Description
Book SynopsisHistory is replete with instances of what might, or might not, have been. This collection of original essays examines the significance of contingency in the study of politics. That is, how to study unexpected, accidental, or unknowable political phenomena in a systematic fashion.
Trade ReviewClear, jargon-free writing prevails throughout the volume. The authors are leaders in their respective fields of inquiry, yet each of them writes not to a narrow group of specialists but to the intelligent reading public. -- Elisabeth Ellis,author of Kants Politics: Provisional Theory for an Uncertain World
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Contingency's Challenge to Political ScienceIan Shapiro and Sonu BediPart I Roots of Contingency1 From Fortune to Feedback: Contingency and the Birth of Modern Political Science David Wootton2 Mapping Contingency Andreas Schedler3 Resilience as the Explanandum of Social Theory Philip PettitPart II Contingency's Challenge4 Events as Causes: The Case of American Politics David R. Mayhew5 Contingent Public Policies and Racial Hierarchy: Lessons from Immigration and Census Policies Jennifer Hochschild and Traci Burch6 Region, Contingency, and Democratization Susan StokesPart III What Is to Be Done?7 Contingency, Politics, and the Nature of Inquiry: Why Non-Events Matter Gregory A. Huber9 When Democracy Complicates Peace: How Democratic Contingencies Affect Negotiated Settlements Courtney Jung10 Contingency in Biophysical Research Robert G. Shulman and Mark R. ShulmanContributors Index
