Causation, complexity, and the concert: the pragmatics of causal explanation in international relations

Humphreys, A. R. C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5726-0714 (2017) Causation, complexity, and the concert: the pragmatics of causal explanation in international relations. Journal of International Relations and Development, 20 (4). pp. 717-736. ISSN 1581-1980 doi: 10.1057/jird.2016.10

Abstract/Summary

A causal explanation provides information about the causal history of whatever is being explained. However, most causal histories extend back almost infinitely and can be described in almost infinite detail. Causal explanations therefore involve choices about which elements of causal histories to pick out. These choices are pragmatic: they reflect our explanatory interests. When adjudicating between competing causal explanations, we must therefore consider not only questions of epistemic adequacy (whether we have good grounds for identifying certain factors as causes) but also questions of pragmatic adequacy (whether the aspects of the causal history picked out are salient to our explanatory interests). Recognizing that causal explanations differ pragmatically as well as epistemically is crucial for identifying what is at stake in competing explanations of the relative peacefulness of the nineteenth-century Concert system. It is also crucial for understanding how explanations of past events can inform policy prescription.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/46877
Identification Number/DOI	10.1057/jird.2016.10
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Politics and International Relations
Publisher	Palgrave Macmillan
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