Adam R C Humphreys
Biographic Data
| ID | 4085452 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Adam R C Humphreys |
| GIVEN NAMES | Adam R C |
| FAMILY NAME | Humphreys |
| SIGNATURE | HUMPHREYS A R C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Reading |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5726-0714 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 23 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Causal Inquiry in International Relations
Causal Inquiry in International Relations defends a new, philosophically informed account of the principles which must underpin any causal research in a discipline such as International Relations. Its central claim is that there is an underlying logic to all causal inquiry, at the core of which is the search for empirical evidence capable of ruling out competing accounts of how specific events were brought about. Although this crucial fact is obs…
Bull’s political vision
The thought of the English School, and especially of Hedley Bull, on whose work this essay focuses, has often been regarded as somewhat conservative. Bull famously prioritised order over justice, o
Realism, empiricism and causal inquiry in International Relations
Discussions of causal inquiry in International Relations are increasingly framed in terms of a contrast between rival philosophical positions, each with a putative methodological corollary — empiricism is associated with a search for patterns of covariation, while scientific realism is associated with a search for causal mechanisms. Scientific realism is, on this basis, claimed to open up avenues of causal inquiry that are unavailable to empirici…
Anarchy and Patriarchy in World Politics
This essay considers anarchy in light of the dynamics of patriarchy in world politics. Western and non-Western patriarchal structures shape and constrain what states are, what they do, and how. They have played a crucial role in the constitution of state identities, diplomatic practices, and the maintenance, transformation, and expansion of the society of states. The unravelling of patriarchal structures in many parts of the world has implication…
Introduction
Causation, complexity, and the Concert
From National Interest to Global Reform
Research Highlights and Abstract This article Formulates an ideal-typical model for filling out the implicit content of claims about the national interest; Applies a theoretical perspective on the national interest to New Labour's foreign policy discourse, focusing especially on its approach to global order; Shows how Gordon Brown, especially, extended the content of the national interest well beyond its traditional association with national secu…
Waltz and the world
What Should We Expect of a Liberal Explanatory Theory
One of the most problematic aspects of the ‘Harvard School’ of liberal international theory is its failure to fulfil its own methodological ideals. Although Harvard School liberals subscribe to a nomothetic model of explanation, in practice they employ their theories as heuristic resources. Given this practice, we should expect them neither to develop candidate causal generalizations nor to be value-neutral: their explanatory insights are underpi…
Applying Jackson’s Methodological Ideal-Types
In The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations, Patrick Jackson situates methodologies in International Relations in relation to their underlying philosophical assumptions. One of his aims is to map International Relations debates in a way that ‘capture[s] current controversies’ (p. 40). This ambition is overstated: whilst Jackson’s typology is useful as a clarificatory tool, (re)classifying existing scholarship in International Relations i…
Another Waltz? Methodological Rhetoric and Practice in Theory of International Politics
Although Theory of International Politics is a standard-bearer for explanatory theory in international relations (IR), Waltz's methodology has been subject to numerous quite disparate analyses. One reason why it has proved hard to pin down is that too little attention has been paid to how, in practice, Waltz approaches real-world problems. Despite his neopositivist rhetoric, Waltz applies neorealism in a notably loose, even indeterminate, fashion…
The heuristic application of explanatory theories in International Relations
Explanatory theorists increasingly insist that their theories are useful even though they cannot be deductively applied. But if so, then how do such theories contribute to our understanding of international relations? I argue that explanatory theories are typically heuristically applied: theorists’ accounts of specific empirical episodes are shaped by their theories’ thematic content, but are not inferred from putative causal generalizations or c…
Causation, complexity, and the Concert
The heuristic application of explanatory theories in International Relations
Explanatory theorists increasingly insist that their theories are useful even though they cannot be deductively applied. But if so, then how do such theories contribute to our understanding of international relations? I argue that explanatory theories are typically heuristically applied: theorists’ accounts of specific empirical episodes are shaped by their theories’ thematic content, but are not inferred from putative causal generalizations or c…
Introduction
From National Interest to Global Reform
Research Highlights and Abstract This article Formulates an ideal-typical model for filling out the implicit content of claims about the national interest; Applies a theoretical perspective on the national interest to New Labour's foreign policy discourse, focusing especially on its approach to global order; Shows how Gordon Brown, especially, extended the content of the national interest well beyond its traditional association with national secu…
Applying Jackson’s Methodological Ideal-Types
In The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations, Patrick Jackson situates methodologies in International Relations in relation to their underlying philosophical assumptions. One of his aims is to map International Relations debates in a way that ‘capture[s] current controversies’ (p. 40). This ambition is overstated: whilst Jackson’s typology is useful as a clarificatory tool, (re)classifying existing scholarship in International Relations i…
Waltz and the world
Realism, empiricism and causal inquiry in International Relations
Discussions of causal inquiry in International Relations are increasingly framed in terms of a contrast between rival philosophical positions, each with a putative methodological corollary — empiricism is associated with a search for patterns of covariation, while scientific realism is associated with a search for causal mechanisms. Scientific realism is, on this basis, claimed to open up avenues of causal inquiry that are unavailable to empirici…
What Should We Expect of a Liberal Explanatory Theory
One of the most problematic aspects of the ‘Harvard School’ of liberal international theory is its failure to fulfil its own methodological ideals. Although Harvard School liberals subscribe to a nomothetic model of explanation, in practice they employ their theories as heuristic resources. Given this practice, we should expect them neither to develop candidate causal generalizations nor to be value-neutral: their explanatory insights are underpi…
The heuristic application of explanatory theories in International Relations
Explanatory theorists increasingly insist that their theories are useful even though they cannot be deductively applied. But if so, then how do such theories contribute to our understanding of international relations? I argue that explanatory theories are typically heuristically applied: theorists’ accounts of specific empirical episodes are shaped by their theories’ thematic content, but are not inferred from putative causal generalizations or c…
What Should We Expect of a Liberal Explanatory Theory
One of the most problematic aspects of the ‘Harvard School’ of liberal international theory is its failure to fulfil its own methodological ideals. Although Harvard School liberals subscribe to a nomothetic model of explanation, in practice they employ their theories as heuristic resources. Given this practice, we should expect them neither to develop candidate causal generalizations nor to be value-neutral: their explanatory insights are underpi…
Applying Jackson’s Methodological Ideal-Types
In The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations, Patrick Jackson situates methodologies in International Relations in relation to their underlying philosophical assumptions. One of his aims is to map International Relations debates in a way that ‘capture[s] current controversies’ (p. 40). This ambition is overstated: whilst Jackson’s typology is useful as a clarificatory tool, (re)classifying existing scholarship in International Relations i…
Another Waltz? Methodological Rhetoric and Practice in Theory of International Politics
Although Theory of International Politics is a standard-bearer for explanatory theory in international relations (IR), Waltz's methodology has been subject to numerous quite disparate analyses. One reason why it has proved hard to pin down is that too little attention has been paid to how, in practice, Waltz approaches real-world problems. Despite his neopositivist rhetoric, Waltz applies neorealism in a notably loose, even indeterminate, fashion…
Waltz and the world
From National Interest to Global Reform
Research Highlights and Abstract This article Formulates an ideal-typical model for filling out the implicit content of claims about the national interest; Applies a theoretical perspective on the national interest to New Labour's foreign policy discourse, focusing especially on its approach to global order; Shows how Gordon Brown, especially, extended the content of the national interest well beyond its traditional association with national secu…
Introduction
Causation, complexity, and the Concert
Anarchy and Patriarchy in World Politics
This essay considers anarchy in light of the dynamics of patriarchy in world politics. Western and non-Western patriarchal structures shape and constrain what states are, what they do, and how. They have played a crucial role in the constitution of state identities, diplomatic practices, and the maintenance, transformation, and expansion of the society of states. The unravelling of patriarchal structures in many parts of the world has implication…
Realism, empiricism and causal inquiry in International Relations
Discussions of causal inquiry in International Relations are increasingly framed in terms of a contrast between rival philosophical positions, each with a putative methodological corollary — empiricism is associated with a search for patterns of covariation, while scientific realism is associated with a search for causal mechanisms. Scientific realism is, on this basis, claimed to open up avenues of causal inquiry that are unavailable to empirici…
Bull’s political vision
The thought of the English School, and especially of Hedley Bull, on whose work this essay focuses, has often been regarded as somewhat conservative. Bull famously prioritised order over justice, o
Causal Inquiry in International Relations
Causal Inquiry in International Relations defends a new, philosophically informed account of the principles which must underpin any causal research in a discipline such as International Relations. Its central claim is that there is an underlying logic to all causal inquiry, at the core of which is the search for empirical evidence capable of ruling out competing accounts of how specific events were brought about. Although this crucial fact is obs…
International Relations and Foreign Policy (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Economics (9 works) · Epistemology (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Law (7 works) · Politics (7 works) · Positive economics (7 works)