Methodological challenges of comparative crisis research

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• EGPP: European Governance and Politics Programme
• SOLID: Policy Crisis and Crisis Politics. Sovereignty, Solidarity and Identity in the EU post 2008

This work-in-progress seminar deals with methodological challenges of comparative crisis research and is part of the ERC-funded SOLID project on 'Policy crisis and crisis politics. Sovereignty, solidarity and identity in the EU post-2008'.

In this seminar, Argyrios Altiparmakis, Alexandru Moise and Zbigniew Truchlewski will discuss some well-known problems that comparisons of Big Structures, Large Processes, Huge Comparisons (Tilly 1984) present to scholars and how they have been dealt with by others. There is, first, the problem that the cases, i.e. different crises in the EU, are idiosyncratic and yet interdependent. Secondly, too many explanatory variables chase too few cases to be explained. Third, we collected heterogeneous data across and even within cases. All of these methodological considerations contribute to the overall question: how can we compare crises, how can we conceptualise linkages between them and how can we theorise their temporal sequence?

Researchers who are interested in attending the seminar should get in touch with Waltraud Schelkle (waltraud.schelkle(at)eui.eu) as seminar attendance is by invitation only.