Political Development and Political Science in West Germany
| Date | 01 January 1987 |
| Published date | 01 January 1987 |
| DOI | 10.1177/019251218700800103 |
| Author | Hans Kastendiek |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
25
Political
Development
and
Political
Science
in
West
Germany
HANS
KASTENDIEK
ABSTRACT.
The
foundation
of
West
German
political
science
does
not
fit
in
with
notions
that
the
creation
of
a
new
discipline
results
or
should
result
from
autonomous
changes
within
the
academic
system,
i.e.
from
topical
specialization,
analytical
diversification
and
theoretical
progress
of
existing
disciplines.
The
absence
of
a
distinct
academic
discipline
for
political
science
in
Germany
before
1945,
its
political
implementation
after
1948
and
its
establishment
in
the
1960s
were
highly
dependent
on
the
course
of
socio-political
development.
The
same
can
be
said
of
the
conceptual
disputes
and
changes
which
have
occurred
since
the
late
1960s.
However
specific
to
the
case
of
West
Germany,
the
correlations
between
politics
and
political
science
considered
in
this
article
indicate
a
close
connection
between
political
and
academic
development
Political
Science
in
West
Germany:
Some
Basic
Information
As
a
distinct
academic
discipline,
political
science
in
Germany
has
a
rather
short
curriculum
vitae.
Although
during
the
Weimar
Republic
(1919-1933)
there
were
precursory
and
tentative
developments
towards
a
theoretical
foundation
and
even
institutionalization,
the
discipline
did
not
obtain
’academic
citizenship’
before the
1950s.
In
the
Federal
Republic
(West
Germany)
the
establishment
of
political
science
took
about
20
years,
from
the
foundation
of
new
chairs
for
politics
in
1948
until
the
spread
of
full
study
schemes
to
most
universities
in
the
1960s.
In
the
German
Democratic
Republic
(East
Germany),
a
directly
comparable
discipline
did
not
emerge.
Inclusion
of,
or
even
references
to,
political
research
and
academic
teaching
in
East
Germany
would
require
an
additional
analysis
beyond
the
scope
of
this
article;
general
differences
of
societal
structures
and
socio-political
developments
give
rise
to
different
patterns
of
topical
and
institutional
organization
of
the
academic
field
in
the
GDR.
The
late
emergence
ofthe
discipline
seems
surprising
as
there
had
been
a
long
tradition
of
political
analysis
in
Germany
that
had
some
influence
or
even
notable
impact
on
political
science
elsewhere,
for
example,
in
the
United
States.
But
it
was
exactly
this
tradition
which
helped
to
prevent
an
early
genesis
of
a
distinct
’science
of
politics’
in
Germany.
Established
political
sciences,
like
law
and
history,
claimed
to
offer
adequate
analyses.
Because
of the
structure
of politics
in
the
19th
century
and
the
political
power
relations
which
characterized
the
Weimar
Republic
and
were
mirrored
in
the
academic
26
system,
conditions
for
a
distinct
political
science
simply
did
not
exist.
But
when
and
as
the
form
of
politics
and
the
political
system
changed
in
the
late
19th
century,
new
requirements
in
political
research
as
well
as
in
academic
training
and
education
developed.
There
was
some
impact
on
the
academic
system
as
a
whole
and
on
currents
within
traditional
political
sciences.
In
addition,
there
were
new
institutional
arrangements
for
the
study
of
politics
outside
the
realm
and
below
the
level
of
the
university
system.
Some
of these
changes
in
political
research
and
teaching
within
and
outside
the
universities
can
be
interpreted
as
preparatory
steps
towards
a
distinct
political
science.
This
development
was
interrupted
drastically
when
the
republic
was
destroyed
by
the
Third
Reich
in
1933
[although
new
research
(Weyher,
1985)
indicates
that
significant
steps
were
taken
towards
a
distinct
discipline
of political
science
in
Nazi
Germany].
Many
social
scientists
had
to
leave
the
country.
But
what
seemed
to
be
a
break
also
proved
to
be
a
transition
stage
for
the
emergence
of the
discipline.
Emigration
secured
some
continuity
of socio-political
analysis
developed
until
1933
and,
at
the
same
time,
stimulated
conceptual
changes
and
innovations
which
should
contribute
to
arguments
for
a
distinct
science
of
politics.
Compared
to
the
situation
before
1933,
the
foundation
of
a
special
political
science
in
West
Germany
after
1945
was
a
rather
speedy
process
although,
as
mentioned,
the
full
institutionalization
was
not
completed
before
the
1960s.
There
was
still
considerable
resistance
from
within
the
universities,
but
the
traditional
political
sciences
had
to
cease
opposition.
The
emergence
of
the
discipline
after
1945
was
due
to
specific
political
constellations:
the
failure
of
the
Weimar
Republic,
the
experience
of
National
Socialism
and
World
War
II,
the
collapse
of
the
German
State,
and
political
development
in
a
divided
country
which
became
involved
in
a
worldwide
competition
between
antagonistic
systems
of
societal
organization.
These
experiences
and,
in
particular,
the
political
maxim
’to
build
up
democracy’,
however
differently
it
was
motivated
and
substantiated,
required
new
approaches
to
political
analysis
and
new
concepts
of
academic
teaching.
For
many
political
supporters
of
the
discipline
and
for
most
West
German
political
scientists
of
the
first
generation
’to
build
up
democracy’
and
to
install
a
distinct
political
science
were
needs
directly
connected
to
each
other.
In
retrospect,
this
general
connection
turned
out
to
be
the
starting-point
for
a
rather
uncritical
identification
with
the
course
and
patterns
of
West
German
society
and
politics;
and
obviously
there
was
a
coincidence
of
the
performance
of
political
science
and
its
final
establishment
in
the
1960s
when
it
was
included
in
the
canon
of
disciplines
for
training
schoolteachers.
The
political
role
of
political
science
was
a
prominent
theme
in
the
late
1960s
and
in
the
1970s
when
the
discipline
became
the
subject
of
disputes.
But
the
considerable
unrest
of
that
time
cannot
be
explained
in
these
terms
alone.
The
eruption
of
internal
and
external
controversies
marked
a
development
stage
in
which
the
analytical
concepts
of
West
German
political
science,
which
had
resulted
from
specific
political
constellations,
lost
their
power
of
persuasion.
This
was
not
just
a
result
of
academic
development
but
of
socio-political
changes
(in
West
Germany
and
elsewhere).
The
controversies
themselves
have
indicated
this
correlation
as
it is
neither
simple
nor
sufficient
to
separate
the
analytical
and
the
political
arguments.
This
article
is
not
an
attempt
to
present
a
’concise
history’
of
political
science
in
West
Germany.
Rather,
I
discuss
the
general
thesis,
already
implicitly
introduced:
academic
systems
in
general
and
academic
disciplines
in
particular
are
highly
dependent
on
socio-political
developments
and
to
a
large
extent
determined
by
internal
politics.
It
would
be
artificial
and
sterile
to
consider
the
emergence
and
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