dr. B (Brandon) Sommer

Biography

I am interested in classic debates in international political economy, including questions of structure and agency, ontology, crisis, and sociopolitical transformation. My work applies a theoretically rigorous approach to studying complexity and understanding the relationship between historical and contemporary contexts in analyses of different countries.

A distinctive feature of my research is my contribution to methodological discussions, particularly in rethinking the qualitative-quantitative divide through an ontological lens. I argue that robust analysis requires transcending traditional methodological boundaries to capture complex socioeconomic phenomena. To this end, I employ a diverse methodological toolkit including historical and time-based approaches, qualitative interviews, text analyses, and statistical methods.

My PhD exemplified this integrated approach by examining China's socio-economic transformation from the 1960s to the present day. By bridging methodological divides, I was able to reveal the complex interplay between structural forces and agential responses that characterized China's development trajectory.

Currently, I am working on a project to further develop this approach to bridging the qualitative-quantitative divide. This research aims to establish a more cohesive methodological framework that acknowledges the ontological foundations of different research traditions while creating productive dialogues between them, ultimately enhancing our ability to analyze complex political economic phenomena.