Case selection in non-ideal theory

Political theorists often rely on actual or hypothetical cases in their arguments. Recent exchange has focused on the role of hypothetical cases, be it in ideal or non-ideal theory. Less methodological attention has been given to how to make proper use of cases from the actual world in political theory. The question of the proper use of such cases, raises different sub-questions. The paper zooms in on the issue of case selection, where the selection takes place from a broader universe of actual cases, and in the context of non-ideal theory. The focus moreover is on case universes which have been under scrutiny in the social sciences, and so, where research-based descriptions and analyses based on the theories, methods and data of these sciences are in circulation in the research community. Under such circumstances, when can we say that a particular case selection by the political theorist is well-executed? The paper offers methodological guidelines, in part by explicating and reconstructing some of the considerations and principles that seem to guide case selection practices in contemporary non-ideal political theory, in part by drawing lessons from the rich existing political and social science methods literature on case selection.