Case study research and critical IR: the case for the extended case methodology

Journal article


Lai, D. and Roccu, R (2019). Case study research and critical IR: the case for the extended case methodology. International Relations. 33 (1), pp. 67-87. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117818818243
AuthorsLai, D. and Roccu, R
Abstract

Discussions on case study methodology in International Relations (IR) have historically been dominated by positivist and neopositivist approaches. However, these are problematic for critical IR research, pointing to the need for a non-positivist case study methodology. To address this issue, this paper introduces and adapts the extended case methodology as a critical, reflexivist approach to case study research, whereby the case is constructed through a dynamic interaction with theory, rather than selected, and knowledge is produced through extensions rather than generalisation. Insofar as it seeks to study the world in complex and non-linear terms, take context and positionality seriously, and generate explicitly political and emancipatory knowledge, the extended case methodology is consistent with the ontological and epistemological commitments of several critical IR approaches. Its potential is illustrated in the final part of the paper with reference to researching the socio-economic dimension of transitional justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Keywords1605 Policy And Administration; 1606 Political Science; International Relations
Year2019
JournalInternational Relations
Journal citation33 (1), pp. 67-87
PublisherSage
ISSN0047-1178
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117818818243
Web address (URL)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0047117818818243
Publication dates
Print07 Jan 2019
Publication process dates
Deposited19 Nov 2018
Accepted19 Nov 2018
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Open
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