Agency, Structure and Causality in Political Science: A Comment on Sibeon

Politics, Vol. 22(1), p. 17–23, 2002

10 Pages Posted: 20 Jul 2017

Date Written: 2002

Abstract

Researchers in political science are devoting increasing attention to the ontological commitments of their theories – that is, to what those theories presuppose about the nature of the political world. This article focuses on a recent contribution to this ‘ontological turn’ in political science (Sibeon, 1999). Tensions are identified in Sibeon’s account of the causal interplay between agency and social structure. It is argued that these tensions can be resolved by reflecting explicitly on ontological issues, in particular the causal efficacy of social structure, using a particular approach to the philosophy of the social sciences known as critical realism. The value of such reflection for the explanatory power of political analysis is highlighted.

Keywords: Agency, Structure, Ontology, Causality, Political Science

JEL Classification: B40, B41

Suggested Citation

Lewis, Paul Andrew, Agency, Structure and Causality in Political Science: A Comment on Sibeon (2002). Politics, Vol. 22(1), p. 17–23, 2002, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3003593 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3003593

Paul Andrew Lewis (Contact Author)

King's College London ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/politicaleconomy/people/academic/lewis.aspx

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