POLI 243 Lecture 25: Wh
Conclusion Lecture
April 13, 2016
Thinking in terms of theories: Yesterday, Today, and tomorrow
• Theories will link causal relationships that are not always obvious to you
• Remember what theories are supposed to do for us
o Relationships
o Simplify broad/complicated concepts
o Generalizable, parsimony, and accuracy
o Predictions
o prescriptions
• What can we learn from the past
o Where are the problems/weaknesses? How can we apply the theories, discover the
flaws, then improve them.
• Applications help us refine theories; better theories mean better policy guidance
o Policy prescription guided by quality predictions
• Today's intl political economy is different from past cases
o Theories must be adjusted and refined
o Old cases may not always be relevant
o Normative guidance is a weak spot in IR
▪ Security debates
▪ Intl environmental issues
Comparing theories
• Put theories into groups and compare the groups
• How to evaluate theories
o Accuracy
▪ More details and causal factors the more accurate
▪ More complicated
▪ Less generally applicable
o Parsimony (simplicity is the goal: however the combination of simplicity,
leverage and elegance [efficient] are important)
o Generalizability (or scope)
▪ Do not focus on a single event
▪ Worry about generalizability in order to successfully obtain other goals
(predictions, prescriptions, an impact on the future)
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