1st Edition
Facts and Explanations in International Studies...and beyond
Preface and Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Facts
Chapter 2: Descriptions
Chapter 3: Causal Explanations
Chapter 4: Explaining Outcomes Causally
Chapter 5: Interpretive Explanation
Chapter 6: Evaluating Claims and Explanations
Chapter 7: Postscript
References
Index
Biography
Patrick Thaddeus Jackson is Professor of International Studies and Chair of the Department of Global Inquiry in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. He is the author of one of the foundational (and award-winning) books on philosophy of science in international studies (The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations), and has been working on problems related to knowledge and explanation for much of his career, including developing and teaching multiple courses for both undergraduate and graduate students. For approximately 15 years he also has taught philosophy of science and research design in short-term intensive graduate courses around the world for the European Consortium on Political Research, the International Political Science Association, and MethodsNET.
Jackson’s Facts and Explanations is a must-read for scholars and students, regardless of epistemology or political persuasion. It makes a convincing case that how we claim to know matters as much as, if not more than, what we claim to know. In making this case, Jackson marshals an impressively broad body of literature on knowledge, fact, and science, providing a singular perspective that combines the complexities of hundreds of years of thought and the many conflicting messages of the 21st century in an elegant and parsimonious way. We will all be stronger analysts more capable of navigating international studies ….and beyond for having read this book.
- Laura Sjoberg, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
With his usual panache, Patrick Thaddeus Jackson argues convincingly that explanations rely not only on facts, but on general claims that connects those facts and suggest how they may have effects. From now on, MaFGA stands for Making Facts Great Again.
- Iver B. Neumann, Director of The Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway
Patrick Jackson’s new book offers a highly original investigation into three activities which are of fundamental importance for all social sciences: description, causal explanation, and interpretive explanation. Jackson’s style is engaging, and his contentions are thought-provoking, guided by his desire inter alia to facilitate a mutual understanding, on the subject of causal explanation in particular, between neopositivists, faith communities, and those social scientists who broadly share his stance, based on the manipulationist theory of causation. He also provides an insightful discussion about what an interpretive explanation may achieve, informed by his thoughtful engagement with the work of Charles Manning, a foundational member of the so-called ‘English School of International Relations’.
- Hidemi Suganami, Aberystwyth University, UK
