Learning critical realist research by example: Political decision-making in transport

Melia, Steve

Abstract

This article illustrates the process of applied critical realist research using a case study of political decision-making in transport. Critical realism is often used to analyse socio-political change but rarely to explain specific political decisions, and never in transport studies. There have been some attempts to illustrate the process of applied critical realism but not in a political context. The case study analysed an apparent inconsistency in the attitude of UK governments towards road building in the 1990s and post-2012. It structured the findings diagrammatically, illustrating the relationships between social structures, causal mechanisms and actors. This article questions the conventional distinction between ‘more important' and ‘less important’ causes. It shows how normative conclusions may be derived from empirical findings where no agreement exists on the objective basis for normative judgements. It demonstrates how critical realist methods can provide deeper explanations for policy change than existing approaches used in transport studies.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 4, 2020
• Online Publication Date: May 27, 2020
• Publication Date: May 27, 2020
• Deposit Date: May 5, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 28, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Critical Realism
• Print ISSN: 1476-7430
• Electronic ISSN: 1572-5138
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 285-303
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14767430.2020.1765643
• Keywords: Applied Critical Realism; Critical Realist methodology; Critical Realism and politics; Critical Realism and transport; road building; UK politics
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5954734
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/yjcr20/current
• Additional Information: Journal Ref.: REA366R1