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7 - Agency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2013

Mark I. Lichbach
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
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Summary

Taking its cue from the contentious politics approach, Section 7.1 urges comparativists to study the causal agency of individuals (Thesis 1), groups (Thesis 2), and democracies (Thesis 3). Section 7.2 suggests that the three types of collective agency be examined in conjunction with three corresponding moral dilemmas: ought/is (Thesis 4), freedom/power (Thesis 5), and democracy/causality (Thesis 6).

CAUSAL AGENCY

People have causal agency with respect to democratization. This section begins by urging comparativists to explore how causal mechanisms and processes operate at the level of the individual.

Thesis 1. Individual and Agency. Adopt an internal perspective on the self-understandings of agents struggling for democracy: individuals hold values and beliefs, are moved by intentions and motives, and make strong evaluations and political judgments.

Slighting the importance of values and beliefs, intentions and motives, and evaluations and judgments, Moore (1966: 421–22, 485–87) famously focused on material structure. Rejecting theories explaining how culture intervenes between structure and action, he offered a thin theory of human agency. The texts examined here also avoid this important piece of the causal puzzle behind democracy’s origins.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

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  • Agency
  • Mark I. Lichbach, University of Maryland, College Park
  • Book: Democratic Theory and Causal Methodology in Comparative Politics
  • Online publication: 05 May 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139198820.011
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  • Agency
  • Mark I. Lichbach, University of Maryland, College Park
  • Book: Democratic Theory and Causal Methodology in Comparative Politics
  • Online publication: 05 May 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139198820.011
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Agency
  • Mark I. Lichbach, University of Maryland, College Park
  • Book: Democratic Theory and Causal Methodology in Comparative Politics
  • Online publication: 05 May 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139198820.011
Available formats
×