In Search of Co‐variance,Causal Mechanisms or Congruence? Towards a Plural Understanding of Case Studies |
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| Authors: | Joachim Blatter Till Blume |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Universitiy of Rotterdam/University of Lucerne and University of Konstanz;2. Joachim Blatter is currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Administration of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. From July 1st, 2008 he will hold the chair of Political Science at the University of Lucerne (with a focus on Political Theory). His research fields include transboundary cooperation, international relations of regions, governance theory and metropolitan governance. The results of these projects have been published amongst others in: European Journal of International Relations, Zeitschrift für Internationale Bez‐iehungen, West European Politics, Natural Resources Journal, Journal of Urban Affairs, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, PVS, SPSR and ?ZP. His current research focuses on transformations of political legitimacy, democratic practices and democratic theory under the conditions of migration, multi‐mediatization and multi‐level governance. In 2007, he co‐authored a textbook on Qualitative Policy Analysis (together with Frank and janning and Claudius Wagemann).;3. Till Blume is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Politics and Management of the University of Konstanz and the Collaborative Research Centre 485 “Norm and Symbol”, and is an Associate Member of the “Zukunftskolleg”. His current research focuses on the application of organization theory and social constructivist approaches to United Nations peacekeeping operations, and touches upon conflict research in general. He has regional expertise in the Balkans and in Sub‐Saharan Africa, particularly West Africa, and has also worked on the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU. Recent articles were published in Internationale Politik. |
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| Abstract: | Methodological reflections about case study research have increased within recent years. According to our account, there are three distinct approaches to case studies: co‐variational, causal process tracing, and congruence analysis. The main goals of this article are to lay out the distinct ways in which causal inferences are drawn for the cases under study and to scrutinize the different understandings and directions of generalization within these three approaches. By doing so we highlight two aspects: First, causal process tracing and congruence analysis should be seen as two distinct alternatives to the dominant co‐variational template. Second, the main characteristics of case studies, their thickness, provides only an unavoidable dilemma if we aim to generalize the findings towards a wider population of similar cases as in the co‐variational template. If we would like to get deeper insights â‐“ as the causal process tracing approach does â‐“ or if we would like to use the empirical evidence for a broader theoretical discourse â‐“ as the congruence analysis does â‐“ case studies do not face a trade‐off. |
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| Keywords: | Case study methods Co‐variation Process tracing Congruence analysis Causal configuration |
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