Epistemology and Methods Model Building: Concepts, Arguments, and Hypotheses April

„Model Building“ Deductive approach Theory Construct an explanation Suggest hypotheses / predictions “Testing” Inductive approach Observation Theory/dominant explanation fails to account for outcomes In-depth analysis of explanatory variables Potentially new explanation / theory-building

Theories (in the positivist tradition) consist of… Laws Hypotheses Explanations Antecedent conditions Variables

Law Observed regular relationship between two phenomena (statements of regularity) These can deterministic (“if A then always B”) or probabilistic (“if A then sometimes B, with probability X”) Examples: Democratic states don’t go to war against each other (deterministic) The more democratic a state the greater the support for environmental multilateralism (probabilistic)

Hypotheses A conjectured relationship between two phenomena Example: Legalization literature / What is the effect of an increased legalized dispute settlement system on contracting parties willingness to further liberalize (or commit to additional rules)? Competing (working) hypotheses: H1: With increasing legalization of the WTO, contracting parties are more likely to liberalize H2: With increasing legalization of the WTO, contracting parties are less likely to liberalize

Explanation Explanation connects the cause to the phenomenon being caused, showing how causation occurs What could be the explanation for H1? What could be the explanation for H2?

Antecedent Condition preconditions, initial conditions A phenomenon whose presence activates or magnifies the action of a causal law or hypothesis “A causes B if C is present, otherwise not or only weakly” The more democratic a state is organized, the more it (economically) benefits from an open trading system C: if the level of corruption is less than… C: the causal effect increases with the number of existing bilateral trade agreements the state has concluded…

Variables Variable: A concept that has various values, e.g. the “degree of democracy” or “power” or “conflict”. Dependent Variable/outcome variable: –War (yes, no) (nominal) –GDP/capita (interval) –Degree of legalization (low, medium, high) (ordinal) Independent variable/explanatory variable: –the existence of a democracy (yes, no) –Share of imports/GDP –Distribution of power (unipolar, bipolar, multipolar) Intervening Variable: –“Democracy” leads to X and X leads to “great reluctance to go to war against another democracy”

Concepts Define concepts you work with! Good Governance, Sustainable Development, Globalization, Power, War, Conflict, Integration, Human Rights Big concepts, how to disaggregate Think early on about variance and measurement

Concepts Classification/Typologies Typologies are theoretical constructs used when variables are measured nominally... Political Systems: Presidential vs. Parliamentary systems Varieties of Capitalism (liberal vs. coordinated market economies) Developing Countries (e.g. OECD classification - ordinal)…

Constructing Arguments / Explanation Ask yourself questions to locate variables (pre-condition knowing the literature and theories) Example Geddes: Regime change Intuition! In order to explain regime change (DV), we try to understand why groups concluded that the old regime had become intolerable and how they developed the organizational strength and popular support needed to overthrow it...(Puzzle…)

Constructing Arguments / Explanation The breakdown of an authoritarian regime need not lead to democratization, but when it does, the transition involves bargaining and negotiation (induction through observation) Bargaining over institutions is a central feature of regime change

Existing explanations Addressing important factors/variables Political rivalries (internal/opposition) Upper-class support Risks of mass expressions of discontent Ideology Economic shocks Geopolitical shocks

Theorization of one process Politics in Authoritarian Regimes „Few authors have considered how characteristics of dictatorship affect transitions“ (omitted variable) Theory of politics within authoritarian regimes Assumptions from democratic theory (survival strategies): officials want to stay in office, best way to do so is to give constituents what they want Modifications –who are the constituents –what performance is necessary –But different interests of leaders in different regimes (e.g. personalist regime)

Theorization of one process The military regime Drawing on research of attitudes/preferences of military officers Logic of seizing power vs. returning to the barracks Coordination game between military fractions (Battle of Sexes) Ultimate goal is survival of military Solution: negotiations or credible first mover

Theorization of one process

Looking for implications As officers find themselves in battle-of-sexes game, military regimes break down more readily in response to internal splits (in comparison to other regimes) The costs for the military varies according to regime type after regime change... Military regimes last less long than other authoritarian regimes Economic crises having stronger disintegrating effect, etc...

Hypotheses from Implication Key argument: regime type affects the way transition occurs! Geddes looks at the causal mechanism, certain observations follow (that can be tested): Military regimes survive less long Military regimes are more quickly destabilized by poor economic performance Military regimes are more likely to end in negotiations … Various form of hypotheses Relational (longer, less long, more likely, etc…) As A increases also B increases A is a necessary / sufficient condition for B

Test questions to assess arguments / hypotheses Falsifiable? Do hypotheses that form part of a „theory“ contradict each other? Is there a problem of endogeneity? KKV: e.g. degree of residential segregation on conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in communities… Potentially omitted variables?

Test questions to assess arguments / hypotheses Case-selection –Has the outcome (DV) already occurred...Transition to Democracy? –Large n necessary? Case-selection (next session) Operationalization –How well can we operationalize and measure the variables (next session)