"The Coburn criteria undermine how science constructs its theories, without which there is no scientific explanation of anything. Coburn and Posey acknowledge that political science contributes to an understanding of national security and the economy; what they miss is why that is so. Research on nuclear proliferation or economic stagnation would produce, at best, descriptive and shallow explanations if pursued without attention to broad theory about how governments work, which in turn involves studying topics seemingly unrelated to security or the economy: bureaucratic inefficiencies, moral hazards, unintended consequences, organizational decision-making, coalition-building, and much more."

The Congressional War on the Social Sciences