Developing a Theory of Post-Truth: How to Remain Scientific When “Doing” Theory?

This methods case reflects on a twin challenge that I faced while carrying out research for my book on a political theory of post-truth. The first challenge involved a lack of reliable academic sources that would be readily available to use. Instead, as is characteristic of any new and developing phenomenon, I had to rely significantly on journalistic reports, commentaries and opinion pieces, and similar sources, the argumentative structure of which does not sit well with the customary evidence-based academic discourse. Hence, the case outlines my strategy for differentiating between such sources and contextually validating their claims. Meanwhile, the second challenge involved putting all those disparate pieces in a puzzle-like fashion to give the phenomenon under scrutiny—in this case, post-truth—a recognizable shape. To that effect, a narrative approach to theory building is outlined, providing a guideline to arranging one’s arguments in a compelling and disciplined fashionISM Vadybos ir ekonomikos universitetasLCC tarptautinis universitetasViešosios komunikacijos katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta