The promise of foundational prudence: a response to our critics
In: International theory: a journal of international politics, law and philosophy, Volume 1, Issue 3, p. 499-512
ISSN: 1752-9727
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In: International theory: a journal of international politics, law and philosophy, Volume 1, Issue 3, p. 499-512
ISSN: 1752-9727
In: International theory: a journal of international politics, law and philosophy, Volume 1, Issue 1, p. 15-48
ISSN: 1752-9727
International Relations (IR) is uneasy about its status as a 'science'. Throughout a long history of attempts to legitimate the field as 'scientific', IR scholars have imported multifarious positions from the Philosophy of Science (PoS) in order to ground IR on an unshakable foundation. Alas, no such unshakable foundation exists. The PoS is itself a contested field of study, in which no consensus exists on the proper foundation for science. By importing foundational divisions into IR, the 'science' debate splits the discipline into contending factions and justifies the absence of dialogue between them. As all foundations require a leap of faith, imperial foundational projects are always vulnerable to challenge and therefore unable to resolve the science question in IR. In this article, we seek to dissolve rather than solve the 'science' debate in IR and the quest for philosophical foundations. We argue that IR scholars should adopt an 'attitude towards' rather than a 'position in' the irresolvable foundational debate. Specifically, we advocate an attitude of 'foundational prudence' that is open-minded about what the PoS can offer IR, while precluding imperial foundational projects, which attempt to impose a single meta-theoretical framework on the discipline. This requires knowing what PoS arguments can and cannot do. As such, foundational prudence is post-foundational rather than anti-foundational. A prudent attitude towards philosophical foundations encourages theoretical and methodological pluralism, making room for a question-driven IR while de-escalating intra-disciplinary politics.
In: International theory: IT ; a journal of international politics, law and philosophy, Volume 1, Issue 1, p. 15-48
ISSN: 1752-9719
World Affairs Online
In: International theory: IT ; a journal of international politics, law and philosophy, Volume 1, Issue 3, p. 499-512
ISSN: 1752-9719
World Affairs Online
In: PS - political science & politics, Volume 57, Issue 3, p. 329-339
ISSN: 1537-5935
ABSTRACTWhat are the local political, economic, and social conditions of the communities that sent insurrectionists to the US Capitol in support of Donald Trump? Using a new dataset of the home counties of individuals charged for the Capitol insurrection, we tested two prominent theories of electoral populism and support for populist leaders like Donald Trump—demographic change and manufacturing decline—and whether they also explain violent populism. We also examined the effects of local political conditions. We find that white population decline is a stronger predictor of violent populism and that counties that voted for Trump were less likely to fight for Trump. The effect of white population decline is even greater in counties whose US House Representative rejected the 2020 election results. These findings suggest scholars should resist assuming violent populism is merely an extension of electoral populism, and solutions to one will not necessarily remedy the other.
In: American political science review, Volume 111, Issue 3, p. 439-459
ISSN: 1537-5943
Does the religious calendar promote or suppress political violence in Islamic societies? This study challenges the presumption that the predominant impact of the Islamic calendar is to increase violence, particularly during Ramadan. This study develops a new theory that predicts systematic suppression of violence on important Islamic holidays, those marked by public days off for dedicated celebration. We argue that militant actors anticipate societal disapproval of violence, predictably inducing restraint on these days. We assess our theory using innovative parallel analysis of multiple datasets and qualitative evidence from Islamic insurgencies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan from 2004 to 2014. Consistent with our theory, we find that important Islamic holidays witness systematic declines in violence—as much as 41%—and provide evidence that anticipation of societal disapproval is producing these results. Significantly, we find no systematic evidence for surges of violence associated with any Islamic holiday, including Ramadan.
In: American political science review, Volume 111, Issue 3, p. 439-459
ISSN: 0003-0554
World Affairs Online
In: Studies in conflict and terrorism, Volume 25, Issue 2, p. 101-126
ISSN: 1521-0731
In: Studies in conflict & terrorism, Volume 25, Issue 2, p. 101-126
ISSN: 1057-610X
World Affairs Online
In: Terrorism and political violence, Volume 12, Issue 2, p. 97-122
ISSN: 1556-1836
In: Terrorism and political violence, Volume 12, Issue 2, p. 97-122
ISSN: 0954-6553
The vulnerability of the critical infrastructure has led to increasing concern that it will be the target of terrorist attacks. This article explores definitional aspects of information terrorism & identifies two groups likely to find information terrorism attractive: conventional terrorist groups & information culture groups. As computer sophisticated youth move into the ranks of conventional terrorist groups, the groups will increase their reliance on computer technology, & information terrorism will be incorporated into a hybrid tactical repertoire. Information culture groups, however, confine their attacks to cyberspace. In contrast to the powerful group dynamics of the traditional underground group, networked groups, particularly information culture terrorists, may only be in contact electronically, & are subject to a radically different group psychology, virtual group dynamics, that significantly affects their decision making & risk taking, & has dangerous security implications. Adapted from the source document.
In: The journal of conflict resolution: journal of the Peace Science Society (International)
ISSN: 1552-8766
Why do some individuals with military experience support the insurrection of January 6? With US military veterans playing a central role in the assault on the US Capitol, answering this question is of immediate scholarly and policy concern. To better understand the impact of military service, we conducted the first nationally representative survey of support for pro-Trump anti-democratic violence ("insurrectionist sentiments") among US military veterans and a demographically matched sample of non-veterans. Our analysis finds veterans nearly twice as likely to hold high insurrectionist sentiments than non-veterans, and that military service increases support for restoring Trump to the presidency by force by 15 percent. Further, we find the effect veterancy is not fully explained by veterans being more likely to hold pro-Trump or conspiracy beliefs but is associated with negative military and post-service-related experiences. These findings are robust to significant unobserved confounding. We conclude with implications for future research on political violence and the role of the military in American democracy.