Beyond Observability: Innovations in Measuring 'Invisible' Political Violence

Session Submission Type: Virtual Roundtable

Session Description

Problems of observability have impeded theory-building within the Political Violence subfield, whether concerning ‘invisible’ internal coups, measuring degrees of repression, or observational equivalences that arise from obscurity around micro-level behaviours. Variables, concepts and processes may be (and are often) endogenous in ways that are unclear due to such obstacles in observation and measurement, which may also problematize existing causal arguments focused on more immediately observable concepts and phenomena.

To this point of motivation and echoing the conference theme of ‘Pluralism’, this proposed panel brings together scholars championing diverse, innovative measures to resolve problems of observability, such as affective analysis, latent variable models, and by identifying creative exogenous variables. This panel aims to discuss methodological pluralism not only between extant Political Science methods, but ways to ‘import’ and encourage methodological cross-fertilization between social sciences and humanities to determine that we are indeed studying what we say we are studying.

Sub Unit

• Partner Associations / IPSA Research Committee on Concepts and Methods

Cosponsor

• Division 8: Political Methodology

Chair

• Anita R. Gohdes Hertie School

Discussants

• Kanisha Bond Binghamton University

• Courtenay R. Conrad University of California, Merced

• Christopher J. Fariss University of Michigan

• Emily Hencken Ritter Vanderbilt University

• Livia Isabella Schubiger Duke University

• Yael Zeira Syracuse University

Presenter

• Agnes Yu London School of Economics