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James Mahoney

Gordon Fulcher Professor in Decision-Making, Professor of Sociology, and Professor of Political Science

Area(s) of Interest

Comparative Sociology, Development, Methodology

Relevant Link

Department of Political Science

Biography

James Mahoney is a comparative-historical researcher with interests in political development, Latin America, and methodology. His most recent books are Advances in Comparative-Historical Analysis (2015; coedited with Kathleen Thelen); A Tale of Two Cultures: Qualitative and Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences (with Gary Goertz; 2012); Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish America in Comparative Perspective (2010); and Explaining Institutional Change: Ambiguity, Agency, and Power (2010; coedited with Kathleen Thelen).

Mahoney has received several awards for his work on methodology from the American Sociological Association (ASA) and American Political Science Association (APSA). His book on Colonialism and Postcolonial Development received six major awards from sections in ASA and APSA.

Mahoney has been President of the Qualitative and Multi-Method Research Section and the Politics and History Section, APSA, and Chair of the Comparative and Historical Sociology Section and the Development Section of the ASA. He has been Associate Chair of Political Science and Chair of Sociology at Northwestern.

Courses Taught

Sociology:   

SOCIOL 317: Global Development Syllabus

SOCIOL 439: Comparative Historical Analysis Syllabus

SOCIOL 476: Comparative Methods

Political Science:

POLI SCI: 490: Methods of Comparative Analysis Syllabus

Books

The Production of Knowledge (coedited with Colin Elman and John Gerring)
Cambridge University Press, 2020

Advances in Comparative-Historical Analysis(coedited with Kathleen Thelen)
Cambridge University Press, 2015

A Tale of Cultures: Qualitative and Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences
(with Gary Goertz)
Princeton University Press, 2012

Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish America in Comparative Perspective
Cambridge University Press, 2010

Explaining Institutional Change Ambiguity, Agency, and Power
(with Kathleen Thelen), Cambridge University Press, 2010

Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences
(with Dietrich Rueschemeyer), Cambridge University Press, 2003

The Legacies of Liberalism: Path Dependence and Political Regimes in Central America
John Hopkins University Press, 2001

Publications

List of Article Publications