Proper Nouns and Methodological Propriety: Pooling Dyads in International Relations Data

Abstract

This article provides a concluding comment on the symposium focusing on Donald P. Green, Soo Yeon Kim, and David H. Yoon's “Dirty Pool.” Although the perspectives offered by the three sets of authors participating in the symposium differ starkly, my view (supported by conversations with the authors and additional analyses and debates among all involved) is that there is now a large area of underlying agreement. I describe this agreement by first illuminating Green, Kim, and Yoon's fundamental contribution in understanding and high lighting the role of heterogeneity in dyad-level studies of international conflict. I then describe the limitations in their revised analytic strategy, including those raised by John R. Oneal and Bruce Russett and by Nathaniel Beck and Jonathan N. Katz. I also offer suggestions for future researchers, methodologists, and data collectors.