Gerardo Munck
University of Southern California, SIR, Faculty Member
Qualitative research, defined here in contrast to quantitative research as consisting of verbal as opposed to numerical statements or, more simply, of words as opposed to numbers, is an inextricable, necessary component of the social... more
Qualitative research, defined here in contrast to quantitative research as consisting of verbal as opposed to numerical statements or, more simply, of words as opposed to numbers, is an inextricable, necessary component of the social sciences. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, the bulk of existing knowledge in the social sciences has been generated through qualitative research and this form of research probably will continue to be the most commonly used path to knowledge. Yet a great part of the potential of qualitative research is not realized because the methodological foundation of this research is shaky.
The study of critical junctures and their legacies—a tradition of research launched by Lipset and Rokkan—has been an abiding concern among scholars engaged in macro-comparative analysis. The critical juncture framework yields valuable... more
The study of critical junctures and their legacies—a tradition of research launched by Lipset and Rokkan—has been an abiding concern among scholars engaged in macro-comparative analysis. The critical juncture framework yields valuable insights into trajectories of political change in which major episodes of innovation are followed by the emergence of enduring institutions.
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Abstract: After making a case that more attention needs to be given to the quality of data on corruption, we analyze and test the validity of data on corruption using the full range of data sets employed in corruption research. First, we... more
Abstract: After making a case that more attention needs to be given to the quality of data on corruption, we analyze and test the validity of data on corruption using the full range of data sets employed in corruption research. First, we show that different classes of sources of data on indicators of corruption, a distinction based on who evaluates a country’s level of corruption, rely on different standards to assess corruption and that the difference in standards does not hold consistently across countries. Second, we show that the problem with indicators is simply imported into Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and the World Bank’s Control of Corruption Index (CCI). Systematic differences among indicators are disregarded in the selection of indicators used in these indices. And the rule to aggregate indicators further induces bias that undermines the comparability of the CPI and the CCI. The implications of this assessment for the analysis and product...
This review and assessment of the field of democracy studies is organized around three distinct agendas defined in terms of the concepts of democratic transition, democratic stability, and democratic quality. In each case, the definition... more
This review and assessment of the field of democracy studies is organized around three distinct agendas defined in terms of the concepts of democratic transition, democratic stability, and democratic quality. In each case, the definition and justification of the subject matter, the main scholarly works on the subject, and the research findings, are outlined. In addition, the challenges faced by this literature are discussed. This line of analysis is pursued especially in the context of the well established agendas on democratic transition and democratic stability, and focuses on three areas: the conceptualization and measurement of the dependent variables, the integration of causal theories, and the assessment of causal theories. This article offers a balanced assessment, identifying strengths and weaknesses of the literature on democracy. The spirit of this review, however, is decidedly constructive, seeking to provide a map of the most fruitful avenues for future research.
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Set-theoretic comparative methods (STCM) have some appeal, but these methods as well as claims about these methods are deeply problematic. The most basic problem is that these methods reduce causation to a logical relation and erroneously... more
Set-theoretic comparative methods (STCM) have some appeal, but these methods as well as claims about these methods are deeply problematic. The most basic problem is that these methods reduce causation to a logical relation and erroneously posit that causal hypotheses can be formalized as a relation of material implication. In addition, advocated of STCM commonly misrepresent their relationship to quantitative and qualitative methods. STCM and standard regression analysis are not incommensurable methods. Moreover, STCM actually clash with process tracing, a method used by qualitative researchers. Thus, qualitative comparativists should not use STCM, and the discussion about social science methods should turn from STCM to other, more promising options.
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Politics in Latin America continued to be about democracy after the democratic transitions in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s. An old concern – securing the minimal standard of democracy that had served as the goal of democratic... more
Politics in Latin America continued to be about democracy after the democratic transitions in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s. An old concern – securing the minimal standard of democracy that had served as the goal of democratic transitions – remained relevant. But a new concern – the attainment of more than a minimal democracy – transformed politics about democracy. Actors who supported and opposed neoliberalism – the key axis of ideological conflict – advocated and resisted political changes in the name of different models of democracy. And the conflict overwhichmodel of democracy would prevail shaped Latin America’s post-transition trajectories, determininghowdemocracy developed and, in turn,whetherdemocracy endured.
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Recent events across the globe make clear the complexities of the politics of “democratization” and the importance of developing nuanced and compelling understandings of these complexities. In Eurasia, “Color Revolutions” have given way... more
Recent events across the globe make clear the complexities of the politics of “democratization” and the importance of developing nuanced and compelling understandings of these complexities. In Eurasia, “Color Revolutions” have given way to democratic disappointments and “authoritarian regimes.” In north Africa, an unanticipated upsurge of democratic movements has felled autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt, but the political outcomes of these “transitions” are very much in doubt. Contemporary political science has developed an elaborate vocabulary for understanding such processes. And this vocabulary owes a great deal to a small group of scholars—Juan Linz, Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe Schmitter, Alfred Stepan and Adam Przeworksi—who helped to lay the theoretical foundations of our current understanding of politics around the globe.
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ABSTRACT This article addresses the links between democracy, understood in minimal procedural terms, and the state, considered as a political centre that (1) has the monopoly of violence within a territory, (2) rules over a population... more
ABSTRACT This article addresses the links between democracy, understood in minimal procedural terms, and the state, considered as a political centre that (1) has the monopoly of violence within a territory, (2) rules over a population that shares a sense of nationhood, and (3) delivers public goods other than political order. It considers two perspectives on these state-democracy links: one that holds that, to ensure successful democratization and enduring democracy, the construction of a state must be completed before steps are taken to install democracy; another that posits that state construction can be confronted in the course of democratization or through democracy. The article concludes that variants of the proposition “no state, no democracy”, when understood as involving explanatory relationships, have validity, but are only partially true, frequently one-sided – ignoring how democracy affects state-related problems – and excessively pessimistic – overlooking how democracy can offer a solution to state-related problems. Thus, research on the “no state, no democracy” proposition does not support a general prescription to put the state first. As democracy was established as a key basis for the legitimacy of the state throughout the world in the twentieth century, the democracy first thesis gained considerable plausibility.
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In an effort to take stock of the claims put forth by advocates of game theory, this article offers an assessment that considers game theory both as a set of theoretical principles that extends rational choice theory to interdependent... more
In an effort to take stock of the claims put forth by advocates of game theory, this article offers an assessment that considers game theory both as a set of theoretical principles that extends rational choice theory to interdependent decision making and as a type of formal methodology. Some important strengths of game theory are identified, such as its emphasis on actors and strategic choices and its ability to generate predictions in a logically rigorous and internally consistent manner. But many shortcomings are also discussed. One shortcoming is that the effort to develop a theory of action falls short, both in the sense of failing to provide a full explanation of actions and in the sense of not applying to domains of great significance. A second shortcoming is the failure of the procedures used in formal modeling to offer guidance pertaining to a critical step in the process of modeling: the conceptualization of the model. Thus, the challenge facing scholars in comparative poli...
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A fter a wave of publications on comparative methodology in the late 1960s to mid-1970s I and the subsequent abatement of discussion, we are now again in a period of great interest in issues pertaining to qualitative and small-N research.... more
A fter a wave of publications on comparative methodology in the late 1960s to mid-1970s I and the subsequent abatement of discussion, we are now again in a period of great interest in issues pertaining to qualitative and small-N research. 2 As a sign of the vitality of this literature, ...
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A survey of the literature on social movements shows that the contributions by American and European scholars have shed considerable light on two problems: why social movements emerge with particular identities and how organisers give... more
A survey of the literature on social movements shows that the contributions by American and European scholars have shed considerable light on two problems: why social movements emerge with particular identities and how organisers give coherence to a movement and co-ordinate the actions of their followers. The challenge faced by movement organisers in seeking to bring about change - a challenge that forces a social movement to engage strategically as a social actor, with its political-institutional environment - has received, however, relatively little attention. Seeking to fill this gap in the literature I argue that the distinct analytical issues raised by the problem of political strategy which social movements face can only be addressed through a synthesis that builds upon, but goes beyond, the contributions made by American and European scholars. The challenge is to conceive of social movements as strategic actors, while acknowledging the implications that a movement's colle...
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Research Interests: Sociology, Psychology, Human Geography, Research Methodology, Evaluation Research, and 11 moreSocial Indicators, Data Analysis, Measurement and Evaluation, Gender, Public Health, Social Science Research Network, Measurement, Cross cultural studies, Validity, Comparative Analysis, and Quality of Life Research
Who publishes in the discipline's leading journals is a matter of intrinsic interest to political scientists. Indeed, any discipline is first and foremost about the people who practice it. A focus on who publishes also raises... more
Who publishes in the discipline's leading journals is a matter of intrinsic interest to political scientists. Indeed, any discipline is first and foremost about the people who practice it. A focus on who publishes also raises important questions concerning the relationship between the characteristics of authors, such as their gender, seniority, institutional affiliation, and nationality, and the knowledge they produce. Is who publishes associated with what is published? Moreover, publications in leading journals are an important marker of professional status and a key conduit for the diffusion of ideas. This points to a further question: Do the top journals differ in terms of the authors and research they publish? We are grateful to Angela Hawken for her advice on the construction of the data set, to Matthew Lieber for his assistance with data collection, and to PS's two anonymous referees for their comments and suggestions.
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This article contributes to ongoing debates about the direction of comparative politics through an analysis of new data on the scope, objectives, and methods of research in the field. The results of the analysis are as follows.... more
This article contributes to ongoing debates about the direction of comparative politics through an analysis of new data on the scope, objectives, and methods of research in the field. The results of the analysis are as follows. Comparative politics is a rich and diverse field that cannot be accurately characterized on the basis of just one dimension or even summarized in simple terms. In turn, the tendency to frame choices about the direction of the field in terms of a stark alternative between an old area studies approach and a new economic approach relies on largely unsupported assumptions. It is therefore advisable to focus on problematic methodological practices that, as this study shows, are widespread in comparative research and thus pose serious impediments to the production of knowledge.
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A comprehensive and integrated framework for the analysis of data is offered and used to assess data sets on democracy. The framework first distinguishes among three challenges that are sequentially addressed: conceptualization,... more
A comprehensive and integrated framework for the analysis of data is offered and used to assess data sets on democracy. The framework first distinguishes among three challenges that are sequentially addressed: conceptualization, measurement, and aggregation. In turn, it specifies distinct tasks associated with these challenges and the standards of assessment that pertain to each task. This framework is applied to the data sets on democracy most frequently used in current statistical research, generating a systematic evaluation of these data sets. The authors’ conclusion is that constructors of democracy indices tend to be quite self-conscious about methodological issues but that even the best indices suffer from important weaknesses. More constructively, the article’s assessment of existing data sets on democracy identifies distinct areas in which attempts to improve the quality of data on democracy might fruitfully be focused.
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ABSTRACT High-quality data on corruption is fundamental both to the analysis of corruption, and the design and assessment of anti-corruption programmes. Thus, a discussion of the methodological issues involved in the measurement of... more
ABSTRACT High-quality data on corruption is fundamental both to the analysis of corruption, and the design and assessment of anti-corruption programmes. Thus, a discussion of the methodological issues involved in the measurement of corruption is a central task in work on corruption. This paper contributes to this task by critically assessing the methods currently used to measure corruption and by elaborating a methodology for measuring corruption. The paper considers various definitions of corruption and suggests a consensus has developed regarding a working definition of corruption that can be used in work on measurement. It reviews a large range of methods, with an eye to ascertaining what aspects of the concept of corruption can be adequately measured with available methodologies, and identifies advances in, and persistent challenges to, measurement. It evaluates methods used to produce corruption indices, and discusses the problems entailed in creating indices that allow for cross-country and inter-temporal comparisons. Finally, it suggests how corruption might be measured in light of a concern with human development and the availability of data in Asia and the Pacific.
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▪ This assessment of research on contemporary democratic politics in Latin America is organized around the distinction between institutional and alternative approaches. Initially it considers institutionalism on its own terms and,... more
▪ This assessment of research on contemporary democratic politics in Latin America is organized around the distinction between institutional and alternative approaches. Initially it considers institutionalism on its own terms and, through an assessment of the debate about the institutional causes of gridlock, draws attention to key strengths of this literature. Thereafter, this article adopts a broader perspective that exposes some limitations but also other strengths of institutional analyses and considers the possibility of combining insights developed from institutional and alternative theoretical perspectives. The suggested terms of integration are as follows. With regard to causal theorizing, institutionalists need to borrow ideas from a broader literature on political regimes, especially regarding the causes of transitions to, and the breakdown of, democracy. With regard to descriptive theorizing, in contrast, students of the quality of democracy need to incorporate the cont...
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Author(s): Collier, David; Munck, Gerardo L | Abstract: This article presents a framework for studying critical junctures, understood as major episodes of institutional innovation that generate an enduring legacy. Scholars routinely focus... more
Author(s): Collier, David; Munck, Gerardo L | Abstract: This article presents a framework for studying critical junctures, understood as major episodes of institutional innovation that generate an enduring legacy. Scholars routinely focus on episodes of innovation that occur in contrasting ways across cases, which in turn yields distinct trajectories of change and produces different legacies. These contrasts readily lend themselves to analysis based on the comparative method, generally combined with process tracing. For the analysis of single cases, comparison is typically focused on explicit or implicit counterfactual alternatives that might have produced different trajectories of change. The critical juncture framework is seen as offering a set of hypotheses that may or may not fit a given historical situation, and whose actual fit must be demonstrated with great care.This framework builds on Lipset and Rokkan’s (1967) classic study of cleavage structures and party systems, as wel...
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In this chapter, we offer an overview of the issues involved in producing the data that are used in descriptions. We provide many examples to illustrate
our points about methodology. However, one of our recurring examples is democracy.
our points about methodology. However, one of our recurring examples is democracy.
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The chapter reviews the theoretical foundations of critical juncture research and, based on a consideration of how foundational issues should be addressed, suggests that some changes to the core ideas used in this research are needed. The... more
The chapter reviews the theoretical foundations of critical juncture research and, based on a consideration of how foundational issues should be addressed, suggests that some changes to the core ideas used in this research are needed. The aim of the chapter is to show how the critical juncture framework can be reconstructed on stronger foundations
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Este artículo aborda la vieja pregunta ¿qué es la democracia? a la luz de desarrollos en el pensamiento latinoamericano y analiza las tendencias políticas en la región andina durante años recientes desde la perspectiva de la democracia.... more
Este artículo aborda la vieja pregunta ¿qué es la democracia? a la luz de desarrollos en el pensamiento latinoamericano y analiza las tendencias políticas en la región andina durante años recientes desde la perspectiva de la democracia. Se sostiene que la democracia electoral es vista como un mínimo indispensable de la democracia. Pero también se pone énfasis en tres requisitos adicionales que se han propuesto como condiciones necesarias para que una democracia electoral se convierta en una democracia plena: una forma democrática de gobernar, una forma democrática de cambiar la Constitución, y un Estado con poder para proteger los derechos civiles y sociales. Forjar un consenso acerca de esta visión más completa de la democracia es un reto importante del pensamiento latinoamericano sobre la democracia.
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This article presents a framework for studying critical junctures, understood as major episodes of institutional innovation that generate an enduring legacy. The critical juncture framework is seen as being, in effect, a hypothesis that... more
This article presents a framework for studying critical junctures, understood as major episodes of institutional innovation that generate an enduring legacy. The critical juncture framework is seen as being, in effect, a hypothesis that may or may not fit a given historical situation, and whose potential fit must be demonstrated with great care. The discussion builds on Lipset and Rokkan’s (1967) classic study of cleavage structures and party systems, as well as Collier and Collier’s (1991) Shaping the Political Arena. It goes beyond these two studies by probing further the analytic dilemmas that arise at each step in the framework, as well as reviewing scholarly debates over how to study critical junctures. Attention focuses on three building blocks: the critical juncture itself, the antecedent conditions and cleavage or shock that precede it, and the legacy of the critical juncture. For each step, attention focuses on key issues and debates, with a central emphasis on methodological challenges in assessing critical juncture hypotheses. Key points are illustrated by examples from Collier and Collier (1991), as well as from nine essays in the “Symposium on Critical Junctures and Historical Legacies” (Collier and Munck, eds., Qualitative and Multi-Method Research 15, no 1, 2017), for which this article serves as the introduction.
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Works on the quality of democracy propose standards for evaluating politics beyond those encompassed by a minimal definition of democracy. Yet, what is the quality of democracy? This article first reconstructs and assesses current... more
Works on the quality of democracy propose standards for evaluating politics beyond those encompassed by a minimal definition of democracy. Yet, what is the quality of democracy? This article first reconstructs and assesses current conceptualizations of the quality of democracy. Thereafter, it reconceptualizes the quality of democracy by equating it with democracy pure and simple, positing that democracy is a synthesis of political freedom and political equality, and spelling out the implications of this substantive assumption. The proposal is to broaden the concept of democracy to address two additional spheres: government decision-making – political institutions are democratic inasmuch as a majority of citizens can change the status quo – and the social environment of politics – the social context cannot turn the principles of political freedom and equality into mere formalities. Alternative specifications of democratic standards are considered and reasons for discarding them are provided.
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Politics in Latin America continued to be about democracy after the democratic transitions in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s. An old concern – securing the minimal standard of democracy that had served as the goal of democratic... more
Politics in Latin America continued to be about democracy after the democratic transitions in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s. An old concern – securing the minimal standard of democracy that had served as the goal of democratic
transitions – remained relevant. But a new concern – the attainment of more than a minimal democracy – transformed politics about democracy. Actors who supported and opposed neoliberalism – the key axis of ideological conflict – advocated and resisted political changes in the name of different models of democracy. And the conflict over which model of democracy would prevail shaped Latin America’s post-transition trajectories, determining how democracy developed and, in turn, whether democracy endured.
transitions – remained relevant. But a new concern – the attainment of more than a minimal democracy – transformed politics about democracy. Actors who supported and opposed neoliberalism – the key axis of ideological conflict – advocated and resisted political changes in the name of different models of democracy. And the conflict over which model of democracy would prevail shaped Latin America’s post-transition trajectories, determining how democracy developed and, in turn, whether democracy endured.
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This article addresses the links between democracy, understood in minimal procedural terms, and the state, considered as a political centre that (1) has the monopoly of violence within a territory, (2) rules over a population that shares... more
This article addresses the links between democracy, understood in minimal procedural terms, and the state, considered as a political centre that (1) has the monopoly of violence within a territory, (2) rules over a population that shares a sense of nationhood, and (3) delivers public goods other than
political order. It considers two perspectives on these state-democracy links: one that holds that, to ensure successful democratization and enduring democracy, the construction of a state must be completed before steps are taken to install democracy; another that posits that state construction can be
confronted in the course of democratization or through democracy. The article concludes that variants of the proposition “no state, no democracy”, when understood as involving explanatory relationships, have validity, but
are only partially true, frequently one-sided – ignoring how democracy affects state-related problems – and excessively pessimistic overlooking how democracy can offer a solution to state-related problems. Thus, research on the “no state, no democracy” proposition does not support a general prescription to put the state first. As democracy was established as a key basis for the legitimacy of the state throughout the world in the twentieth century, the democracy first thesis gained considerable plausibility.
political order. It considers two perspectives on these state-democracy links: one that holds that, to ensure successful democratization and enduring democracy, the construction of a state must be completed before steps are taken to install democracy; another that posits that state construction can be
confronted in the course of democratization or through democracy. The article concludes that variants of the proposition “no state, no democracy”, when understood as involving explanatory relationships, have validity, but
are only partially true, frequently one-sided – ignoring how democracy affects state-related problems – and excessively pessimistic overlooking how democracy can offer a solution to state-related problems. Thus, research on the “no state, no democracy” proposition does not support a general prescription to put the state first. As democracy was established as a key basis for the legitimacy of the state throughout the world in the twentieth century, the democracy first thesis gained considerable plausibility.
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Theories of democratic transitions focus mainly on domestic political and economic factors, though cultural and international factors are also addressed. Many hypotheses have been tested, increasingly using quantitative methods. Yet, the... more
Theories of democratic transitions focus mainly on domestic political and economic factors, though cultural and international factors are also addressed. Many hypotheses have been tested, increasingly using quantitative methods. Yet, the quest
for robust positive results has proved elusive. Thus, current knowledge supports a negative funding that there is more than
one path to democracy and that democracy can emerge under all sorts of conditions.
for robust positive results has proved elusive. Thus, current knowledge supports a negative funding that there is more than
one path to democracy and that democracy can emerge under all sorts of conditions.