The Political Science of Science: An Inquiry into the Possible Reconciliation of Mastery and Freedom

1956 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 961-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold D. Lasswell

My intention is to consider political science as a discipline and as a profession in relation to the impact of the physical and biological sciences and of engineering upon the life of man. I propose to inquire into the possible reconciliation of man's mastery over Nature with freedom, the overriding goal of policy in our body politic.In the interest of concreteness I shall have something to say about past and potential applications of science in three areas: armament, production, and evolution.It is trite to acknowledge that for years we have lived in the afterglow of a mushroom cloud and in the midst of an arms race of unprecedented gravity. Here I shall support a proposition that may at first evoke some incredulous exclamations. The proposition is that our intellectual tools have been sufficiently sharp to enable political scientists to make a largely correct appraisal of the consequences of unconventional weapons for world politics.

Author(s):  
Anna М. Solarz

The 2015 immigration crisis revealed the weak cultural condition Europe finds itself in, given the adoption by a majority of states of a model for development that deliberately severs ties with common civilisational roots. However, while Poles do not really nurture prejudices against either Islam or immigrants, a decided majority of them voiced their unwillingness to accept new (mainly Muslim) arrivals, in the context of a solution to the above crisis the EU was intending to impose. A change of policy was thus forced upon the Union by Poland and other CEECs, given the latter’s strong guiding conviction that pursuit of a multicultural ideology leads to a weakening – rather than any improvement – in the condition of culture in Europe, and hence to a sapping of the continent’s power in the international relations sphere. As the crisis has made clear, the EU will probably have to start taking more account of preferences in this part of Europe. This means opportunities for the political science of religion to research the likelihood of a return to the Christian component of European identity, as well as the role this might play in improving the cultural condition of this part of the world.


Author(s):  
Alesha Doan

The impact of morality conflicts on the political landscape is widespread. These debates have involved political institutions at every level of government, impacted electoral outcomes, shaped agendas, and occupied significant space in citizen discourses. However, despite the historical and modern regularity of these debates, scholars have been slow to consider belief-laden conflicts within the purview of political science research. This chapter explores the development of the morality politics literature. Attention is given to the initial research in this field, as well as the studies that refined and challenged several of the early assumptions underpinning morality politics scholarship.


2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-729
Author(s):  
Adrian Pabst ◽  
Roberto Scazzieri

Antonio Genovesi’s economic-political treatise on civil economy was a major contribution to debates in the mid-and late eighteenth century on the nature of political economy. At that time, Genovesi’s book was extensively translated and discussed across continental Europe and Latin America, where it was read as a foundational text of political economy similar to Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. The aim of this article is to contribute to the analysis of the mutual implication between the economic and the political order of society by revisiting Genovesi’s theory of civil economy, which he defined as “the political science of the economy and commerce.” First, the article retraces Genovesi’s conception of civil economy as a branch of political science and the role of “virtue” in ordering the polity according to “the nature of the world.” Second, it explores Genovesi’s theory of production as an inquiry into the proportionality conditions that productive activities should meet for a well-functioning polity to persist over time. Third, our argument emphasizes the importance of Genovesi’s analysis of production structures for his theory of internal and foreign trade. In this connection, the paper investigates Genovesi’s idea that the maintenance of a country’s “trading fund” should be the fundamental objective for its internal and external trade policies. These policies, according to Genovesi, should be consistent with the context of the body politic under consideration and the economy’s proportionality requirements for any specific stage of development.


2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (02) ◽  
pp. 238-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin C. Cassese ◽  
Angela L. Bos ◽  
Lauren E. Duncan

The New Research on Gender in Political Psychology Conference brought together new and experienced teachers with interests in gender politics. The conference session “Teaching Gender throughout the Curriculum” generated a great deal of discussion concerning the pedagogical practice of gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming—the integration of gendered content into courses required for a major—was recognized as one of 11 recommendations for reforming the undergraduate political science curriculum in the 1991 APSA report “Liberal Learning an The Political Science Major: A Report to the Profession” (popularly referred to as the Wahlke Report). Little information is available on the prevalence of gender courses in the undergraduate curriculum, but the data that does exist suggest such courses are uncommon (Brandes et al. 2001). We found virtually no data on the practice of gender mainstreaming in political science and little data in the way of assessing the impact of gendered content when students are exposed to it. This absence of data suggests gender mainstreaming has not emerged as a serious priority for curricular reform.


1962 ◽  
Vol 5 (02) ◽  
pp. 27-29
Author(s):  
James S. Coleman

The study of Africa has helped to further several healthy trends in the development of the discipline of political science. Confrontation with the rich variety of structural forms and modes of human expression of contemporary Africa has compelled the political analyst to look beyond the narrow “political” realm and conventional “political” structures for a more complete understanding and explanation of political phenomena. This African impact upon the discipline has come at a most propitious time—a time of intensive self-criticism from which at least three new emphases in research are beginning to emerge. One is the holistic approach reflected in efforts to classify and to compare political systems as wholes. A second approach, obviously related to the first but independently pursued by its proponents, is an ever-increasing explicit concern with non-political factors (e. g., the family, voluntary associations, the economic system, the social stratification system, cultural values, and so forth) as they may be related to and effect the political system and political behavior. Here, the impact of other disciplines, and particularly sociology, anthropology and psychology, is clearly manifest not only in the type of data gathered but in such neologisms as “political socialization” and “political acculturation.”


Author(s):  
Stefanie R. Fishel

For three centuries the rational and disembodied state has been animated by one of the most powerful metaphors in politics: the body-politic, a claustrophobic and bounded image of the collective, the state, the nation, of the sovereign alienated among sovereigns. Drawing sources from continental philosophy, science and technology studies and world politics, this pathbreaking book challenges the body-politic on the grounds of its materiality. Just as the human body is not whole and separate from other bodies, but populated by microbes, bacteria, water and radioactive isotopes, Stefanie Fishel argues that the body-politic of the state exists in dense entanglement with other communities and forms of life. Yet rather than follow the nihilistic critiques of biopolitics and sovereignty into their political and metaphysical dead ends, Fishel challenges us to think and live hopefully beyond the body-politic: to think of bodies and states as lively vessels, living harmoniously coevolved with multiplicity and the biosphere. From global trade to people movements and climate change, this radical shift in metaphors promises to open up new forms of global political practice and community and challenge a politics based on fear and survival. Fishel concludes that we should not aim for mere living: we need to set our sights on building a world for thriving. This book will be of interest to a range of scholars in the humanities and the social and natural sciences. Fishel provides connections between the political and practical in clear terms using multiple approaches and disciplines.


Author(s):  
N. E. Anikeeva

The important aim of national and Spanish historiography and political science is to study history and foreign policy of modern Spain. The author studied articles and monographies of spanish politicians and researchers ( M. Rahoy, I. Aries, A. Rubalcaba, I. Molina) for the preparation of this article during the scientific trip to Madrid (Complutense University, Faculty of Political Science and Sociology), which was held in the framework of cooperation between the Bank Santander and MGIMO (University). The paper analyzes the political and economic aspects of life in Spain, and its foreign policy of the period of government of Mariano Rajoy (from 2011 to the present time). The article is dedicated to actual problems of modern Spain: the economy and the priorities of the government of M.Rajoy, the problem of separatism and political system of the country. Modern Spain is still recovering economically from the euro debt crisis and continues to struggle with near-record unemployment. Domestic economic recovery of Spain and the country's foreign position are closely linked. The European integration process still remains the main strategic task of the spanish foreign policy. Spain increases its role in world politics and obtains a non-permanent UN's Security Council seat for the 2015-2016 term.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-208
Author(s):  
Dag Anckar

Political architecture differences have only seldom been explained in the political science literature by reference to physical factors like size and geography. Correcting this neglect while focusing on microstates and especially on archipelago geographies, this article aims at uncovering the impact of geographical non-contiguity on political institution-building. Three separate devices for power devolution - federalism, bicameralism and assembly quotas - perform as dependent variables, and the guiding hypothesis is, for each device, that the device is implemented among archipelagos to a higher extent than among contiguous entities. Although there are marked differences between devices, the findings in general support the belief that territorial non-contiguity is more likely to foster power devolution. The findings also survive controls that investigate the impact of contesting factors.


Author(s):  
Elena Stepanovna Ustinovich

The course of political science in higher education is often read, to a large extent, as a theoretical course and affects the study of issues and problems of the formation and development of political institutions, processes and technologies. The focus is usually on the history of politics, the state as the central institution of the political system, political parties, political consciousness, culture, political relations, etc. However, it is very important that, when studying a course in political science, listeners understand the current political processes taking place around them. Some of them are well established, democratic processes, such as the electoral process. Others are associated with the impact of modern innovation processes on the political sphere of society. And in this case, political science as a science once again demonstrates its value in an applied format. For a deep understanding of this kind of political processes, additional aggregated information is needed, knowledge that should differ in such characteristics as relevance, novelty, compliance with modern development. In the modern digital era, it is necessary to additionally acquire knowledge about the digital transformation of political institutions, processes and technologies, including types of state policy, the most important of which is social. And it's not just the digital economy. This, first of all, digitalization of public administration (State-web) — Big Date management, blockchain, etc., as well as digitalization of business — the emergence and development of digital enterprises, etc. It is obvious that the use of digital technologies will become possible for the development of predictive political science. This article is largely a translation of German publications by scientists dealing with the development of modern political science education in the countries of the European Union, in particular, in the Federal Republic of Germany. The focus is on the impact of digitalization on the teaching of theoretical and applied political science.


Sains Insani ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-16
Author(s):  
Mohammad Tawfik Yaakub ◽  
Osman Md Rasip

This article discusses impact of UMNO-PAS political cooperation towards Islamic development in Malaysia from 1973 until 1978. The success of political cooperation in 1973 was the result of both UMNO’s leader, Tun Abdul Razak and PAS’s leader, Asri Muda willingness to explore a new political approach compared to what was being practiced at that time. Both leaders then started the development of a government known as the ‘Cooperation Government’ with the combination of UMNO and PAS in 1973 and later on, the development of the National Front’s (BN) Coalition Government in 1974. The Islamic religion benefits the most from the development of the Coalition Government which is a favourable gain for the Malays in Malaysia. Henceforth, this article will discuss in detail on the impact of the political cooperation between UMNO and PAS within the cooperation period. The methods used for this research is by interview and also by referring to secondary sources which are analyzed in a historical descriptive manner that is normally practiced in historical research. At the end of this research it is established that there are profound impacts to the Islamic religion within the UMNO-PAS cooperation period within 1973 to 1978 for example, the television and radio station beginning starting their programmes with the recitation from Quranic verses, the promulgation of ‘Adhan, alcohols are no longer served in official government’s function, lottery companies are not allowed to promote and announce the lottery results in official government’s media, the establishment of Islamic institution, the strengthening of Islamic education and the appropriate change in the relevant ministry’s symbols. This article can be utilized by subsequent researchers who wish to study the impact of political cooperation between UMNO and PAS. Keywords: political cooperation, UMNO-PAS, cooperation government ABTRAK:Makalah ini membincangkan mengenai impak kerjasama politik UMNO-PAS terhadap perkembangan Islam di Malaysia dari tahun 1973 hingga 1978. Kerjasama politik yang berjaya dibentuk bermula pada tahun 1973 adalah hasil daripada kesediaan Tun Abdul Razak dengan Mohd Asri Muda yang menerajui UMNO dan PAS pada ketika itu mencetuskan perubahan corak berpolitik yang berbeza berbanding sebelumnya. Maka, kedua-dua pemimpin ini kemudiannya merintis pembentukan sebuah kerajaan yang menggabungkan UMNO dengan PAS menerusi Kerajaan Campuran pada tahun 1973 dan Kerajaan Gabungan Barisan Nasional (BN) pada tahun 1974. Hasil daripada kejayaan penubuhan kedua-dua kerajaan ini, perkembangan Islam di negara ini bertambah pesat dan dapat dimanfaatkan oleh keseluruhan orang Melayu di Malaysia. Justeru, artikel ini membincangkan secara terperinci impak kerjasama politik antara UMNO dengan PAS dalam tempoh kerjasama politik berkenaan. Penyelidikan ini menggunapakai kaedah temubual dan menyorot sejumlah sumber sekunder yang kemudiannya dianalisis secara deskriptif sejarah (historical descriptive analysis) yang lazimnya dipraktikkan dalam kajian sejarah. Hasil kajian ini mendapati terdapat impak-impak jelas terhadap perkembangan Islam di negara ini sepanjang tempoh kerjasama politik antara UMNO dengan PAS dari tahun 1973 hingga 1978. Antara impak-impak tersebut ialah permulaan siaran televisyen dan radio dengan bacaan ayat-ayat suci Al-Quran, mengumandangkan suara azan, penghapusan arak dalam majlis-majlis kerajaan, penghapusan promosi dan keputusan judi di media kerajaan, penubuhan institusi Islam, pemerkasaan pendidikan Islam dan penukaran simbol institisu kerajaan. Akhirnya, artikel ini dapat dimanfaatkan oleh penyelidik-penyelidik berikutnya untuk menilai impak kerjasama politik antara UMNO dengan PAS.Kata kunci: kerjasama politik, UMNO-PAS, kerajaan campuran


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