I Political Science: Method and Theory / Science Politique: Méthodes et Théories
| Published date | 01 April 2022 |
| Date | 01 April 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00208345221091612 |
167
I
POLITICAL SCIENCE : METHOD AND THEORY
SCIENCE POLITIQUE : MÉTHODES ET THÉORIES
72.1543 AASKOVEN, Lasse ; GRUNDHOLM, Alexander Taaning —
Stability through constraints: the impact of fiscal rules on
autocratic survival. Democratization 28(4), 2021 : 1564-
1582.
A growing literature has investigated the role that formal and informal
economic institutions play for autocratic survival. However, this literature
has, so far, ignored a type of formal economic institution that has grown
in importance among both democracies and non-democracies in recent
decades, namely, national fiscal rules. In this article, we argue that fiscal
rules can affect autocratic survival but that the effect is time-dependent.
The introduction of a stricter fiscal rules framework causes short-term fis-
cal retrenchment and might increase the uncertainty among regime sup-
porters about the provision of future patronage and spoils. [R, abr.]
72.1544 ABBAS, Nabila ; SINTOMER, Yves — Les trois imaginaires
contemporains du tirage au sort en politique: démocratie
délibérative, démocratie antipolitique ou démocratie rad-
icale? (The three contemporary imaginaries of sortition
in politics: deliberative, anti-political or radical democ-
racy?). Raisons politiques 82, May 2021 : 33-54.
En France et au-delà, le tirage au sort est au centre d’importants débats
sur la démocratisation des institutions politiques. Des acteurs souvent
opposés l’érigent en moyen privilégié de répondre à la crise de la
représentation politique. Comment faire sens d’un consensus réunissant
des personnalités et courants disparates? Les deux dernières décennies
ont vu se modifier profondément le champ d’expérience et l’horizon d’at-
tentes des citoyens du Nord global. Nous avons reconstruit de façon
idéal-typique trois imaginaires contrastés qui proposent de développer
les mini-publics tirés au sort : la démocratie délibérative, la démocratie
antipolitique et la démocratie radicale. L’article analyse chacun d’eux, ex-
posant les parallèles et les contrastes qui les unissent ou les séparent,
contribuant ainsi à expliquer l’étonnante convergence de nombreux
acteurs autour de la sortition. [R] [Cf. Abstr. 72.1582]
72.1545 ADAMS, Matthew — An ideology critique of nonideal
methodology. European Journal of Political Theory 20(4),
Oct. 2021 : 675-697.
Ideal theory has been extensively contested on the grounds that it is ide-
ology: namely, that it performs the distorting social role of reifying and
enforcing unjust features of the status quo. Indeed, a growing number of
philosophers adopt a nonideal methodology — which dispenses with
ideal theory — because of this ideology critique. I argue, however, that
such philosophers are confused about the ultimate dialectical upshot of
this critique even if it succeeds. I do so by constructing a parallel —
equally plausible — ideology critique of nonideal methodology; specifi-
cally, I argue that capitalist and managerial social attitudes have com-
modified people’s conception of justice and induced suspicion of ideal
theory, which is not construed as having direct practical value. [R, abr.]
72.1546 AMO-AGYEMANG, Charles — Unmasking resilience as
governmentality: towards an Afrocentric epistemology.
International Politics 58(5), Oct. 2021 : 679-703.
This paper is a discussion of how indigenous Afrocentric epistemologies
proffer critiques and alternative to neoliberal discourses of resilience and
what differences it makes for the study of International Politics. There has
been an epistemological shift in recent times towards resilience as a form
of governance aimed at enhancing the agency and adaptive capacity of
populations. This has necessitated the mainstreaming and theorisation of
local systems of ontology. Importantly, the current emphasis privileges
how societies absorb and manage natural exigencies of life. The under-
lying assumption of this shift in the contemporary critical and policy dis-
course is that indigenous forms of ‘‘knowledge’’ and indigeneity can en-
hance the ability of local actors to navigate the uncertainties of a global-
ised world. [R, abr.]
72.1547 ANDERSON, Richard D., Jr — The colonialist roots of dem-
ocratic decay: collective action, experimental psychol-
ogy, and spatial discourse. Politics, Culture and Socializa-
tion 9(1-2), 2018 : 35-64.
Democracy and dictatorship both depend on collective action, which hu-
mans avoid because it takes more effort than it is worth. Experimental
psychology reveals that positive spatial discourse, explicit or implicit, re-
duces the effort that humans project a task to require. If so, dictatorships
arise because explicit positive spatial cues, capable of retaining
coherence only if assigning only to relatively few members of any popu-
lation, generate the collective repression by a minority that establishes
any dictatorship. [R, abr.]
72.1548 ARMSTRONG, Harvey W. ; READ, Robert — The non-sov-
ereign territories: economic and environmental chal-
lenges of sectoral and geographic over-specialisation in
tourism and financial services. European Urban and Re-
gional Studies 28(3), July 2021 : 213-240.
This paper analyses the economic and geographic characteristics of the
world’s principal non-sovereign territories in the context of the growth
challenges facing small economies. These territories enjoy high degrees
of policy autonomy within a complex array of relationships with their met-
ropolitan countries. Seven of the ten metropolitan powers are European
and account for 38 of the 49 inhabited non-sovereign territories. The ter-
ritories’ distinct econo mic and geographic cha racteristics, notably small
size and remoteness, have led to their adopting similar niche sectoral
growth strategies to those of small sovereign states and a reliance upon
tourism and financial services. This paper bridges the gap between large-
scale growth studies, which generally overlook non-sovereign entities,
and single case studies. [R, abr.]
72.1549 BA, Heather-Leigh Kathryn ; McKEOWN, Timothy — Does
grand theory shape officials’ speech? European Journal of
International Relations 27(4), 2021 : 1218-1248.
In what situations is the speech of foreign policy officials a reflection of
speech expounding grand theories of International Relations? Using a
linear support vector classification algorithm, we analyze all the published
volumes of Foreign Relations of the United States as a single corpus,
examining the use of five frames taken from a mix of academic theory
and day-to-day practice: realism, geopolitics, liberalism, Cold War poli-
tics, and a pragmatic frame. We also investigate how the use of these
frames varies across subject matter and in ways that are consistent with
some simple hypotheses that connect frame use to situational factors. [R]
72.1550 BADERIN, Alice — The continuity of ethics and political
theory. Journal of Politics 83(4), Oct. 2021 : 1734-1746.
What is the relationship between ethics and political theory? In particular,
is the study of interpersonal and social morality continuous with inquiry
into how we should lead our political lives? This article evaluates the call
for firmer boundaries between moral and political thou ght that is central
to recent realist critiques of analytical political theory. I identify, and reject,
three versions of this position, which I term “discontinuity realism.” My
critique draws attention to an important silence within discontinuity real-
ism, concerning how its call to address politics from within relates to the
feminist insight that politics is deeply intertwined with our personal
choices and interpersonal relationships. The article defends an alterna-
tive “continuity” approach to the study of ethics and political theory [which]
better realizes the realist’s own aspiration for greater sensitivity to empir-
ical detail in normative political theory. [R]
72.1551 BAEKKESKOV, Erik ; RUBIN, Olivier ; ÖBERG, PerOla —
Monotonous or pluralistic public discourse? Reason-giv-
ing and dissent in Denmark’s and Sweden’s early 2020
COVID-19 responses. Journal of European Public Policy
28(8), 2021 : 1321-1343.
We examine how pervasive crises like this pandemic shape public dis-
courses, proposing two ideal-types that discourse may tend toward. One
is pluralism, which includes authoritative voices that represent viable al-
ternative policies and credible reasons for them. The opposite is monot-
ony, where authoritative voices offer credible reasons for one policy op-
tion only. Two crucial cases for monotony are analysed, where news me-
dia represents public discourse. In initial COVID-19 responses, Denmark
pursued hard lockdown while neighbouring Sweden enacted voluntary
distancing. Pluralism in public discourses could be advantaged while so-
lutions remained uncertain and social and economic disruptions high, in
polities with mature democratic and scientific institutions. The empirical
analyses show that Denmark’s elected leaders and Sweden’s leading
health scientists publicly represented their respective national responses.
[R, abr.] [See Abstr. 72.1677]
72.1552 BARA, Corinne ; CLAYTON, Govinda ; RUSTAD, Siri Aas,
eds. — Understanding ceasefires. International Peace-
keeping 28(3), 2021 : 329-525.
Political science : method and theory
168
Introduction, pp. 329-340, by the editors. Articles by Govinda CLAYTON,
Laurie NATHAN and Claudia W IEHLER, "Ceasefire success: a concep-
tual framework", pp. 341-365; Malin ÅKEBO, "Ceasefire rationales: a
comparative study of ceasefires in the Moro and communist conflicts in
the Philippines", pp. 366-392; Kolby HANSON, "Live and let live: explain-
ing long-term truces in separatist conflicts", pp. 393-415; Claudia WIEH-
LER, "Deciding on the tit for the tat: decision-making in the wake of cease-
fire violations", pp. 416-443; Júlia PALIK, "Watchdogs of pause: the chal-
lenges of ceasefire monitoring in Yemen", pp. 444-469; Margaux
PINAUD, "Home-grown peace: civil society roles in ceasefire monitoring",
pp. 470-495; Alex WATERMAN, "Ceasefires and state order-making in
Naga Northeast India", pp. 496-525.
72.1553 BARNES, Richard ; SOLOMON, Justin — Gerrymandering
and compactness: implementation flexibility and abuse.
Political Analysis 29(4), Oct. 2021 : 448-466.
Political districts may be drawn to favor one group or political party over
another, or gerrymandered. A number of measurements have been sug-
gested as ways to detect and prevent such behavior. These measures
give concrete axes along which districts and districting plans can be com-
pared. However, measurement values are affected by both noise and the
compounding effects of seemingly innocuous implementation decisions.
Such issues will arise for any measure. As a case study demonstrating
the effect, we show that commonly used measures of geometric compact-
ness for district boundaries are affected by several factors irrelevant to
fairness or compliance with civil rights law. We further show that an ad-
versary could manipulate measurements to affect the assessment of a
given plan. This instability complicates using these measurements as leg-
islative or judicial standards to counteract unfair redistricting practices. [R,
abr.]
72.1554 BEER, David Löw, et al. — Wie legitim ist der Kohlekom-
promiss? Spannungsfelder und Verhandlungsdy-
namiken im Prozess der Kohlekommission (How legiti-
mate is the coal compromise? Areas of tension and ne-
gotiation dynamics in the Coal Commission process).
Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft 31(3), Sept. 2021 : 393-416.
Previous political science research on the legitimacy of expert commis-
sions has focused primarily on an assessment of their functions in the
political system and on individual aspects or dimensions of legitimacy.
We develop a comprehensive set of criteria for assessing the legitimacy
of the Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment (“Coal
Commission”, KWSB). It includes input (inclusiveness, political account-
ability), throughput (accountability in the process, transparency, delibera-
tive quality of work, inclusiveness and openness) and output legitimacy
(problem-solving capacity and public good orientation). The legitimacy of
the KWSB is assessed on the basis of document analyses as well as
interviews with 14 of the 28 commission members or their deputies. The
paper concludes with a discussion of how the legitimacy of comparable
commissions could be increased through regulation as well as elements
of direct democracy. [R, abr.]
72.1555 BELLINGER, Nisha ; FAILS, Matthew D. — When does oil
harm child mortality? Political Research Quarterly 74(3),
Sept. 2021 : 645-657.
When is oil a curse for health outcomes? This paper addresses the ques-
tion by analyzing the effect of oil wealth on child mortality rates in non-
democratic countries. We argue that oil is particularly likely to harm child
mortality when leaders have short time horizons. Such leaders are more
likely to use oil revenues to finance private goods and patronage which
builds their support coalition at the expense of public goods that benefit
the broader population. We test this argument using panel regression and
a global sample of nondemocratic regimes, supplemented with a case
study of Cameroon. Results from both empirical approaches are con-
sistent with our argument. These findings identify some specific condi-
tions under which oil can be detrimental to child mor tality, and thus ex-
plain some of the variation in health outcomes across oil-producing
states. [R]
72.1556 BENGTSON, Andreas — The all-affected principle and the
question of asymmetry. Political Research Quarterly 74(3),
Sept. 2021 : 718-728.
As a solution to the boundary problem, the question of who should take
part in making democratic decisions, the all-affected principle has gained
widespread support. An unexplored issue in relation to the all-affected
principle is whether there is an asymmetry between being affected nega-
tively and positively. Is it the case that only being negatively affected, and
not positively affected, by a decision generates a claim to inclusion under
the all-affected principle? I call this the question of asymmetry. Some an-
swer the question of asymmetry affirmatively. I believe they are wrong
and argue, instead, that we must answer this question by looking at the
reasons underlying the all-affected principle. I identify two main reasons
that have been proposed to underlie the all-affected principle — (1) the
opportunity for interest protection and (2) self-government — and show
why both of them entail that answering the question of asymmetry affirm-
atively is unfounded. [R, abr.]
72.1557 BLAGDEN, David — Roleplay, realpolitik and "great
powerness": the logical distinction between survival and
social performance in grand strategy. European Journal of
International Relations 27(4), 2021 : 1162-1192.
States exist in an anarchic international system in which survival is the
necessary precursor to fulfilling all of their citizens’ other interests. Yet
states’ inhabitants — and the policymakers they empower — also hold
social ideas about other ends that the state should value and how it
should pursue them: the ‘role’ they expect their state to ‘play’ in interna-
tional politics. Furthermore, such role-performative impulses can motivate
external behaviours inimical to security-maximization — and thus to the
state survival necessary for future interest-fulfilment. This article therefore
investigates the tensions between roleplay and realpolitik in grand strat-
egy. It does so through interrogation of four mutual incompatibilities in
role-performative and realpolitikal understandings of ‘Great Powerness’,
a core — but conceptually contested — international-systemic ordering
unit, thereby demonstrating their necessary logical distinctiveness. [R,
abr.]
72.1558 BLEWITT, Amanda ; CHOI, Christine ; KING, Elisabeth —
Combining the theory and practice of peace and conflict
studies through an experiential conflict analysis activity.
PS 54(4), Oct. 2021 : 744-749.
How can Political Science classes best prepare undergraduate students
for the field of peace and conflict studies (PACS)? We argue that well-
designed experiential learning activities provide opportunities for students
to embrace complexity and practice adaptability, fusing the theoretical
and practical in ways that prepare them to engage in PACS. This article
presents one such experiential learning approach: a conflict analysis ac-
tivity. Through engaging in a messy learning process, students (1) gain
an increased theoretical understanding of the complexity of conflict, (2)
practice adaptability, and (3) increase their self-efficacy. We provide a
step-by-step description of the Conflict Analysis Tool exercise and reflect
on how well the activity enables the use of knowledge and skills relevant
for PACS. [R, abr.]
72.1559 BOCHSLER, Daniel ; JUON, Andreas — Power-sharing and
the quality of democracy. European Political Science Re-
view 13(4), Nov. 2021 : 411-430.
Mounting evidence indicates that power-sharing supports transitions to
democracy. However, the resulting quality of democracy remains under-
studied. Given the increasing global spread of power-sharing, this is a
crucial oversight, as prominent critiques accuse it of a number of critical
deficiencies. The present article advanc es this literature in two ways.
First, it offers a comprehensive discussion of how power-sharing affects
the quality of democracy, going beyond specific individual aspects of de-
mocracy. It argues that power-sharing advances some of these aspects
while having drawbacks for others. Second, it offers the first systematic,
large- N analysis of the frequently discussed consequences of power-
sharing for the quality of democracy. It relies on a dataset measuring the
quality of democracy in 70 countries worldwide, combining it with new
fine- grained data for institutional power-sharing. [R, abr.]
72.1560 BOEHMKE, Frederick J. ; DION, Douglas ; SHIPAN, Charles
R. — A duration estimator for a continuous time war of
attrition game. Political Science Research and Methods 9(4),
Oct. 2021 : 760-778.
We developed a maximum likelihood estimator corresponding to the pre-
dicted hazard rate that emerges from a continuous time game of incom-
plete information with a fixed time horizon (i.e., Kreps and Wilson, 1982,
Journal of Economic Theory 27, 253-279). Such games have been widely
applied in economics and political science and involve two players en-
gaged in a war of attrition contest over some prize that they both value.
Each player can be either a strong or weak competitor. In the equilibrium
of interest, strong players do not quit whereas weak players play a mixed
strategy characterized by a hazard rate that increases up to an endoge-
nous point in time, after which only strong players remain. The observed
length of the contest can therefore be modeled as a mixture between two
unobserved underlying durations: one that increases until it abruptly ends
at an endogenous point in time and a second involving two strong players
that continues indefinitely. [R, abr.]
72.1561 BOIN, Arjen ; LODGE, Martin — Responding to the COVID-
19 crisis: a principled or pragmatist approach? Journal of
European Public Policy 28(8), 2021 : 1131-1152.
Uncertainties run deep during a crisis. Yet, leaders will have to make crit-
ical decisions in the absence of information they would like to have. How
do political leaders cope with this challenge? One way to deal with crisis-
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