Political contingency : studying the unexpected, the accidental, and the unforeseen / edited by Ian Shapiro and Sonu Bedi.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Shapiro, Ian.

Bedi, Sonu.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political science--Methodology.

Political science.

Causation--Political aspects.

Causation.

World politics--1989-.

World politics.

Imaginary histories.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (305 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

History is replete with instances of what might, or might not, have been. By calling something contingent, at a minimum we are saying that it did not have to be as it is. Things could have been otherwise, and they would have been otherwise if something had happened differently. This collection of original essays examines the significance of contingency in the study of politics. That is, how to study unexpected, accidental, or unknowable political phenomena in a systematic fashion. Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated. Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait. Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans. How might history be different had these events not happened? How should social scientists interpret the significance of these events and can such unexpected outcomes be accounted for in a systematic way or by theoretical models? Can these unpredictable events be predicted for? Political Contingency addresses these and other related questions, providing theoretical and historical perspectives on the topic, empirical case studies, and the methodological challenges that the fact of contingency poses for the study of politics.Contributors: Sonu Bedi, Traci Burch, Jennifer L. Hochschild, Gregory A. Huber, Courtney Jung, David R. Mayhew, Philip Pettit, Andreas Schedler, Mark R. Shulman, Robert G. Shulman, Ian Shapiro, Susan Stokes, Elisabeth Jean Wood, and David Wootton

Contents:

Introduction: Contingency's challenge to political science / Ian Shapiro and Sonu Bedi

From fortune to feedback : contingency and the birth of modern political science / David Wootton

Mapping contingency / Andreas Schedler

Resilience as the explanandum of social theory / Philip Pettit

Events as causes : the case of American politics / David R. Mayhew

Contingent public policies and racial hierarchy : lessons from immigration and census policies / Jennifer Hochschild and Traci Burch

Region, contingency, and democratization / Susan Stokes

Contingency, politics, and the nature of inquiry : why non-events matter / Gregory A. Huber

Modeling contingency / Elisabeth Jean Wood

When democracy complicates peace : how democratic contingencies affect negotiated settlements / Courtney Jung

Contingency in biophysical research / Robert G. Shulman and Mark R. Shulman.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814708828

081470882X

9780814740729

0814740723

OCLC:

782878111