Counterfactual Thought Experiments in World Politics: Logical, Methodological, and Psychological Perspectives - Paperbackby Philip E. Tetlock (Editor), Aaron Belkin (Editor) Political scientists often ask themselves what might have been if history had unfolded differently: if Stalin had been ousted as General Party Secretary or if the United States had not dropped the bomb on Japan. Although scholars sometimes scoff at applying hypothetical reasoning to world politics, the contributors to this volume including James Fearon, Richard Lebow, Margaret Levi, Bruce Russett,