what is a case study in international relations

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Process Tracing Methods

Introduction, debates about case studies and case-based methods.

• Productive Account / Systems Approach to Studying Mechanisms
• Minimalist Approach to Studying Mechanisms
• Bayesian Approaches
• Non-Bayesian Approaches
• Case Selection and Combining Process Tracing with Other Methods
• Comparative Politics
• Environmental Politics
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• Examples from Non–social Science Fields

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Process Tracing Methods by Derek Beach LAST REVIEWED: 22 April 2020 LAST MODIFIED: 22 April 2020 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0227

Process tracing is an in-depth within-case study method used in the social sciences for tracing causal mechanisms and how they play out within an actual case. Process tracing can be used to build and test theories of processes that link causes and outcomes in a bounded population of causally similar cases, in combination with comparative methods, or, when used in a more pragmatic fashion, to gain a greater understanding of the causal dynamics that produced the outcome of a particular historical case. The strength of process tracing is that detailed knowledge is gained through the collection of within-case, mechanistic evidence about how causal processes work in real-world cases. Process tracing enables only within-case inferences to be made, making comparative methods necessary to enable inferences to causally similar cases. Comparisons make generalization possible because we can then claim that as a set of other cases are causally similar to the studied one, we should expect similar mechanisms to also be operative in these cases. Process tracing as a method can be broken down into three core components: theorization about causal mechanisms linking causes and outcomes, the development and analysis of the observable empirical manifestations of the operation of parts of theorized mechanisms, and the complementary use of comparative methods to enable generalizations of findings from single case studies to other causally similar cases.

To understand what process tracing is as a distinct case study method, it is important to have a good working knowledge of the underlying realist philosophical foundations of case-based methods. A wonderful and comprehensive introduction to different philosophical foundations of different social science methods can be found in Jackson 2016 . Good introductions to realist philosophy can be found in Maxwell 2012 and Sayer 2000 . It is also important to understand the core methodological debates about what case studies actually are. After the publication of Designing Social Inquiry ( King, et al. 1994 ), considerable debate has arisen about whether small-n methods, including case studies and small-n comparisons, constitute a distinct research approach or whether they can be subsumed under an overarching logic of studying variance. The “case-based” approach is articulated in Brady and Collier 2011 , George and Bennett 2005 , Goertz and Mahoney 2012 , Ragin 1987 , and Ragin 2000 , among others. This approach argues that small-n comparisons and within-case study methods, like process tracing, build on ontological and/or epistemological foundations different from “variance-based” approaches. The “variance-based” approach to case studies—including process tracing—is described in King, et al. 1994 and in Gerring 2017 . Here single cases are disaggregated into multiple “cases” in order to assess the difference that variance in values of a cause (or intervening variables) have for values on the outcome across units of the case.

Beach, Derek, and Rasmus Brun Pedersen. Causal Case Study Methods: Foundations and Guidelines for Comparing, Matching and Tracing . Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2019.

The book explores the foundational differences between case-based and variance-based approaches and develops a set of guidelines for using case-based comparative methods and process tracing.

Brady, Henry E., and David Collier, eds. Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards . 2d ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011.

Influential edited volume that explores different aspects of case-based research, including differences with variance-based approaches, and discussions of what types of evidence within-case analyses can use.

George, Alexander L., and Andrew Bennett. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005.

Influential book that developed core ideas about process tracing as a distinct research method, along with structured, focused comparisons and congruence case studies.

Gerring, John. Case Study Research . 2d ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Introduction to case study methods from a variance-based perspective.

Goertz, Gary, and James Mahoney. A Tale of Two Cultures: Qualitative and Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012.

A very useful introduction to the core elements of case-based methods taken as a whole. Less helpful regarding how to use process tracing in practice.

Jackson, Patrick Thaddeus. The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations: Philosophy of Science and Its Implications for the Study of World Politics . 2d ed. London: Routledge, 2016.

DOI: 10.4324/9781315731360

Influential book that explores the foundational philosophical assumptions underlying social science methodologies, including neopositivism, (critical) realism, pragmaticism and analyticism, and reflexive approaches.

Johnson, R. Burke, Federica Russo, and Judith Schoonenboom. “Causation in Mixed Methods Research: The Meeting of Philosophy, Science, and Practice.” Journal of Mixed Methods Research 13.2 (2019): 143–162.

Useful overview article that discusses different understandings of causation, including a mechanistic account that is distinguished from counterfactual and regularity accounts.

King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane, and Sidney Verba. Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.

DOI: 10.1515/9781400821211

Classic but controversial book that argues that cases should be disaggregated into multiple “cases” in order to investigate the difference that variance in the values of independent and intervening variables makes for the outcome.

Maxwell, Joseph A. A Realist Approach for Qualitative Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2012.

Great introduction to realist philosophy that develops an interpretivist epistemological stance while at the same time arguing for process understandings of causation as well as causal complexity.

Ragin, Charles C. The Comparative Method: Moving beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies . Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987.

Classic book that develops some of the foundations for case-based methods.

Ragin, Charles C. Fuzzy-Set Social Science . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Book that introduces more advanced comparative techniques (qualitative comparative analysis [QCA]) within case-based methods. QCA is a useful tool in combination with within-case studies using process tracing.

Sayer, Andrew. Realism and Social Science . London: SAGE, 2000.

DOI: 10.4135/9781446218730

Concise introduction to critical realism that develops the distinctions between the real-actual-empirical, and that discusses the nature of causal mechanisms.

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Article contents

Teaching international relations with case studies.

• Ralph G. Carter Ralph G. Carter Department of Political Science, Texas Christian University
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.315
• Published in print: 01 March 2010
• Published online: 19 July 2023
• This version: 19 July 2023
• Previous version

Case-based learning offers several advantages in the study of international relations. For instructors, the primary attraction of case-based learning is its emphasis on active student engagement. Rather than reading the assigned material, passively listening to lectures, and memorizing notes, students are drawn into more active roles as their classroom instructors ask questions and require student participation. For students, case-based learning connects course material to the real world beyond the classroom. Regardless of the nature of the case or its source, instructors can take steps to ensure success with a case-based approach. First, instructors should know the details of the case: the background, the facts and events, the issues, the participants, and the results. Second, instructors should ensure that the physical setting of the classroom is appropriate for the anticipated task. Third, instructors should be attentive to the size of the class. Small classes promote participation by more students. Finally, instructors can be attentive to the possibility of pairing cases for comparative discussion and analysis. The success of case-based learning also rests in students' awareness that that passivity on their part is unacceptable. Thus, instructors must be sure that they convey the expectation that students must come to class ready to participate. Some common problems associated with case-based learning include time management, silence or apathy on the part of the students, and the failed class.

• international relations
• case studies
• case-based learning

Case study methods in the international relations subfield

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

This article reviews the key role that case study methods have played in the study of international relations (IR) in the United States. Case studies in the IR subfield are not the unconnected, atheoretical, and idiographic studies that their critics decry. IR case studies follow an increasingly standardized and rigorous set of prescriptions and have, together with statistical and formal work, contributed to cumulatively improving understandings of world politics. The article discusses and reviews examples of case selection criteria (including least likely, least and most similar, and deviant cases); conceptual innovation; typo-logical theories, explanatory typologies, qualitative comparative analysis, and fuzzy-set analysis; process tracing; and the integration of multiple methods.

• Case selection
• Conceptual innovation
• Explanatory typologies
• Multimethod analysis
• Process tracing
• Qualitative methods

ASJC Scopus subject areas

• Sociology and Political Science

Access to Document

• 10.1177/0010414006296346

Other files and links

• Link to publication in Scopus
• Link to the citations in Scopus

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• Case Study Social Sciences 100%
• International Relation Social Sciences 100%
• Learning Method Social Sciences 100%
• International Relations Arts and Humanities 100%
• Comparative Analysis Social Sciences 25%
• International Politics Social Sciences 25%
• Qualitative Comparative Analysis Keyphrases 25%
• Conceptual Innovation Keyphrases 25%

T1 - Case study methods in the international relations subfield

AU - Bennett, Andrew

AU - Elman, Colin

PY - 2007/2

Y1 - 2007/2

N2 - This article reviews the key role that case study methods have played in the study of international relations (IR) in the United States. Case studies in the IR subfield are not the unconnected, atheoretical, and idiographic studies that their critics decry. IR case studies follow an increasingly standardized and rigorous set of prescriptions and have, together with statistical and formal work, contributed to cumulatively improving understandings of world politics. The article discusses and reviews examples of case selection criteria (including least likely, least and most similar, and deviant cases); conceptual innovation; typo-logical theories, explanatory typologies, qualitative comparative analysis, and fuzzy-set analysis; process tracing; and the integration of multiple methods.

AB - This article reviews the key role that case study methods have played in the study of international relations (IR) in the United States. Case studies in the IR subfield are not the unconnected, atheoretical, and idiographic studies that their critics decry. IR case studies follow an increasingly standardized and rigorous set of prescriptions and have, together with statistical and formal work, contributed to cumulatively improving understandings of world politics. The article discusses and reviews examples of case selection criteria (including least likely, least and most similar, and deviant cases); conceptual innovation; typo-logical theories, explanatory typologies, qualitative comparative analysis, and fuzzy-set analysis; process tracing; and the integration of multiple methods.

KW - Case selection

KW - Conceptual innovation

KW - Explanatory typologies

KW - Multimethod analysis

KW - Process tracing

KW - Qualitative methods

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33845989121&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33845989121&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/0010414006296346

DO - 10.1177/0010414006296346

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:33845989121

SN - 0010-4140

JO - Comparative Political Studies

JF - Comparative Political Studies

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Top 10 International Business Negotiation Case Studies

International business negotiation case studies offer insights to business negotiators who face challenges in the realm of cross-cultural business negotiation..

By PON Staff — on July 11th, 2024 / International Negotiation

If you engage in international negotiation , you can improve your odds of success by learning from these 10 well-known international business negotiation case studies:

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• Apple’s Apology in China

When Apple CEO Timothy D. Cook apologized to Apple customers in China for problems arising from Apple’s warranty policy, he promised to rectify the issue. In a negotiation research study, Professor William W. Maddux of INSEAD and his colleagues compared reactions to apologies in the United States and in Japan. They discovered that in “collectivist cultures” such as China and Japan, apologies can be particularly effective in repairing broken trust, regardless of whether the person apologizing is to blame. This may be especially true in a cross-cultural business negotiation such as this one.

• Bangladesh Factory-Safety Agreements

In this negotiation case study, an eight-story factory collapsed in Bangladesh, killing an estimated 1,129 people, most of whom were low-wage garment workers manufacturing goods for foreign retailers. Following the tragedy, companies that outsourced their garment production faced public pressure to improve conditions for foreign workers. Labor unions focused their efforts on persuading Swedish “cheap chic” giant H&M to take the lead on safety improvements. This negotiation case study highlights the pros and cons of all-inclusive, diffuse agreements versus targeted, specific agreements.

• The Microsoft-Nokia Deal

Microsoft made the surprising announcement that it was purchasing Finnish mobile handset maker Nokia for $7.2 billion, a merger aimed at building Microsoft’s mobile and smartphone offerings. The merger faced even more complexity after the ink dried on the contract—namely, the challenges of integrating employees from different cultures. International business negotiation case studies such as this one underscore the difficulties that companies face when attempting to negotiate two different identities.

• The Cyprus Crisis

With the economy of the tiny Mediterranean island nation Cyprus near collapse, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB), and the European Commission teamed up to offer a 10-billion-euro bailout package contingent on Cyprus provisioning a substantial amount of the money through a one-time tax on ordinary Cypriot bank depositors. The move proved extremely unpopular in Cyprus and protests resulted. The nation’s president was left scrambling for a backup plan. The lesson from international business negotiation case studies such as this? Sometimes the best deal you can get may be better than no deal at all.

• Dissent in the European Union

The European Union (EU) held a summit to address the coordination of economic activities and policies among EU member states. German resistance to such a global deal was strong, and pessimism about a unified EU banking system ran high as a result of the EU financial crisis. The conflict reflects the difficulty of forging  multiparty agreements  during times of stress and crisis.

• North and South Korea Talks Collapse

Negotiations between North Korea and South Korea were supposed to begin in Seoul aimed at lessening tensions between the divided nations. It would have been the highest government dialogue between the two nations in years. Just before negotiations were due to start, however, North Korea complained that it was insulted that the lead negotiator from the South wasn’t higher in status. The conflict escalated, and North Korea ultimately withdrew from the talks. The case highlights the importance of pride and power perceptions in international negotiations.

• Canceled Talks for the U.S. and Russia

Then-U.S. president Barack Obama canceled a scheduled summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing a lack of progress on a variety of negotiations. The announcement came on the heels of Russia’s decision to grant temporary asylum to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who made confidential data on American surveillance programs public. From international business negotiation case studies such as this, we can learn strategic reasons for  breaking off ties , if only temporarily, with a counterpart.

• The East China Sea Dispute

In recent years, several nations, including China and Japan, have laid claim to a chain of islands in the East China Sea. China’s creation of an “air defense” zone over the islands led to an international dispute with Japan. International negotiators seeking to resolve complex disputes may gain valuable advice from this negotiation case study, which involves issues of international law as well as perceptions of relative strength or weakness in negotiations.

• An International Deal with Syria

When then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, announced a deal to prevent the United States from entering the Syrian War, it was contingent on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s promise to dismantle his nation’s chemical weapons. Like other real-life negotiation case studies, this one highlights the value of expanding our focus in negotiation.

• A Nuclear Deal with Iran

When the United States and five other world powers announced an interim agreement to temporarily freeze Iran’s nuclear program, the six-month accord, which eventually led to a full-scale agreement in 2015, was designed to give international negotiators time to negotiate a more comprehensive pact that would remove the threat of Iran producing nuclear weapons. As Iranian President Hassan Rouhani insisted that Iran had a sovereign right to enrich uranium, the United States rejected Iran’s claim to having a “right to enrich” but agreed to allow Iran to continue to enrich at a low level, a concession that allowed a deal to emerge.

What international business negotiation case studies in the news have you learned from in recent years?

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Understanding how to arrange the meeting space is a key aspect of preparing for negotiation. In this video, Professor Guhan Subramanian discusses a real world example of how seating arrangements can influence a negotiator’s success. This discussion was held at the 3 day executive education workshop for senior executives at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

Guhan Subramanian is the Professor of Law and Business at the Harvard Law School and Professor of Business Law at the Harvard Business School.

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5 Case Studies in International Relations

From the book teaching political science to undergraduates.

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Research Methods in International Relations

Research methods in International Relations can be daunting to grasp, but put simply they are the tools and techniques used by students and academics to properly design research questions, and more importantly to reach persuasive and credible answers to those questions. The resources below outline the methods used in International Relations, starting from basic overviews and the levels of analysis, and then continue into more specific and detailed areas.

Different Methods and Approaches

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Cases in International Relations

Principles and applications, ninth edition, donald m. snow.

Designed to complement the main themes of any introductory international relations course, Snow’s bestselling text presents original case studies that survey the state of the international system and look in-depth at current issues. The cases are extremely timely, geopolitically diverse, accessibly written, and of high interest and salience amidst today’s headlines.

Cases cover enduring concepts like sovereignty, diplomacy, and national interest to emerging concerns like foreign election interference, the COVID pandemic, cybersecurity, and global climate change.

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Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches (8th edn)  

Introduction to International Relations provides a concise introduction to the principal international relations theories and approaches, and explores how theory can be used to analyse contemporary issues. Throughout the text, the chapters encourage readers to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the theories presented, and the major points of contention between them. In so doing, the text helps the reader to build a clear understanding of how major theoretical debates link up with each other, and how the structure of the discipline of international relations is established. The book places a strong emphasis throughout on the relationship between theory and practice, carefully explaining how theories organize and shape our view of the world. It also shows how a historical perspective can often refine theories and provide a frame of reference for contemporary problems of international relations. Topics include realism, liberalism, International Society, International Political Economy, social constructivism, post-positivism in international relations, major issues in IPE and IR, foreign policy, and world order. Each chapter ends by discussing how different theories have attempted to integrate or combine international and domfactors in their explanatory frameworks. The final part of the book is dedicated to major global issues and how theory can be used as a tool to analyse and interpret these issues. The text is accompanied by online resources, which include: short case studies, review questions, annotated web links, and a flashcard glossary.

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• Dedication  
• Acknowledgements  
• New to this Edition  
• About This Book  
• How to Use this Book  
• How to Use the Online Resources  
• Political Map of the World  
• 1. Why Study IR?  
• 2. IR as an Academic Subject  
• 3. Realism  
• 4. Liberalism  
• 5. International Society  
• 6. International Political Economy: Marxism, Mercantilism, Liberalism  
• 7. Social Constructivism  
• 8. Post-positivist Approaches: Post-structuralism, Postcolonialism, Feminism  
• 9. Foreign Policy  
• 10. Major Issues in IPE: Economic versus Political Power, Development, Globalization, How to Study the Real World  
• 11. Major Issues in IR: Climate Change, Terrorism, Religion, Power and Hegemony  
• 12. The Big Question: World Order or World Chaos?  
• Bibliography  
• Subject Index  

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Cases in international relations

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