Theory and explanation in geography revisited: Mid-range causal theories and explanatory conjuncturalism

Abstract

This commentary takes on Jamie Peck’s conjunctural methodologies and reflects on the epistemological matter of theory and explanation in geography. Mapping onto several key elements of conjunctural analysis, I reframe its methodological examination in relation to mid-level concepts and theories (i.e. mid-range theory), the articulation of causality and causal co-determination (i.e. causal mechanisms), and situational analysis, historicisation, and thick theorisation as context-rich explanation (i.e. context-specificity). By way of a sympathetic critique, I focus on two potential ‘blind spots’ that might require further rethinking and perhaps remedies: the underdevelopment of practical adequacy and the role of normative theorising in conjunctural methodologies.