[Rezension von] Andreas Kruck, Andrea Schneiker: Researching Non-State Actors in International Security: Theory and Practice

Meegdenburg, Hilde van (1. September 2018): [Rezension von] Andreas Kruck, Andrea Schneiker: Researching Non-State Actors in International Security: Theory and Practice. In: International Affairs, Vol. 94, No. 5: pp. 1180-1182

Abstract

Research, across the board, is becoming more formalized. Whether for an ethnographic study, a comparative case-study or experiment, the list of prescriptions that comes with a scholar's methodological choices are growing. This is not necessarily a negative development: transparent descriptions of methodological choices give readers handles to assess the intent and quality of a study. But method should not suffocate. Where our messy social reality meets researchers' practical limitations, trade-offs must be made—especially in (post-)conflict settings where access may be dangerous, difficult or nearly impossible.

This edited volume highlights the fine line between the stylized methods which allow scholars to make inferences and the messy social reality of security studies which forces them to make trade-offs.

• Item Type: Recension
• Faculties: Social Sciences > Geschwister-Scholl-Institute for Political Science
• Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 320 Political science
• ISSN: 1468-2346; 0020-5850
• Place of Publication: Abingdon
• Language: English