Critical International Political Economy and Method

The question of the adequate method is crucial not just for the field of critical international political economy (CIPE) but for scientific practice in general. There are however different ways to deal with methods. Concrete methods, such as the empirical investigation, the application of statistical analysis and so on, do not stand alone but should be systematically reflected and understood within a broader context of methodology. Methodology is more general than method and refers to the way methods are combined and applied, and therefore how scientific knowledge can be generated. In the philosophy of social science different perspectives on how to generate knowledge can be distinguished. This is simply because each philosophy of science has to start with assumptions about what the world consists of (ontology) and how humans can understand this reality (epistemology). Methodology in CIPE is rather different from “mainstream” approaches. This difference is rooted in the philosophy of science and is connected to a specific understanding of what scientific research is about, and what the purpose of critical social science should be.