Manna from Heaven or Forbidden Fruit? The (Ab) Use of Control Variables in Research on International Conflict

摘要

Model specification is a ubiquitous challenge in the social sciences. While this issue of Conflict Management and Peace Science is dedicated to addressing this topic in the context of research on international conflict, the discussion among the contributors also contains general lessons and debates relevant to statistical analyses of political, economic, and social phenomena. The reader might suspect that when Glenn Palmer first approached us with the idea of putting together a roundtable and special issue on using control variables, we yawned. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only did we think the topic warranted some good debate and dialogue, but we already had in mind some lively, articulate, and bright scholars who would offer clever insight.We apparently were not alone in our estimation: a record-breaking, spirited audience attended a roundtable featuring these individuals at the 2004 Peace Science Meeting in Houston, Texas. We are confident that the readers of this volume will similarly be engaged and will find the dialogue on the contributions and weakness of control variables useful for their own research.