Casual Layered Analysis

Casual Layered Analysis is an effective mechanism of developing a wide range of strategic alternatives to achieve a specific goal. A Pakistani researcher called Sohail Inayatullah developed the mechanism. The Casual Layered Analysis tool breaks down the issue under scrutiny into four different divisions in an effort to shed sufficient light on the possible outcomes that the issue might yield. Through this undertaking, the tool is able to facilitate the consideration of a larger amount of scenarios that might result when applying a specific strategy. The four levels utilized by Casual Layered Analysis are Litany, Social Causes, Discourse or worldview and metaphor or myth.

The litany is the first layer in Casual Layered Analysis. As illustrated by Sohail Inayatullah, litany involves the description of a certain issue through the use of quantitative techniques. The projections of current societal problems through the use of figures are often unauthentic in the view of Sohail Inayatullah. Little problems are exaggerated to seem big to ordinary people so as to create an atmosphere of fear. This has been used to draw political influence and prompt members of society to conform to the current conditions. Problems can be anticipated more accurately working back and forth through the different levels of Casual Layered Analysis (Inayatullah, 2009).

The second level of Casual Layered Analysis is the social causes. In this level, the various factors that influence the issue under scrutiny are evaluated. The forces that affect the issues can be political, cultural, economic or historical. The environmental conservation issue can be used as an example to clearly describe this level of Casual Layered Analysis. Environmental conservation activists who try to come up with strategies to counter its effects believe that the main causes of environmental pollution are indecent behavior from people in terms of careless dumping and excessive toxic waste from industries. The main purpose of this level is to evaluate the sources of the issue under scrutiny (Inayatullah, 2009).

The third level of Casual Layered Analysis is the discourse or worldview. The main focus of this level is the universal perception about the issue at hand. By evaluating the universal perception about the issue, an individual can get a deeper understanding of the issue by looking at the various assumptions that people old about the issue. For instance, in the case of environmental pollution, there is a concurrence among most members of society that the root of the issue is increased industrial activity. The perceptions held by various people can differ based on a person’s culture, religion or amount of knowledge about the issue. For instance, a person with rich information about environmental conservation can say that global warming has caused the recent extreme weather cases. Oppositely, a person who is extremely religious will say that the recent cases of extreme weather are signs of the end of the world (Inayatullah, 2009).

The fourth level of Casual Layered Analysis is myth or metaphor. These are beliefs and perceptions about the issue under scrutiny that have been existence for a long time. The focus of this layer is to evaluate a person’s beliefs about the issue at hand. This layer uncovers the emotional attachments and various aspects of the unconscious mind that have an effect the way a person views the problem. The Casual Layered Analysis enables people to clearly understand the issue from numerous viewpoints. It breaks down the problem into multiple facets so that people can have numerous alternatives when trying to come with strategies geared towards the achievement of objectives regarding the issue. By going back and forth through, the layers provided by this tool, individuals can be able to come up with innovative strategies to achieve their future goals (Inayatullah, 2009).

The new layers in the Casual Layered analysis should be geared towards the achievement of a specific goal. The new metaphor will be an adjustment of the previous myths that contributed to the creation of the current situation. The new myth should be full of possibilities and hope in order to give the individual the energy to conceptualize the most effective strategy to achieve his or her future ambitions. The new worldview will then be derived from the new myth. The new worldview should be encompassed of new possible mechanisms that can be utilized to achieve the future goals. The new litany and social causes will have changed to coincide with the new myth (Inayatullah, 2009).