Qualitative Methods in Political Science: Political Ideas or Values?

Short description:

The aim of the course is to elaborate on approaches to ideas and values in policy processes. The participants will engage in presentations and discussions of analytical tools for interpreting and grasping how ideas and values form and interact with relevant variables such as decision-making, institution-building or ideological traditions.
Though qualitative methods are the premise of this course, more quantitative orientated students of political identity and/or values might also benefit from these discussions, since it allows one to develop a deeper understanding of the limits and merits of both sides.

A classical problem in political science has been which kind of topics might be within or beyond our disciplinary concerns. Somewhere between the “behavioural revolution” and hermeneutic theories scholars have tried to navigate towards what they might consider to be the relevant political object of research in political science. Recent scholarly debates have established the need for a deeper interpretative understanding of political ideas and values embedded in social identities, as a supplement to, or in the context of large-N statistical models or “formal” theory [e.g. Shapiro, Smith & Masoud 2004].

In line with these concerns, this course addresses how to approach ideas and values from an interpretive perspective. Thus the main concern will be empirical methods in qualitative research towards policy processes – be it reflexive historical analysis, interpretative policy analysis etc.

We might raise questions such as:

• How to understand the analytical difference between focussing on ideas instead of values in politics in general and interpretation in particular?

• Which are the methodological advantages and shortcomings of interpretation versus more formal approaches (e.g. rational choice) or statistical quantification in relation to topics such as identity formation, institutional traditions, ideology etc.?

• How to heighten analytical rigour and critical reflection in contextual analysis dealing with different contemporary and historical texts?

We will scrutinize and discuss qualitative methods of understanding, knowledge-generating and criticizing topics such as political membership, status and identity during the four days, along with presentations of the participant’s own papers.

The participants will first be presented to professor of political science Rogers M. Smith’s (University of Pennsylvania) approach to “the politics of people-making”, which traces concepts of racial-, religious-, and cultural allegiance through historical narratives of nationhood. Secondly, professor of political science Lisa Wedeen (University of Chicago) presents her interpretive approach to national identity and political culture formation. Wedeen shows how a “multiple methods” approach of participant observation techniques (ethnography) and contextual reading of texts help understand the creation of national belonging.

Together, Smith and Wedeen’s approaches will represent a point of departure for a wider methodological discussion on the role of political values and ideas in qualitative political science methods. Though qualitative methods are the premise of this course, more quantitative orientated students of political identity and/or values might also benefit from these discussions, since it allows one to develop a deeper understanding of the limits and merits of “both sides”.

Papers for the course could be on themes like gender equality, ethnical or multicultural politics, secularism, welfare reforms, cosmopolitan citizenship, social movements, nation-building etc.

Preliminary time table

RMW = Rogers M. Smith

LW = Lisa Wedeen

Literature

Preliminary reading list:

Wedeen, Lisa (2002). “Conceptualizing Culture: Possibilities for Political Science”, American Political Science Review 96 (4): pp 713-728

Wedeen, Lisa (2004). “Concepts and Commitments in the Study of democracy”, in Shapiro, Ian et al. (eds.): Problems and Methods in the Study of Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 274-

306

Wedeen, Lisa (2008): Peripheral visions: publics, power, and performance in Yemen. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Smith, Rogers M. (1999). Civic Ideals. Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History. New Haven and London: Yale University Press

Smith, Rogers M. (2003). Stories of Peoplehood: the Politics and Morals of Political Membership. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Smith, Rogers M. (2004). “The Politics of Identities and the task of Political Science” in Shapiro, Ian et al. (eds.): Problems and Methods in the Study of Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 42-66