Research Methods in Politics and International Relations

This is the perfect guide to conducting a research project in politics and international relations. From formulating a research question and conducting a literature review to writing up and disseminating your work, this book guides you through the research process from start to finish.

The book:

-        Is focused specifically on research methods in politics and IR

-        Introduces the central methodological debates in a clear, accessible style

-        Considers the key questions of ethics and research design

-        Covers both qualitative and quantitative approaches

-        Shows you how to choose and implement the right methods in your own project

The book features two example research projects – one from politics, one from IR – that appear periodically throughout the book to show you how real research looks at each stage of the process. Packed full of engaging examples, it provides you with all you need to know to coordinate your own research project in politics and international relations.

Christopher Lamont is Dean of E-Track’s International Relations program and Vice Dean of the Graduate School of International Relations at Tokyo International University in Japan. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Glasgow. He was also a Fulbright fellow at the University of Zagreb and an RCUK postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ulster. His research interests are at the intersection of global governance, technology, and international justice. He is the author of Research Methods in International Relations, now in its second edition, published by Sage. He is also co-editor (with Arnaud Kurze) of New Critical Spaces in Transitional Justice: Gender, Art, and Memory published by Indiana University Press in 2019, and Non-Western Visions of Democratization: Imagining Democracy after the Arab Spring (with Jan van der Harst and Frank Gaennsmantel), which was published by Routledge/Ashgate in 2015. His monograph, International Criminal Justice and the Politics of Compliance (Routledge/Ashgate 2010) explored the international and domestic politics of international criminal justice processes in the former Yugoslavia. In addition to his scholarly contributions, his writings have also featured in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and The Diplomat, among others.

Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski is Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at Pomona College in Claremont, California, USA. He has been a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Zagreb and taught courses at universities in Japan, Egypt, Albania, and France. His research interests include democracy and human rights promotion; U.S. foreign policy; democratic transitions and authoritarian backsliding; and the politics of transitional justice. He is the author of two books: Regime Change in the Yugoslav Successor States (Johns Hopkins 2010) and U.S. Democracy Promotion in the Arab World (Lynne Rienner 2019). In addition to his scholarly contributions, his writings have also been featured in Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, among other outlets. Boduszynski also has substantial experience as a practitioner, having spent a decade as a U.S. diplomat and has worked a year each in the U.S. Congress and Department of Defense as a policy advisor. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.