A/541639

Theory and Methods inPolitical Science

Third Edition

Edited by

David Marshand

Gerry Stoker

macrmillan

Contents

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes . xii

Preface to the Third Edition xiii

Notes on the Editors and Contributors xiv

Introduction 1Gerry Stoker and David Marsh

What is politics? What is it that political scientists study? 6What is a scientific approach to politics? 9The discipline of political science: a celebration of diversity 11

PART 1 THEORY AND APPROACHES

Introduction to Part 1 15Gerry Stoker

1 Behavioural Analysis 23David Sanders

The rise of the behavioural movement and its corecharacteristics 24Criticisms of the behavioural approach 29

(a) Objections to the positivist claim that statementswhich are neither definitions (useful tautologies) norempirical are meaningless 29

(b) The tendency towards mindless empiricism 30(c) The assumed independence of theory and observation 32

The strengths of the behavioural approach: an example 33Conclusion: the behavioural legacy in the 21 st century 39Further reading 41

2 Rational Choice 42Andrew Hindmoor

The method of economics (and rational choice) 43Rational choice in action: the logic of party competition 45

The Downs perspective 45Up from Downs 47

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Rational choice in the round 50What's wrong with rational choice? 51

(a) The assumptions are wrong. People are just notlike that 51

(b) The logic of the explanation is wrong. Rational choiceprivileges structure over agency and ignores ideas 54

(c) Rational choice's empirical record is actually quitepoor 55

(d) Rational choice is politically destructive 56Types, tokens and leverage: a qualified defence of rationalchoice 51Conclusion 59Further reading 59

3 The Institutional Approach 60Vivien Lowndes

The 'traditional' institutional approach 62The rise of the 'new institutionalism' 63What's new about new institutionalism? The core featuresof the approach 66

(a) From a focus on organizations to a focus on rules 61(b) From a formal to an informal conception of

institutions 61(c) From a static to a dynamic conception of institutions 68(d) From submerged values to a value-critical stance 69(e) From a holistic to a differentiated conception of

institutions 69(f) From independence to embeddedness 70

New institutionalist dilemmas 71a) What is an institution anyway? 71b) Where do institutions come from, and how do they

change? 74c) Are the normative and rational choice approaches

compatible? 76Conclusion 78Further reading 79

4 Constructivism and Interpretive Theory 80Craig Parsons

Origins of constructivism 81What is and isn't distinctive about constructivism 83Variations within constructivism 89

Contents vii

Modern and postmodern variations 89Different methods 91

Different mechanisms and different social constructs 94Socialisation 94Persuasion 95Bricolage 96

Conclusion ' 97Further reading 98

5 Political Psychology 99Paul't Hart

Roots and promise of political psychology 100'Homo psychologies' in political life 102Political psychology at work 106

The cognitive dimension: how beliefs and perceptionsshape political action 106The motivational dimension: personality and politicalstyle 108The social dimension: groups and intergroup relations 110

The future for political psychology 111Further reading 113

6 Feminism 114Vicky Randall

Debates within feminism 115Feminism and political science 117Epistemology and methodological issues 119Re-conceptualizing politics 122Gendering the state 127Critical responses to feminist political science 132

Universalism 132Essentialism 132Uncritical 132Restrictive 133Ineffective 134

Conclusion: the way forward 134Further reading 135

7 Marxism 136Diarmuid Maguire

The continuing relevance of Marxism: from CommunistManifesto to No Logo 138

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Continuing problems in MarxismMarxism and international relationsInsights fromcontemporary Marxist analysis

Marxist analysis of the war in Iraq, 2003The financial crisis 2008-9: comparative orinternational?

Developing MarxismNations and statesSpatial politicsPolitical culture

ConclusionsFurther reading

8 Normative TheorySteve Buckler

The rise of liberalismChallenges to liberalism

(a) Critical theory(b) Communitarianism(c) Postmodernism

Conclusion: the victory of liberalism?To what extent should liberal states adopt policiesgeared to material redistribution?Should the state legislate for morals?How should liberals respond to illiberal beliefs?

Further reading

PART 2 METHODS AND RESEARCH DESIGN

Introduction to Part 2Gerry Stoker

141143145145

147148148150152154155

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9 A Skin Not a Sweater: Ontology and Epistemology in PoliticalScience 184Paul Furlong and David Marsh

Ontology and epistemology introduced 184The meaning of ontology and epistemology(and methodology) 185The relationship between ontology and epistemology 186

Ontological and epistemological positions 188Foundationalism/objectivism/realism 189Anti-foundationalism/ constructivism/relativism 190

Contents ix

Distinguishing broad epistemological positionsInterrogating different approaches to ontology andepistemology

PositivismThe interpretivist positionRealism

Ontology and epistemology in political science: a casestudy of globalizationConclusionFurther reading

10 Meta-Theoretical IssuesDavid Marsh

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The connectedness of meta-theoretical issues 212Structure and agency: the dialectical approaches 215

Structuration theory 216The morphogenetic approach 216The strategic-relational approach 217Bourdieu and habitus 220

The material and the ideational: thin and thickconstructivism 221Stability and change 224

Hay: a linear conception of time 225Tonkiss: a non-linear conception of time 225Bates: a circadian conception of time 226More on punctuated evolution 226

Relative stasis and rapid change 226On the spatial dimension 227

Conclusion 229Further reading 231

11 The Challenge of Research Design 232BobHancke

Setting the stage: the philosophical foundations of researchdesign 233From philosophy to research design 235

Research starts with a question 236A question implies answers 237Engage the debate 237From debate to empirics 237

The relevant universe 239Time and history in the social sciences 242

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Sequence 242Timing 243Context 243Asymmetry 243Change 244

The 'social' in social science 245Conclusion 247Further reading 248

12 Debating Methods: Rediscovering Qualitative Approaches 249Ariadne Vromen

The rediscovery of qualitative methods 250What is distinctive about qualitative methods and analysis? 255Qualitative research techniques 257Interviews and group discussion 258Text/document based techniques 261Conclusions 265Further reading 266

13 Quantitative Methods 267Peter John

The collection and management of data 268The power of description 271Tables and inferential statistics 272Multivariate analysis 275Testing and reporting models 278Recent developments 282Conclusions 283Further reading 284

14 The Comparative Method 285Jonathan Hopkin

Theory and the comparative method 285Testing theories 286Why compare? 289

Basic forms of comparative explanation 291(a) The'method of difference' 291(b) The'method of agreement' 291(c) The'method of concomitant variations' 291(d) 'Most similar' and 'most different' 292

Large Ns: quantitative-comparative strategies 294

Contents xi

Limitations of the quantitative comparative approach 296Limited cases 296Limited data 297Data reliability 298Careless conceptualization 299

Small Ns: qualitative-comparative strategies 300Is quality more important than quantity? The case forqualitative comparative research 301

Conclusion: carry on comparing! 305Further reading 307

15 The Experimental Method: Prospects for Laboratory andField Studies 308Helen Margetts and Gerry Stoker

What is the experimental method ? 309The rise of experimentation 310Learning from laboratory experiments 313Learning from field experiments 316Pitfalls in the experimental method 317

Ethical challenges 318Practical problems 320

Conclusions 321Further reading 324

16 The Relevance of Political Science 325Guy Peters, Jon Pierre and Gerry Stoker

Introduction 325The case for relevance: objections and rebuttals 326Political science and democratic decay 330What do we know about political institutions? 334Political science and global governance . 337Conclusion 341

Bibliography 343

Index 385