Chapter 25 Process Tracing

This contribution develops process tracing (PT) as a method for Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA). It explains what it takes to conduct PT, trace a mechanism, and draw conclusions on that basis. Importantly, I lay out an analyticist approach to PT that is amendable to more actor-centered and interpretiv...

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Päätekijä: van Meegdenburg, Hilde
Aineistotyyppi: Online
Kieli:englanti
Julkaistu: Taylor & Francis 2022
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Linkit:https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/60271
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author van Meegdenburg, Hilde
author_browse van Meegdenburg, Hilde
author_facet van Meegdenburg, Hilde
author_sort van Meegdenburg, Hilde
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description This contribution develops process tracing (PT) as a method for Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA). It explains what it takes to conduct PT, trace a mechanism, and draw conclusions on that basis. Importantly, I lay out an analyticist approach to PT that is amendable to more actor-centered and interpretivist studies. This approach treats mechanisms as akin to Weberian ideal types: abstract constructs that are adduced from multiple concrete, contextually embedded, and largely idiosyncratic instantiations. This creates space for agency and contingency and allows us to a) study how a mechanism or concatenation of mechanisms led to a particular outcome; b) assess how the mechanism(s) functioned in a given context; and c) abstract from the specific instantiation(s) more general propositions about foreign policy making. In an empirical example of state employment of Private Military and Security Contractors, drawing on interpretivist and narrative-based understandings of FPA, I illustrate what this means in practice.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-954432025-08-13T13:42:10Z Chapter 25 Process Tracing van Meegdenburg, Hilde process tracing, mechanisms, ideal types, case study, idiosyncratic cases, agency thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government This contribution develops process tracing (PT) as a method for Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA). It explains what it takes to conduct PT, trace a mechanism, and draw conclusions on that basis. Importantly, I lay out an analyticist approach to PT that is amendable to more actor-centered and interpretivist studies. This approach treats mechanisms as akin to Weberian ideal types: abstract constructs that are adduced from multiple concrete, contextually embedded, and largely idiosyncratic instantiations. This creates space for agency and contingency and allows us to a) study how a mechanism or concatenation of mechanisms led to a particular outcome; b) assess how the mechanism(s) functioned in a given context; and c) abstract from the specific instantiation(s) more general propositions about foreign policy making. In an empirical example of state employment of Private Military and Security Contractors, drawing on interpretivist and narrative-based understandings of FPA, I illustrate what this means in practice. 2022-12-17T04:03:29Z 2022-12-17T04:03:29Z 2022-12-16T13:10:19Z 2023 chapter https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/60271 9780367689766 9780367689803 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/95443 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/60271/1/9781003139850_10.4324_9781003139850-31.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/60271/1/9781003139850_10.4324_9781003139850-31.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/60271/1/9781003139850_10.4324_9781003139850-31.pdf Taylor & Francis Routledge 10.4324/9781003139850-31 10.4324/9781003139850-31 fa69b019-f4ee-4979-8d42-c6b6c476b5f0 Routledge Handbook of Foreign Policy Analysis Methods Universiteit Leiden 6af6bb7d-fc84-45a7-a8ce-58498ade1167 9780367689766 9780367689803 Routledge 17 open access
spellingShingle process tracing, mechanisms, ideal types, case study, idiosyncratic cases, agency
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
van Meegdenburg, Hilde
Chapter 25 Process Tracing
title Chapter 25 Process Tracing
title_full Chapter 25 Process Tracing
title_fullStr Chapter 25 Process Tracing
title_full_unstemmed Chapter 25 Process Tracing
title_short Chapter 25 Process Tracing
title_sort chapter 25 process tracing
topic process tracing, mechanisms, ideal types, case study, idiosyncratic cases, agency
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
topic_facet process tracing, mechanisms, ideal types, case study, idiosyncratic cases, agency
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
url https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/60271
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