I Political Science : Method and Theory / Science Politique : Méthodes et Théories
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00208345221142022 |
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
769
I
POLITICAL SCIENCE : METHOD AND THEORY
SCIENCE POLITIQUE : MÉTHODES ET THÉORIES
72.7017 ABRAMSON, Yehonatan ; HEIMANN, Gadi ; KAMPF, Zohar
— The servant of many masters: the multiple commit-
ments of state-agents. International Studies Quarterly 66(3),
Sept. 2022 : online.
Personal commitments are a ubiquitous but undertheorized phenomenon
in the everyday wheels of world politics. While resonating with multiple
threads in IR theory, the role of individuals’ commitments in statecraft,
diplomacy, and foreign policy has hardly been addressed in and of itself.
Drawing on insights from symbolic interactionism and organizational psy-
chology, this article conceptualizes the notion of commitment highlighting
its omnipresence in foreign policy and diplomatic practice. Specifically,
the article demonstrates the analytical cache of the notion of commitment
by focusing on moments when state-agents deviated from their commit-
ment to the national interest, acting on behalf of other foci of commitment.
Relying on Israeli, French, and EU diplomatic archives, we examine three
illustrative case studies that show how and why state-agents dedicate
time, energy, and resources to advance interests other than those of the
state. [R]
72.7018 ACKERMAN, Gary A. ; BURNHAM, Michael — Towards a
definition of terrorist ideology. Terrorism and Political Vio-
lence 33(6), 2021 : 1160-1190.
While conventional wisdom holds that the ideology espoused by a terror-
ist organization is somehow related to that organization’s actions, the pre-
cise nature of the relationship between these phenomena is hotly de-
bated, with scholarship often yielding contrasting empirical results. We
argue that one reason for this divergence in viewpoints and research find-
ings is an inadequate understanding of what ideology actually is and how
it relates to terrorism. Indeed, the terrorism literature reveals widely dis-
parate uses of the concept of terrorist ideology. This article endeavors to
provide a common framework for approaching ideology in the context of
terrorism studies by systematically building a new definition of terrorist
ideology from first principles. In so doing, we introduce a definition of ter-
rorist ideology that is logically consistent, has robust theoretical underpin-
nings, and connects the study of ideology within terrorism to broader dis-
ciplinary research traditions regarding ideology. [R, abr.]
72.7019 AFSAHI, Afsoun — The role of self-interest in deliberation:
a theory of deliberative capital. Political Studies 70(3), Aug.
2022 : 701-718.
How do successful deliberations unfold? What happens when they un-
ravel? In this article, I propose that we think of the dynamics of participant
engagement within deliberation as series of self-interested and reciprocal
investments in and divestments from deliberative capital. This article has
three parts. First, I draw on the literatures on deliberative democracy and
social capital to outline a theory of deliberative capital. I highlight the im-
portant role self-interest plays in the process of those initial investments
— instances of engagement in positive deliberative behaviours. Second,
drawing from my experience as a facilitator, I give an account of the par-
ticular indicators of investments and divestments that we might expect to
see in a given deliberative engagement. Third, I briefly outline two inno-
vative facilitation techniques that can be utilized at the beginning or during
a deliberative process that trigger self-interest, which incentivizes invest-
ments and discourages divestments. [R]
72.7020 ALAMI, Ilias, et al. — What is the new state capitalism?
Contemporary Politics 28(3), 2022 : 245-263.
We start by noting that the rubric state capitalism tends to elicit paradox-
ical responses, from uncritically embracing the term and overstretching
its realms of application, to rejecting its validity altogether. We argue that
the source of such ambivalence resides in issues of conceptual definition,
which have led to a number of analytical impasses. We propose instead
to construe state capitalism as a set of critical interrogations concerning
the changing role of the state, thereby introducing a degree of plasticity
in the use of the category. We call this the problématique of state capital-
ism. We subsequently identify three major themes that are explored in
this dedicated issue, and that warrant further research in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic, namely (1) its class underpinnings, (2) its global
nature, and (3) its relational character. [R] [Introduction to a thematic is-
sue on "What is the new state capitalism?". See Abstr. 72.7092, 7132,
7141, 7681, 7878]
72.7021 ALESSIO, Dominic ; RENFRO, Wesley — Building empires
litorally in the South China Se a: artificial islands and
contesting definitions of imperialism. International Politics
59(4), Aug. 2022 : 687-706.
As scholars interested in theories of empire, our investigation focuses on
the physical construction of islands as a means, both literally and litorally,
of empire-building. In traditional academic discourse on imperialism, em-
pires are often described as large states invading foreign territory. The
presumption is that this territory exists and is ready to be occupied. Our
work instead examines the possibility of states physically creating new
territory in order to establish or expand their empires. We focus upon an
initiative by China, the world’s most populous country and a growing su-
per-power “seeking a regional and global role”, to develop a land recla-
mation campaign for the construction of “massive air bases” on at least
seven previously uninhabited rocks and reefs in the Spratly Islands in the
South China Sea. [R]
72.7022 ALLARD-TREMBLAY, Yann — The Two Row Wampum: de-
colonizing and indigenizing democratic autonomy. Polity
54(2), Apr. 2022 : 225-249.
This paper contributes to the decolonization and indigenization of demo-
cratic theory. Regarding decolonization, I explain that democratic self-de-
termination is typically associated with sovereign autonomy and can
serve to justify policies and discourses of settler colonial control, erasure,
and assimilation. Regarding Indigenization, I reconceptualize democratic
self-determination from an Indigenous starting point. I discuss the Two
Row Wampum of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and offer an account
of the political principles it embodies. I interpret it as advancing a rela-
tional conception of democratic autonomy, which makes it possible to em-
brace a plurality of political arrangements and political actors, to blur the
distinction between internal authority and external sovereignty, and to de-
emphasize the enforcement of decisions in favor of the maintenance of
commitments to a political relationship. [R]
72.7023 ALMASRI, Nasir ; READ, Blair ; VANDEWEERDT, Clara —
Mental health and the PhD: insights and implications for
Political Science. PS 55(2), Apr. 2022 : 347-353.
There is a severe mental health crisis among graduate students in politi-
cal science. We present findings from an original survey on the mental
health of political science PhD students at seven US universities. Our re-
sults are concerning: 15.8% expressed thoughts of suicide in the two
weeks prior to taking the survey. About 30% of respondents met the cri-
teria for depression and only a third of those were receiving treatment.
Approximately 32% met the criteria for anxiety and fewer than half were
receiving treatment. We also found that students w ith poorer mental
health were more isolated, had fewer friends in their department and
fewer people to turn to for help, and were more likely to contemplate drop-
ping out of their program. [R, abr.]
72.7024 APFELD, Brendan, et al. — Education and social capital.
Journal of Experimental Political Science 9(2), Summer
2022 : 162-188.
Early research suggested that education was a major factor in structuring
rates of political participation and social capital. More recent work based
on experimental or quasi-experimental evidence offers mixed findings. In
this study, we enlist a unique research setting in Romania, where passing
the baccalaureate is required for entrance into university, setting up the
occasion for a fuzzy RD design. The sample is drawn from a cross section
of Romanians whose scores fall just above or below the cutoff. Because
the sample is large and the measurement of exam scores are fine-
grained, it is plausible to regard the outcome as continuous at the cutoff.
Because the number of exam takers is enormous, we are able to focus
on a very narrow bandwidth. The assumption of as-if random assignment
is, therefore, plausible. We find that university attendance in Romania in-
creases social capital as measured by our composite index, corroborating
the main hypothesis. [R]
72.7025 AYOUB, Phillip M. — Reverse research design: research
design in the undergraduate classroom. PS 55(2), Apr.
2022 : 424-428.
Teaching research design is a core component of a political science cur-
riculum. In our pedagogy, we often do two things separately: expecting
students to (1) read and digest the work of established scholars, and (2)
explore their own interests in the form of a research design or research
paper. In a reverse research design, I bridge these two components with
a pedagogical tool. I use a published book or article relevant to the course
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