth and,
318, 324 261
voter attitudes, elections and, 153
ultimatum game, 49–50 voter turnout, research strategies,
United Kingdom (UK) 277–78, 282, 297
airport expansion, 132 voting behaviour
British Political Tradition (BPT), internet-based experimentation,
215–16 298
compulsory methods courses researching, 20, 200
introduced, 239 Vromen, A., 174
devolution, 216–17
feminist activism, 93 Wade, R., 331
New Labour, 216 Wagemann, C., 282
and the punctuated evolution model, Weaver, R., 298
212, 215–16 Weber, M., 76, 78–79
referendum on leaving the EU (see Wedeen, L., 79
also Brexit), 223, 284, 286, 299 welfare state, capitalist perspective,
treatment of violence against women 111
in the home, 7–8 Wenman, M., 19
UKIP, 216 Westminster model, 56, 63
‘Winter of Discontent,’ 214 WhatsApp, 303
United Nations, 79 Wildavsky, A., 322
United States of America (USA) Williams, E., 112
annexation of part of Mexico, 116 Williams, K., 112, 201, 203, 228,
and climate change, 47 291–93, 296–97, 305
election of Donald Trump, 199, 234, Wilson, Woodrow, 56
321, 325 Winch, P., 79
exercise of hegemony, 123 Wincott, D., 70
experimental tradition, 297, 302 ‘Winter of Discontent,’ 214
feminist activism, 93 women, exclusion from the state, 104
Health Insurance Experiment, 297 women’s suffrage, role in democratic
liberalism in, 71 transition, 97–98
lynchings, 145 working class, 110–11, 113–15, 119
presence of qualitative methods in World Bank, 120
political science, 240 Writing and Difference (Derrida), 129
relationship with China, 122
social movements, 197 Yanow, D., 79, 239, 242

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