Proposes a new approach to causal analysis in international relations by exploring the concept's roots and uses in the field.

Milja Kurki is a lecturer in the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Her research on the concept of cause in international relations theory has been awarded prizes by the British International Studies Association and the Political Studies Association.

Introduction: the problem of causation and the divided discipline of international relations; Part I. The Humean Philosophy of Causation and its Legacies: 1. The Humean philosophy of causation and its legacies in philosophy of science; 2. Controversy over causes in the social sciences; 3. Humeanism and rationalist causal analysis in international relations; 4. Reflectivist and constructivist approaches in international relations: more cases of Humeanism; Part II. Rethinking the Concept of Cause: 5. Attempts to move beyond Humeanism: strengths and weaknesses; 6. Rethinking causation: towards a deeper and broader concept of cause; Part III. Reconfiguring Causal Analysis of World Politics: 7. Expanding horizons in world political causal inquiry; 8. Reconceptualising causes, reframing the divided discipline.