Monitoring International Crisis.
Abstract
The problems of monitoring an evolving international crisis are severe. McClelland (1961) reminds us of the classical diplomatic historian's view that a crisis is idiographic, and that the search for its pattern and regularity is a useless undertaking. It constitutes a search for something that does not exist. No amount of nomothetic analysis can identify patterns that simply are not present in the empirical reality of a crisis situation. The only appropriate research strategy is the case study approach. However limited this strategy may be, it is scientifically more important to acknowledge a situation's natural constraints than to violate the cannons of scientific inquiry by generalizing too broadly. Students of international affairs should content themselves with the uniqueness of each crisis rather than being so game for the precarious task of generalizing to a population of crises.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA005355
Entities
People
- Richard Smith Beal
Organizations
- University of Southern California