| Chapter 1: | The Domestic Analogy |
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My own research is neither theory driven nor method driven; rather, it is problem driven,16 and the problem I examine is the prospect of creating a democratic world order. Furthermore, the division typical of so much political science into theory, methodology, and problem strikes me as deeply dismal. A renewed integration of these elements, as I see it, is eminently worth attempting. A problem without a theory risks being naught but a soulless description, and a problem without a robust methodology is no more than a wishful thought. My ambition is to combine normative political theory with empirical analysis in the study of international politics. The problem of global democracy will serve as a guide in this endeavor.
When confronting a problem of this kind, political scientists can achieve greater concreteness by focusing on institutional arrangements. An analysis will gain stringency if applied to existing cases. By examining whether institutions yield the intended results, researchers can further debate and increase their knowledge.
In the first chapters of this book, accordingly, I analyze each of the aforementioned pragmatic approaches in relation to an international organization founded during the recent century: the League of Nations, the United Nations, the European Union, and others. Have the new, pragmatic approaches to accountability functioned as the proponents assume? However, my glass bead game is not so extreme that I examine each approach by looking at only one institution. The EU, for example, serves as the case for two approaches, and the perspective known as external accountability is exemplified by two institutions of similar function. The first portion of the book concludes with a chapter on what can be learned from history, wherein I compare the cases and permit myself a freer discussion.
Focusing on actual institutions enables researchers to develop tighter and more pertinent arguments. When scholars study how something has functioned in practice, they open their minds to possibilities they may have missed in a purely philosophical analysis. The converse obtains