Theories of Area Studies professor Lee Area Studies VS Rational Choice Theory ( Political Science ) Presentation by Nasim

If a Buddhist monk self-immolated himself, would he be acting rationally within his own preference system, or would it be an irrational action explicable only by the draw of religion or culture?

Two approaches Rational Theorist Area specialist VS Rational choices of individualsHistoric and cultural backgrounds

Rational Choice Theory Quantitative and theoretical tools are part of the standard training today and the increasing use of formal models has made the field more rigorous and respected.

"While I think rational choice analysis has added a great deal to the field and will continue to be influential, I don't believe it will become the dominant paradigm, nor do I think that statistical studies are the only way to study politics," says Peter A. Hall, who studies comparative political economy with an emphasis on Western Europe. Area Studies The increasing emphasis on rational choice has obscured the need to utilize a variety of other important modes of analysis.

Exploring the Differences Ashutosh Varshney thinks that it is not a question of which approach is better but rather which approach is better for a particular query. "Rational choice is excellent at solving deductive puzzles. But rational choice has a lot of trouble explaining mass mobilization," says Varshney. "Just as it is hard to explain--given rational calculations of cost and benefit, why people vote--it is also hard to understand--with tools of rational choice--why so many people in the world demonstrate ethnic fervor or embrace nationalism," Varshney writes

Exploring the Differences An Associate Professor of the Social Sciences A. Iain Johnston says the primary difference between area specialists and those who believe in rational choice is a greater emphasis on the part of the former on the importance of tradition and culture. "Certain sets of behaviors are so deeply internalized that they are taken for granted and not questioned. It is those kinds of behaviors that rational choice has traditionally not focused on," Johnston says.

Discussion Many scholars who employ rational choice have focused their criticisms on area specialists who do not generate supportable theories that are applicable across different cultures and nations. 1.In what extent could this be true? Do you think Area studies could be generalized? 2.Do you think rational choice theory and area studies could be complementary approaches toward each other?