The Logic of Critical Juncture Analysis

• In Event: 1113 - Epistemology, Theory, and Method in Comparative Historical Sociology

Abstract

Analysts frequently employ critical juncture analysis in comparative-historical research. However, the definition of critical juncture and the tools associated with this framework are not employed consistently. This paper offers a new approach to the study of critical junctures grounded in logic and set theory. It links the study of critical junctures to the analysis of INUS conditions in the philosophy of causation. It also links critical junctures to the philosophical work on possible worlds and counterfactual analysis. The paper develops its arguments by drawing on substantive works of comparative-historical sociology.

Authors

• James Mahoney, Northwestern University

• Laura Garcia, Northwestern University