Interaction and Confrontation between Area Studies and

Disciplines. The Rational Choice Theory.

Iuliia Stepanets Bayan Utebayeva

2014

Preconception vs. Observation, or the Contributions of Rational

Choice Theory and Area Studies to Contemporary

Political Science

Chalmers Johnson

Iuliia Stepanets - I36040

Rational choice?

DEFINITION OF 'RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

An economic principle that assumes that individuals always make prudent and logical decisions that provide them with the greatest benefit or satisfaction and that are in their highest self-interest.

Most mainstream economic assumptions and theories are based on rational choice theory.

Dissenters have pointed out that individuals do not always make rational, utility-maximizing decisions:

RCT - is a framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the main theoretical paradigm in the currently-dominant school of microeconomics.

Rationality (here equated with "wanting more rather than less of a good") is widely used as an assumption of the behavior of individuals in microeconomic models and analysis and appears in almost all economics textbook treatments of human decision-making. 

It is also central to some of modern political science and is used by some scholars in other disciplines such as philosophy.

Adaptability of RCT to Area Studies

A

B D

C

Rational choice theory:

Ideological development accompanied the end of the Cold War

The attempt to apply neo-classical theory model of a market to politics

Maximizes utility and profits, minimizes outlay

Laissez faire principle

Human beings base their behavior on rational calculations

• They act with rationality when making choices

• Their choices are aimed at optimization of their pleasure or profit

Basic principles of RCT:

Rational choice = common sense?

If a Buddhist monk self-immolated himself, would he be acting rationally within his own preference system, or would it be an irrational action explicable only by the draw of religion or culture?

? ??

Robert H. Bates is a Professor of the Science of Government at Harvard

University. His research focuses on the political economy of development, particularly in Africa, and on violence and state failure. Bates has conducted field work in Zambia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Colombia and Brazil.

Robert H. Bates sparked the debate between area studies and RCT throughout academia with a four page article in the June issue of Political Science and Politics.

Robert H. Bates

Area studies has failed to generate scientific knowledge

Area specialists have “defected from the social sciences into camp of the humanities”

A certain sign of this “defection” is the commitment to the study of “history, languages and culture”

“I have long regarded area programs as a problem for political science”

Professor Bates has launched an open attack on are studies:

Fail to illuminate anything of genuine significance

Avoid the complexities of real world

Critics of RCT:

Robert M. Solow: “the part of economics that is independent of history and social context is not only small but dull” … “theory is cheap, and data are expensive.”

The Understanding sociology was developed by Max Weber in the early 20th century. The aim of sociology is therefore, explanatory (to analyze human action, i.e. to understand the context in which an action is. The understanding of motives for action (and thus the reasons for action) allows insight into the meaningful relationships between reason and behavior.

Area specialist → ‘gold miner’RC theorist → ‘master goldsmith’

Verstehen(understanding) Problem

HOWEVER, RC theorist do not produce beautiful objects but junk and real area specialist have a

much better record of producing theory.

oversimplifies the dynamics of human motivation

misunderstand that civil society needs political rights

misprices the things

Neo-classical economic theory

The model of the neoclassical market does not recognize that state and market coexist symbiotically.

Neither neoclassical economics nor RCT provides a mechanical alternative to genuine social science analysis, i.e. what political science but no other discipline of the social sciences calls area studies.

Conclusion

Ian S. Lustick

The Disciplines of Political Science:

Studying the Culture of Rational Choice as a Case in

Point

Iuliia Stepanets - I36040

Nomothetic is based on what Kant described as a tendency to generalize, and is typical for the natural sciences. It describes the effort to derive laws that explain objective phenomena in general.

Idiographic is based on what Kant described as a tendency to specify, and is typical for the humanities. It describes the effort to understand the meaning of contingent, unique, and often subjective phenomena.

Nomothetic and idiographic are terms used by Kantian philosopher Wilhelm Windelband to

describe two distinct approaches to knowledge

Idiographic Nomothetic

Rational Choice Theory

Area Studies

Controversy

But!• Some parts of nomothetic approach is based on

“theories”.• Some parts of idiographic approach is based on

“understood but unexplained truths”.

Nomothetic view vs. Idiographic view

Nomothetic Idiographic

Scholarship Theory driven Area basedKnowledge-driven

Characteristic General, Whole Unique, Individual

Method Covering laws Direct immersion

Rational choice and game theoretic formal modeling

Eclectic neo-Weberian mid-range theory

Thickly descriptive approach

Post modernist and post-structuralist treatments

Four main Disciplines of Political Science

Rational Choice and Game Theoretic formal modeling

According to Bates,

Cultures are distinguished by their distinctive institutions. Game theories are advanced as specially designed tools to

analyze institutions.

→ Then, game theory is designed to study cultures!

Then, How might game theorists (rational theorists) suggest and find out answers about the culture of rational choice theory?

Game theories

Insti-tu-

tions

Cul-tures

Consists of generalizations linking theory with practice. The idea is that these theories must be constructed in accordance with empirical research, tested in practice.

If successful, “Politics would be reclothed as culture.” (Gramsci)

The object is to redefine, recategorize, reformulate discourses, and establish working compromises with key rivals within the rich diversity of dominant culture.

Middle -range theory

Thickly descriptive approach

It was adopted by most area studies specialists

It requires a great deal of language proficiency

Aggregate-date researchers might wish to know whether the congruence hypothesis applies to rational choice culture

This kind of research would produce data highly relevant to the general theoretical question of whether culture can be either chosen or given

Post-modern approach

The term "postmodernism" is generally used to describe certain phenomena in culture.

With the concept of "postmodernism" theorists explain not only the cultural phenomena, but also social.

Conclusion

The collaborative study will give more profits to science and create more objective point of view.

One should understand that the study of the cultural dimension should be present in science, because human beings are influenced by culture and the conditions in which they exist.

Rational Choice Analysis and Area

Studies Enemies or Partners?

Margaret A. Mckean

Course: Theories of Area Studies

Name: Utebayeva Bayan

Content:Rational choice theory ( assumptions)

Criticism and defense of rational choice analysis

Rational choice and area studies - productive partners?

Adaptability of RCT into Area Studies

Margaret A. Mckean

Professor of Political Science and Research Professor of Environmental Policy at Duke University

Areas of Research: Japan, Pacific Basin, and Property Rights

SpecialtiesComparative PoliticsPolitical EconomyPolitical Institutions

Rational choice theory ( assumptions)Rational choice is argued to have developed as part of the behavioral revolution in American political science of the 1950s and 1960s which sought to investigate how individuals behaved, using empirical methods.

The rational choice theory is a theory for understanding and often modelling social and economic as well as individual behavior. It is the main paradigm in the currently-dominant microeconomics school of thought. It is also central to modern political science, as well as other disciplines such as sociology and philosophy.

All individuals have preferences People pursue their preferences

Rational individuals make no effort if they do not see benefits.

In short, RCT is the best possible, optimized decision from the point of view of the decision maker.

Criticizing and defending RCT

People have clear preference ordering before choosing but irrational behavior exists

Being mechanically inept to explain situation choosing between conflicting preferences but world is complex

People spend all their time acquiring data about their options but calculating and collecting data ahead of time

Being tautological but practitioners often use behavior as the indicator of preferences

People are materialistic and greedy of that all of their preferences can be quantified but RC analysis is not the same as the researcher values

Debates between Rational Choice and Area Studies

• Chalmers Johnson says that rational choice approach leads people to think they know what others want and there is no place for ideology and culture.

• The opponents of rational choice theory have argued that an actor's goals depend on a culturally unique set of values, and there is no culture-independent way of charactering a person's goals and preferences. 

• The rational choice approach is further criticized for ignoring traditions and norms of communities and collectivities by paying attention solely to the self-interest of individuals, even though collective norms are fundamental social factors in these still traditional societies.

• Criticized for paucity of empirical application in RCT.

• Critics claim that less attention is paid to the individuals and real-world political events.

Adaptability of Rational choiceinto Area Studies

RCT as a Deductive approach

Area Studies as an Inductive approach

RCT and Area Studies like fact-value distinction

Generalization

Common things

Regular activity

Wise thinking, decision, activity

Specific features emphasized

(each unit has its distinctiveness)

Hard to find common things

Changeable

Adaptability of Rational choice into Area Studies

RCT can be theoretically adjusted into individual disciplines like political science, economics, anthropology. However, it is difficult to fit RCT into Area Studies.

Area Studies lack of a general deductive model of how structure affects behavior often hampers its ability to make falsifiable predictions.

Shortcomings can be remedied by integrating area studies

with the rational optimization assumption.

Margaret Mckean: Rational Choice and Area Studies are compatible.

Rational Choice + Area Studies = Rational Area Specialist Example of an agronomist

Example of an agronomist

Conclusion

RCT creates the whole pattern

Area Studies discerns the pattern

Theory aggregation at any rate is a process that inevitably takes place from both the top down and from the bottom up, and the main concern is to make sure that the two paths are converging rather than diverging.

Questions & comments