Set Theoretical Concept Formation and the Emergence of Time: A Concept Structural Approach to Studying Temporal Dynamics in Democracies

In this paper, I address the question of how so-called ‘concept structures’ can link concept formation to empirical analysis while accounting for temporal dynamics in the study of democracies and social research more generally. Understood from a set theoretical perspective, this macro-level approach can provide insights on how meanings of democracy and the role of time can be conceptualised systematically and analysed empirically from an integrated methodological perspective. The first component, concept structures, constitutes a formalised methodology of concept construction in the social sciences. Concept structures can be expressed formally with the help of set theory and use formal logic to specify concepts and conceptual and empirical relationships at the core of social research. This approach is uniquely suited for studies that combine strong theory building and empirical analysis because it inherently integrates theory and empirics and thus strengthens their coherence more than many other research designs. It does so by formally connecting concepts with explanatory conditions and outcomes used in subsequent empirical analysis. The second component, time, constitutes an emergent phenomenon in the science of democracies and the social sciences more broadly (and is also discussed as emergent in current debates on the foundations of quantum physics, for example by Sean M. Carroll). Temporal dynamics arise due to time dependency of the real world, especially as structures, actors, and contexts change over time. Policy implementation, administrative coordination, and environmental conflict resolution can serve as examples of highly dynamic political-institutional processes in the context of the dynamics of democratic change. Research on democracies therefore requires, or at least can benefit from, using procedural approaches to (theoretically and methodologically) account for the temporal dynamics inherent in theoretical concepts and empirical data. Four approaches to the construction and practical usage of concepts in social science research designs are developed: reconstructive, low-range, mid-range, and comprehensive. Illustrating the three latter approaches that go beyond Goertz’s work, various examples of concept structural research designs are discussed and temporal dynamics are integrated through procedural concepts, methodological strategies to account for time dependency, and by adapting to the empirical complexity of dynamics. One example explores basic conceptual (‘ontological’) and explanatory (‘empirical’) relationships regarding the correct implementation of European law in the member states as an important pillar of democracy in the European Union. Another example builds on these insights to conceptualise the implementation of decisions on environmental conflicts across court judgements and managerial agreements, a vital issue for democracies in a globalised world. In this paper, I seek to link concepts to empirical analysis through concept structures and by accounting for temporal dynamics. The aim of this approach is to enable conceptually founded empirical research designs as a central aspect of establishing a new paradigm of the science of democracy. This linkage helps understand ongoing transformations in democracies by allowing the systematic analysis of procedural phenomena at the heart of political, institutional, and legal dynamics.