New Directions for International Relations
Confronting the Method-of-Analysis Problem

Why does the academic study of international relations have limited impact on the policy community? When research results are inconsistent, inconclusive, and contradictory, a lack of scholarly consensus discourages policy makers, the business community, and other citizens from trusting findings and conclusions from IR research. In New Directions for International Relations, Alex Mintz and Bruce Russett identify differences in methods of analysis as one cause of these problematic results. They discuss the problem and set the stage for nine chapters by diverse scholars to demonstrate innovative new developments in IR theory and creative new methods that can lay the basis for greater consensus. Looking at areas of concern such as the relationship between lawmaking and the use of military force, the challenge of suppressing extremists without losing moderates, and the public health effects of civil conflict, contributors show how international relations research can generate reliable results that can be, and in fact are, used in the real world.

Part 1 Introduction Chapter 2 The Method-of-Analysis Problem in International Relations Chapter 3 Four Methods and Five Revolutions Part 4 New Directions Chapter 5 International Relations: A Network Approach Chapter 6 Visualization in International Relations Chapter 7 The Postwar Public Health Effects of Civil Conflict Chapter 8 Alliances and the Expansion and Escalation of Militarized Interstate Disputes Chapter 9 Separation of Powers, Lawmaking, and the Use of Military Force Chapter 10 Democracies Prefer to Negotiate: Institutionalized Democracy, Diversion, and Statecraft during International Crises Chapter 11 When Likely Losers Choose War Chapter 12 Enforcing Peace: Suppressing Extremists without Losing the Moderates Chapter 13 Are Leaders Susceptible to Negative Political Advice? An Experimental Study of High-Ranking Military Officers