3. The Level-of-Analysis Problem in International Relations

J. David Singer is Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan. A pioneer in the effort to render the study of international politics more scientific, his many important works include authorship of Deterrence, Arms Control, and Disarmament (1962) and editorship of Human Behavior and International Politics (1965) and Quantitative International Politics (1968). As can be seen in Selections 7, 29, 35, and 45 as well as here, Professor Singer's contribution has been multifaceted and includes works that focus on theoretical problems, that present unique empirical data, that analyze crucial policy dilemmas, and that examine the methodological challenges confronting researchers. In addition, and perhaps no less important, Professor Singer's research has not curbed his involvement in political affairs. His commitment to the peace movement is as thoroughgoing as is his detachment in his scholarly and scientific inquiries, thus demonstrating that forfeiture of effective citizenship need not be the price of scientific research into international politics. In this essay Professor Singer argues persuasively that while the field consists of both international politics and foreign policy, the two are not the same and the differences between them are in certain respects unbridgeable. Indeed, the distinction that is drawn here between the two aspects of the field seems so basic that it has been introduced into both the title and the organization of this volume. [Reprinted from Klaus Knorr and Sidney Verba (eds.), The International System: Theoretical Essays (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1961), pp. 77-92, by permission of the author and Princeton University Press.]