For decades, many International Relations (IR) scholars did not engage in elite experiments, because they viewed it as too risky, too costly, or too difficult to implement. However, as part of a behavioral turn in IR, a growing number of scholars have begun to adopt the method in their own research. This shift raises important questions. Under what conditions do elite experiments add value to IR scholarship? How can scholars overcome the logistical and ethical challenges of sampling such an elusive group? This article makes an original conceptual contribution to methodological debates on the role of behavioral approaches by analyzing experiments on foreign policy elites. We analyze the method’s strengths and weaknesses, evaluate ethical considerations, and present what is—to the best of our knowledge—the most comprehensive set of implementation guidelines. Our article draws on recently published IR research and argues that the payoffs from elite experiments are well worth the effort.

几十年来，许多国际关系（IR）学者一直没有从事精英实验，因为他们认为这样做过于冒险，过于昂贵或难以实施。但是，作为IR中行为转变的一部分，越来越多的学者开始在自己的研究中采用该方法。这一转变提出了重要的问题。精英实验在什么条件下可以为IR奖学金增加价值？学者如何克服抽样这样一个难以捉摸的群体的后勤和道德挑战？本文通过分析外交政策精英的实验，为有关行为方法作用的方法论辩论做出了初步的概念性贡献。我们分析该方法的优缺点，评估道德考量，并据我们所知提供最全面的实施指南。我们的文章借鉴了最近发表的投资者关系研究，认为精英实验的回报值得付出努力。