Millennium Journal of International Studies· 2026Q1
Debating Causal Inquiry in International Relations : A Response to Jackson
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
This paper responds to Patrick Jackson's critique of 'Causal Inquiry in International Relations,' defending the book's account of the logic of causal inquiry by elaborating on the relationship between concrete and abstract causal statements.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- The paper is a response to Patrick Jackson's engagement with 'Causal Inquiry in International Relations.'
- It defends the book's core argument about the logic of causal inquiry derived from concrete and abstract causal statements.
- The authors address Jackson's specific concerns about the account's robustness and its ability to handle real-world causal investigations.
- The response serves to elaborate on important issues not fully detailed in the original book.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
We are grateful to Patrick Jackson for his detailed engagement with Causal Inquiry in International Relations (2024). He lucidly maps the field and the position of our book within it. He also provides a cogent summary of our central argument that there is a deep logic to causal inquiry that emerges out of the relationship between ‘concrete’ and ‘abstract’ causal statements. In many respects, we and Jackson are exploring common ground. In this response, however, we focus on Jackson’s main concern: his doubt about the robustness of our account of the logic of causal inquiry and especially about its capacity to make sense of the messiness of causal investigations as practised in everyday contexts. While we push back strongly against some of Jackson’s contentions, we also welcome the opportunity to elaborate on some important issues that we did not discuss in detail in Causal Inquiry in International Relations .
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Millennium Journal of International Studies, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: History and Philosophy of Science
History and Philosophy of ScienceArts and Humanities