Qualitative Comparative Analysis and the Study of Non-State Actors

Suppose you wanted to find out under what conditions non-state actors (NSAs) rebel against state authorities or to investigate what factors lead governments to contract private military and security companies (PMSCs). For these and similar research aims there will rarely be a single cause to account for the outcome. Instead, you might discover that multiple factors bring about the phenomenon of interest and that these interact in specific ways. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is ideally suited to analyse these kinds of causal relations, especially if the aim is to conduct a comparative study of at least a medium number of cases. The aim of this chapter is twofold. The first part introduces the methodological approach of QCA, including its core principles, specific terminology and analytical procedures. Although the discussion may appear rather dense to readers unfamiliar with this approach, the second part of the chapter is intended to illuminate the research process of a study that used QCA, showing step-by-step how some of the somewhat abstract ‘nuts and bolts’ translate into an empirical study. The demonstration of QCA in use should provide helpful guidance for conducting medium-N research on NSAs. The final section briefly covers some of the advantages and challenges of applying this analytical method.     «

Suppose you wanted to find out under what conditions non-state actors (NSAs) rebel against state authorities or to investigate what factors lead governments to contract private military and security companies (PMSCs). For these and similar research aims there will rarely be a single cause to account for the outcome. Instead, you might discover that multiple factors bring about the phenomenon of interest and that these interact in specific ways. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is ideally s...     »