The levels of analysis problems and the study of foreign international,and global affairs: A review critique,and another final solution

Discussions about the “levels of analysis problem” have proliferated the field for almost two decades. In 1961, J. David Singer began the discussion in a now classic article. In response to Singer, analysts like Robert Isaak have attacked the Singer interpretation while many others have carelessly or obliviously skirted the issues surrounding the levels of analysis problem. Much of the confusion can be traced to a failure to view the importance of analytical levels in the aggregate analytical process and a failure to differentiate between causal and effectual levels of analysis. Causal levels of analysis are those whose variables or factors are antecedent to a particular behavior; effectual levels are those on which the behavior or phenomena in question actually occur, that is, on which the effect or result of the causal variables manifests itself. With reference to the aggregate analytical process, whenever scholars engage in inquiry they necessarily employ at least one causal and one effectual level of analysis. When properly conceptualized, levels of analysis considerations can lead to more structured and more productive foreign policy, international, and global analyses. Some of these analyses can be strengthened even more via the use of analytical frameworks constructed from conceptualizations of dual levels of analysis.