Complex events are incidents that challenge pre-existing ideas through not meeting standard expectations or solutions. Equally, due to their ‘complex’ nature they should be able to be analysed from a multidisciplinary perspective. A multidisciplinary perspective is the drawing together of methodologies from different social science disciplines (such as economics, international relations, history and political science) to analyse an event and consequently reach a single conclusion. Overall, the use of a multidisciplinary perspective (in comparison to a singular disciplinary perspective) will provide the fullest and most accurate analysis of complex events, however this can create a trade off with the complexity and time taken to reach a conclusion. Firstly, this advantage will be argued through implying complex events have complex causality that can only truly be seen through a multidisciplinary perspective. Secondly, it can be seen that all social sciences lie on a spectrum with lots of overlap and interdependence between disciplines, and therefore it is an intrinsic feature of the social sciences to view complex events through a multidisciplinary perspective. Finally, it can also be seen that each discipline has respective areas of strength as well as areas of weakness and consequently a multidisciplinary approach allows for the most accurate and broadest analysis of a respective event. This can be shown through examples of complex events such as the current problem posed by Climate Change and the unforeseen end to the Cold War in 1991.
However, it is important to keep in mind that while there may be many advantages of using a multidisciplinary perspective to analysis, the ultimate purpose of this analysis is to lead to a fina...
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Gaskel, G. (2014) Thinking like a social scientist: Why methodology matters LSE100 Lecture Capture retrieved 26th March 2014 [http://moodle.lse.ac.uk]
Harrison, M. (1993) “Soviet Economic Growth Since 1928: The Alternative Statistics of G. T. Khanin” from Europe-Asia Studies Retrieved 26th March 2014 [http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/academic/Harrison/public/eas93.pdf]
Hoffman, M. (2013) “Global Climate Change” in The Handbook of Global Climate and Environmental Policy
Memorandum of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1989) Excerpt from ‘The Political Processes in the European Socialist Countries and the Proposals for Our Practical Steps Considering the Situation Which Has Arisin in Them’. (Cold War International Project)
Sandler, T. (2004) Global Collective Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
"The Premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the President of the United States of America have consulted with each other in the common interests of the peoples of their countries and those of liberated Europe. They jointly declare their mutual agreement to concert during the temporary period of instability in liberated Europe the policies of their three governments in assisting the pe
2 Charles S. Maier, ed., The Cold War in Europe: Era of a divided Continent (New York: Markus Wiener Publishing, Inc., 1991) 27.
International politics as one may imagine includes foreign affairs. This is why the topic and focus of this paper revolves around the current event within Eastern Europe. It will focus on both Russia, Ukraine, and the world, and from it, it will be analyzed by using the resources provided within class. After all it is a International Politics course, and one of the best ways to effectively put the skills and knowledge to use is to focus on an event or current event. The paper will attempt to go over in a chronological order of the events that has happened, and what is happening currently over in Ukraine. Afterwards, an analyzed input will be implemented providing reasoning behind Russia's actions, and actions of the world, and potentially some solutions.
Blakeley, G., Bromley, G., Clarke, J., Raghurham, P., Silva, E. and Taylor, S. (2009) ‘Introducing the Social Sciences’ Learning Companion 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University
Quasem, AA, Jafaar, AH & Chamhuri, S 2010, 'Climate change mitigation and Policy Concern for Prioritization', International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management , vol. 2, No 4, Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, UK.
Despite the possible exaggeration of statistic, Stalin still increased Russia’s industrial output markedly and without a doubt covered the ‘fifty or a hundred year gap’ between them and the world’s most modern countries, as Russia later demonstrated with their ability to match the USA during the Cold War. Stalin also managed to increase grain production beyond his targets which led to increased international trade. However, on balance, the increase in industrial output is far outweighed by the terrible combination of death, famine, reduced living conditions and loss of freedom and civil rights throughout Russia. Although he modernised industry, his absolute lack of regard for his own peoples’ lives and the condition of society shows that his methods of modernising the USSR were
Bruce JP, Haites EF, 1995, “Climate Change1995, Economic and Social Dimensions of Climate Change”, Cambridge University Press,
The Cold War did not directly involve Europe, but Europe and its various states were key players and key sources of tension between the two great powers, the USSR and the United States of America. The dates of the beginning and end of the Cold War are debated but 1947-1991 is generally agreed upon. In this paper, I will attempt to outline the events of the Cold War which were relevant to Europe and how this affected European integration and relations. ‘Integration’ here refers to the process of transferring powers of decision-making and implantation from national to supranational level. Europe was weakened after World War Two, especially in contrast with the USSR and the USA. Traditional European hegemony was at an end and Europe had to find a new dynamic without becoming involved in conflict with the two new superpowers.
The 'Secondary Davies, R.W.. Soviet Economic Development from Lenin to Khrushchev. Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 1998. Boettke,Peter J., et al. The political economy of Soviet socialism: the formative years, 1918-1928.
“An introduction to climate change.” Natural Resource Defense Council. Natural Resources Defense Council 8 November 2015 n. pag. Web. 28 November 2015.
...social science cannot do. It can only answer questions at the same level of relevancy that they are asked. Typically, very general questions are asked by the regulators, for example “which instrument should I use?" or “which method should I use?”. These questions can be precisely answered if the question is: “which instrument should I use for the X problem, in the Y region, and in the Z sector?” Additionally, social sciences cannot provide appropriate results if information is not available.
Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor H.L. Miller (eds.) Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA (2007)
Williams, Laurence O. An End to Global Warming. Ohio: Pergamno, 2012. Web 13 May 2015
Hardy, J. T. Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions. New York: J. Wiley, 2003. Print.
The social sciences have and will continue to be in the future will play an important role in studying and solving problems for both society and its individuals. The disciplines that it encompass vary widely but often need to come together to solve issues and study certain facets of humanity. For my personal use social science is a tool to better understand others, be more sensitive to issues that people may face and to anticipate the way people and society may act in certain situations. A social science lens can be productive in that it helps people be more indiscriminate though understanding people and their behavior. I hope to use the socials sciences to impact other people’s lives in a positive manner. The social sciences to me when used in a well-intended manner are able to not only explain phenomena but also be a solution and or make a situation better. The intent of this essay is to better understand and define the social sciences, touch on the many disciplines of the science in addition to its relationships with other scientific areas.