Abstract
Over the past two decades or so, the idea of causal “mechanisms” has become extremely widespread in both the philosophy of the social sciences and in applied social science. Recently, it has also turned up in the literature on international environmental regimes. A common motivation for invoking the concept seems to be a desire to open up the black box between a cause and its effect, that is, to analyze in detail exactly how the cause relates to the effect. On closer inspection, however, it turns out that those using the term have a number of different things in mind. This leaves a somewhat confusing picture of what a causal mechanism is and what it means for explanation in the social sciences.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Binmore, K. (1992) Fun and Games: A Text on Game Theory, D.C. Heath and Company, Lexington, MA.
Bunge, M. (1997) Mechanism and Explanation, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 27: 410–465.
Daves, N. K. and M. F. Nammack (1998) US and International Mechanisms for Protecting and Managing Shark Resources, Fisheries Research 39: 223–228.
de Senarclens, P. (1998) Governance and the Crisis in the International Mechanisms of Regulation, International Social Science Journal 50, 1: 91–104.
Elster, J. (1983) Explaining Technical Change, Cambridge University Press.
Elster, J. (1985) Making Sense of Marx, Cambridge University Press.
Elster, J. (1989) Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences, Cambridge University Press.
Elster, J. (1998) A Plea for Mechanisms, in P. Hedström and R. Swedberg (eds.) Social Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Social Theory, Cambridge University Press, 45–73.
Fudenberg, D. and Tirole, J. (1994) Game Theory, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Hedström, P. and Swedberg, R. (1997) Social Mechanisms, Acta Sociologica 39: 281–308.
Hedström, P. and Swedberg, R. (eds.) (1998) Social Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Social Theory, Cambridge University Press.
Hovi, J. (1998) The Relevance of Unrealistic Models for Empirical Political Science, Homo Oeconomicus 15: 41–56.
Iklé, F.C. (1991) Every War Must End, revised edition, Columbia University Press, New York.
Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A. (1979) Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk, Econometrica 47: 263–91.
Kincaid, H. (1994/1990) Defending Laws in the Social Sciences, in M. Martin and L.C. McIntyre (eds.) Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 111–130.
King, G., R., Keohane, O. and Verba, S. (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research, Princeton University Press.
Little, D. (1991) Varieties of Social Explanation: An Introduction to the Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
Little, D. (1995) Causal Explanation in the Social Sciences, The Southern Journal of Philosophy 34 (Supplement): 31–56.
Miller, G. and Hammond, T. (1994) Why Politics is More Fundamental than Economics: Incentive-Compatible Mechanisms Are Not Credible, Journal of Theoretical Politics, 6: 5–26.
Rasmusen, E. (1989) Games and Information, Blackwell, Oxford.
Schelling, T. C. (1978) Micromotives and Macrobehavior, W.W. Norton, New York.
Schelling, T. C. (1998) Social Mechanisms and Social Dynamics in P. Hedström and Richard Swedberg (eds.) Social Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Social Theory, Cambridge University Press, 32–44.
Stinchcombe, A. (1991) The Conditions of Fruitfulness of Theorizing about Mechanisms in Social Science, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 21: 367–388.
Stokke, O. S. and Vidas., D. (1996) Governing the Antarctic: The Effectiveness and Legitimacy of the Antarctic Treaty System, Cambridge University Press.
Watkins, J. W. N. (1994/1957) Historical Explanations in the Social Sciences, in M. Martin & L.C. McIntyre (eds.) Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA: 441–450.
Young, O. (ed.) (1999) The Effectiveness of International Environmental Regimes: Causal Connections and Behavioral Mechanisms, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Young, O., and Levy, M. A. (1999) The Effectiveness of International Environmental Regimes, in O. Young, (ed.) 1999. The Effectiveness of International EnvironmentalRegimes, Causal Connections and Behavioral Mechanisms, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hovi, J. (2004). Causal Mechanisms and the Study of International Environmental Regimes. In: Regime Consequences. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2208-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2208-1_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-6586-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-2208-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive