Causation in International Relations

World political processes, such as wars and globalisation, are engendered by complex sets of causes and conditions. Although the idea of causation is fundamental to the field of International Relations, what the concept of cause means or entails has remained an unresolved and contested matter. In recent decades ferocious debates have surrounded the idea of causal analysis, some scholars even questioning the legitimacy of applying the notion of cause in the study of International Relations. This book suggests that underlying the debates on causation in the field of International Relations is a set of problematic assumptions (deterministic, mechanistic and empiricist) and that we should reclaim causal analysis from the dominant discourse of causation. Milja Kurki argues that reinterpreting the meaning, aims and methods of social scientific causal analysis opens up multi-causal and methodologically pluralist avenues for future International Relations scholarship.
Proposes a new approach to causal analysis in international relations by exploring the concept's roots and uses in the field.
Milja Kurki is a lecturer in the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Her research on the concept of cause in international relations theory has been awarded prizes by the British International Studies Association and the Political Studies Association.
"Cause is the central concept of any science, including human sciences. Yet, most IR scholars seem to assume that this is not the case, which explains in part the appalling state of the discipline. To paraphrase Kant, it is time to awaken IR scholars from their 'dogmatic slumber' by shifting the field of background discourse, as Kurki attempts to do here. Her brilliant book will no doubt make a huge contribution to the revival of cumulative research in world politics, peace and conflict studies and related fields."
Heikki Patomäki, Professor of International Relations, University of Helsinki
"Causation in International Relations displays Kurki's analytical talent, and signals the possibility of much good work to come."
Perspectives on Politics, Fred Chernoff, Colgate University