The foundations of empirical political research often seem at odds with those of normative political theory (Bauböck 2008). As a result, despite the clear need for dialogue between the two (Gerring and Yesnowitz 2006), research into their precise relationship remains limited. Our planned workshop aims to better connect the two fields, by connecting practicing scholars on both sides. The aim is to develop methodologies that better justify empirical research’s conceptual premises and pin down how normative political theory should use empirical evidence. The results of this would enhance both fields, as well as provide rich material for future collaborations.
Political scientists and normative political theorists often seem to speak ‘different languages,’ working in isolation, despite their inherent interdependence. For empirical political scientists, the selection and framing of research questions is grounded in conceptual and normative assumptions, while normative theorizing depends on empirical input to develop and substantiate its claims.
One force against this divide is the ‘methodological’ turn in political theory, led in particular from members of the ECPR’s Standing Group in Methods of Normative Political Theory (Baderin 2014; Křepelová 2019; Dowding 2020; Floyd 2022; Perez, 2023). Nonetheless, this research agenda is still under development (Perez 2024), whilst within political science, a ‘normative turn’ has yet to gain significant traction, with the exception of Bauböck (2008) and Gerring and Yesnowitz (2006) discussing its potential merits. This is despite the fact that the few existing mutual engagements, as in normative democratic theory (Bowman 2022), clearly show its value.
We want to bridge the divide between normative and empirical research by bringing together scholars from both disciplines and asking them to explore how both fields can benefit from specific methods of describing, explaining, and evaluating political arrangements. The workshop will build upon the recent methodological turn in normative political theory while also seeking to contribute to a ‘normative moment’ in empirical analysis. It will thus foster integration between these scholarly communities, bearing in mind that providing policy advice is typically done best when the normative and empirical sides have been done and integrated well, which often means in collaboration.
Baderin, Alice. 2014. ‘Two Forms of Realism in Political Theory’. European Journal of Political Theory 13 (2): 132–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474885113483284.
Bauböck, Rainer. 2008. ‘Normative Political Theory and Empirical Research’. In Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences, edited by Donatella Della Porta and Michael Keating, 1st ed., 40–60. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511801938.004.
Bowman, Quinlan. 2022. ‘Re-Engaging Normative and Empirical Democratic Theory: Or, Why Normative Democratic Theory Is Empirical All the Way Down’. Critical Review 34 (2): 159–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2022.2054612.
Dowding, Keith. 2020. ‘The Relationship between Political Philosophy and Political Science’. Australian Journal of Political Science 55 (4): 432–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2020.1822776.
Floyd, Jonathan. 2017. Is Political Philosophy Impossible? Thoughts and behaviour in Normative Political Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2017).
Floyd, Jonathan. 2022. ‘Political Philosophy’s Methodological Moment and the Rise of Public Political Philosophy’. Society 59 (2): 129–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-022-00710-2.
Gerring, John, and Joshua Yesnowitz. 2006. ‘A Normative Turn in Political Science?’ Polity 38 (1): 101–33. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.polity.2300054.
Křepelová, Tereza. 2019. ‘A Methodological Turn in Political Philosophy: Making Political Philosophy More Scientific?’ Public Reason 10–11 (2–1): 77–92.
Perez, Nahshon. 2020. ‘What Are Data Good for Anyway?: A Typology of Usages of Data in Contemporary Political Theory’. Social Theory and Practice 46 (2): 339–64. https://doi.org/10.5840/soctheorpract20204188.
———. 2023. ‘The Case for Methodological Naturalisation: Between Political Theory and Political Science’. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 25 (4): 617–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/13691481221113218.
———. 2024. ‘Empirical Political Theory: A Template for a Research Design and a Qualified Defense’. Political Studies Review, February, 14789299241231782. https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299241231782.
1: How can the integration of empirical evidence and normative theorising be enhanced in political analysis?
2: Which methodological questions does incorporation of normative theorising in political science raise?
3: Which methodological challenges does the use of empirical evidence in normative political theory create?
4: Are distinct methodologies for combining empirical and normative suited for different areas of inquiry?
5: What are the policy implications of integrating empirical evidence and normative theorising?
1: Methods for explicating and justifying implicit normative claims in political science
2: Requirements of concept formation in normative political theory compared to empirical political science
3: The politics of epistemology and philosophy of science within political science and how to study it
4: The application of subject-specific empirical data in normative theorising, and vice versa
5: Ethics and moral norms at the intersection of normative political theory and empirical research
6: The difference it makes to policy-focused work when empirical and normative arguments are integrated
7: Cases studies of attempts to integrate normative and empirical theorizing
