Introduction: Toward a Study of the Evolution of Political Science
| Published date | 01 January 1987 |
| Author | Dag Anckar,Erkki Berndtson |
| Date | 01 January 1987 |
| DOI | 10.1177/019251218700800101 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
5
Introduction:
Toward
a
Study
of
the
Evolution
of
Political
Science
DAG
ANCKAR
AND
ERKKI
BERNDTSON
In
1985,
only
four
political
science
associations
were
over
50
years
of
age:
the
American,
the
Canadian,
the
Indian
and
the
Finnish.
In
that
year,
on
the
occasion
of
its
Jubilee,
the
Finnish
Association,
in
collaboration
with
IPSA,
organized
a
symposium
on
’The
Development
and
Institutionalization
of
Political
Science:
Centre-Periphery
Relations
and
Other
Crucial
Concepts’,
in
Espoo,
Finland,
October
2-6,
1985.
The
theme
for
the
symposium
was
appropriate
for
the
occasion
and
linked
closely
to
topical
research
interests
within
the
IPSA.
Furthermore,
it
reflects
current
efforts
in
Finnish
political
science
to
understand
and
explain
changes
and
developments
in
the
discipline
both
within
Finland
and
elsewhere.
Several
relevant
books
and
monographs
have
been
published
by
Finnish
authors
recently,
including
a
textbook
on
the
history
of
Finnish
political
science
(Nousiainen
and
Anckar,
1983),
a
thorough
report
on
the
history
of
the
Finnish
Political
Science
Association
(Paakkunainen,
1985)
and
a
historical
analysis
of
conceptions
of
politics
in
Germany
before
World
War
II
(Palonen,
1985).
Unfortunately,
most
of
these
books
are
available
in
the
Finnish
language
only.
The
21
papers
presented
at
the
symposium
fell
into
three
broad
categories:
some
dealt
explicitly
with
centre-periphery
relations
in
political
science;
others
covered
the
tasks,
shortcomings
and
future
of
political
science;
while
several
papers
analyzed
factors
influencing
the
development
and
institutionalization
of
political
science.
This
issue
of
the
International
Political
Science
Review
includes
a
selection
of
papers
from
the
third
category.
Some
national
case
studies
are
excluded
because
they
overlap
with
corresponding
chapters
in
the
International
Handbook
of
Political
Science.
The
symposium’s
Finnish
organizers
intend
to
publish
a
separate
proceedings
volume,
available
in
1987.
Recent
trends
in
political
science
are
towards
more
diverse
approaches
to
political
inquiry.
’Indeed’,
David
Easton
writes
in
a
recent
essay
in
this
Review
( 1985:
143),
’there
are
now
so
many
approaches
to
political
research
that
political
science
seems
to
have
lost
its
purpose’.
This
is
certainly
an
adequate
description
of
the
discipline
as
a
whole;
political
science
appears
fragmented
and
directed
towards
a
great
variety
of
objectives.
However,
the
discipline
takes
on
different
forms
in
different
cultures
and
regions,
and
the
differences
are
in
terms
of
tradition,
research
areas,
institutional
and
ideological
settings
and
methodological
advancements.
Furthermore,
various
configurations
of
historical,
social
and
political
events
and
of
structural
changes
account
for
these
differences.
There
is
not
one
history
of
political
science,
but
many
histories
and
many
political
sciences.
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