The department of social science of American International University-Bangladesh and the politics and international relations department of the University of Reading in the United Kingdom jointly organised an online discussion on the book titled Causal Inquiry in International Relations.
The event was part of AIUB鈥檚 research collaboration and internationalisation effort and aligned with the memorandum of understanding between the two universities, said a press release on Sunday.
Mohd Zahidul Islam Khan, AIUB鈥檚 registrar and research fellow of Reading University鈥檚 politics and IR department, chaired the session.
Readers, researchers and enthusiasts of geopolitics and IR from the region and beyond attended the virtual session.
The book authored by Professor Adam RC Humphreys and Professor Emeritus Hidemi Suganami challenges conventional views on causal inquiries.
Professor Humphreys, head of the department of politics and IR of the university, outlined the key arguments.
Explaining why they felt the need to write a book, Humphreys stressed, 鈥楪enerating causal knowledge is a key task in the study of world politics.鈥�
鈥榊et most of our causal claims rely on the regularity view and are based on deep often hidden assumptions,鈥� he added.
Clarifying such 鈥榟idden assumptions鈥� and their 鈥榤ethodological implications鈥� is essential to produce new knowledge, he described the talk as fascinating and excellent.
Professor Aminul Karim of Bangladesh University of Professionals opined that the book opened a new dimension into the extant literature about the methods and process of causal inquiries by the IR scholars and beyond.
Mahmud Hussain of Aviation and Aerospace University Bangladesh described the book as profoundly insightful.
Drawing relevance from Thomas Kuhn鈥檚 idea of paradigm construction and Immanuel Kant鈥檚 critique of pure reason built on the work of David Hume as discussed in the book, Mahmud Hussain opined that Humphreys and Suganami鈥檚 book advanced understanding on the 鈥榯heory of knowledge鈥�.
Recalling that 鈥榗orrelation is not causation鈥�, IR scholar Naser, of National Defence University, Pakistan, added that the method and process for causal inquiry outlined in the book were essential to arrive at correct policy prescriptions.
The talk concluded with a vote of thanks from the chairperson and congratulations to Professor Humphreys on his new role as head of school for philosophy, politics and economics at the University聽of聽Reading.
