political science experts

political science experts
Emerging Trends in Political Science: Perspectives from Leading Experts

1. Introduction to Political Science as a Field of Study

Political science is the systematic study of politics, governments, and political behavior. It seeks to promote a greater knowledge of the democratic process. Since it studies the theories and practices of government and seeks to understand the essential politics of man living together in society, its scope is wide and challenging. In concert with other social sciences, it reflects the changes and adjustments of political behavior and governmental organization that are characteristic of human society.

There are certain critical questions with which political scientists are most concerned. Among these questions are: what is government? What institutions develop and perform the process of rule? Why do people freely grant power to government yet so frequently revolt against its power? Why do rulers find it necessary to protect themselves and their rule with police power? Why, in the 20th century, does man find it necessary to accept mass society and with it the burden of bureaucratic forms of organization?

2. Key Theories and Concepts in Political Science

While definitions of democracy vary, RCAPS experts all agree that democracy is a political regime characterized by the absence of a high level of friction in the resolution of conflict. Robert A. Dahl, a prominent expert in political science, considers the following conditions necessary for democracy to develop and consolidate: the equality of voting rights, the right to express and thereby form opinions, the right to form political parties and groups that effectively compete for power, and the possibility of having electoral choices concerning the parties and groups that compete for power. According to this definition, democracy is a necessity in the exercise of power by the people, either directly or through their representatives.

Democracy differs from the concept of democratic government, which emphasizes institutions, such as the division of government into three branches or the incorporation of an impartial court that resolves disputes between citizens and the State. Democracy also contrasts with the concept of a democratic society, the limits of which include the strengthening of rights and freedoms, the control of power, the decentralization of the political state apparatus, consensual agreements, pluralistic participation, and the resolution of conflicts. Strictly speaking, democracy is a political system through which the people exercise their power not only every four, five, or six years, but daily to the extent provided in the legal system, regarding rights and duties.

3. Current Challenges and Opportunities in the Field

The American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Task Force on Political Science in the 21st Century identified the emerging research frontiers and the potential opportunities and challenges with respect to political science’s interaction with the public. Their report emphasizes the following key issues: failures, real or perceived, in the public representation of political science, as well as public misunderstanding of science generally and its practices, require attention. Defining what is and is not a political science question or method (or a good one) may be challenging for a variety of constituencies. And these issues of method will further challenge the ways that the discipline does and should train students. The pluralism within the discipline is sometimes threatening to those outside, within, and at the boundaries of political science.

The different methodological approaches in the discipline may be diverging to the exclusion of the benefits that the different methods bring both to research and to training. APSA currently has an expert committee organizing a topically diverse set of working groups around the centenary meeting in August 2003 to examine how research practices might be further improved given new advanced technologies and the new observational opportunities and be exploited for the discipline’s advancement. The panel pointed out that reexamining the role of increasing appellate court experience in building one branch of American political capital might depend on newer technologies to provide more comprehensive datasets for legal process analysis, especially at the ward and court levels.

4. Case Studies and Practical Applications of Political Science Theories

Our aim for this project was to bring together leading experts in the field of political science to share their insights on emerging and enduring areas of study within the discipline. At some level, the study of political science is designed to transcend national borders. We are, however, curious about how political scientists apply theory and case studies of their own countries to address specific problems and concerns. And a comprehensive study cannot be conducted without reliable sources of data. In this chapter, contributors describe how the practical applications of political science intersect with the theories we discuss.

Political science is a field in which scholars use appropriate methods to examine political phenomena. However, despite the repeated calls in various areas of the field – including comparative politics and international political economy – for a more comprehensive foundation for our studies, articles in the American Political Science Review rarely address the practical applications of political science. What can we learn from the limitations of an emerging election? Have recent acts of terror truly altered the decision-making of leaders and citizens who want to deter and prevent potential future attacks? We assemble writings of those who ponder such questions using a variety of methodologies to answer them. And as they add to the increasingly unattractive rhetoric presented by political arguments in the public discourse, we hope their research will contribute a great deal to making our leaders’ decisions and citizens’ opinions more enlightened by genuine science, rather than by forceful speeches.

5. Future Directions and Innovations in Political Science Research

There are several notable trends at the intersection of politics and social science ahead. Several chapters of Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (2015) offer a glimpse at the trends that will shape the scholarly conversation in the future. In what follows, and in an effort to put this discussion into the broader domain of the interested public, I summarize a few of these chapters. The discussion in what follows reflects the general direction of the work. Keep in mind also that the current marketplace for scholarly ideas encodes discipline-specific conventions and knowledge transfer conditions more generally. For example, scholars will need to make use of innovative tools and resources such as data sharing, empirical peer-reviewed research, and participation by political science in cross-disciplinary research traditions. This knowledge marketplace shapes some of the questions that scholars currently face.

The varied topics covered in this chapter are roughly organized around three key questions that represent some of what we currently think is essential to understand social science research today, topics that will emerge as key aspects of scholarly conversations and discussions, and some of the basic research questions that are likely to motivate future work in the field.