Regime and Discipline: Democracy and the Development of Political Science

David Easton; John G. Gunnell; Michael B. Stein

ISBN 10: 0472104446 / ISBN 13: 9780472104444

Published by University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1998

About this Item

Hardcover, x + 296 page, NOT ex-library. Fine in a gently shelfworn, untorn dust jacket. Clean and bright throughout, with unmarked text and firm binding, free of inscriptions and stamps. -- An investigation into the historical and epistemological relationship between political regimes and the emergence of political science as an academic discipline. The volume brings together an international cohort of scholars to address a foundational question: is political science inherently a product of liberal democratic regimes, or can it emerge independently in non-democratic or transitional contexts? More than a retrospective of disciplinary development, the volume foregrounds the complex interplay between institutional context and disciplinary practice, arguing that political science cannot be meaningfully understood apart from the regimes within which it develops. The book is divided into two sections. The first, methodological in orientation, features reflective essays on the philosophy of disciplinary history. These chapters challenge readers to consider whether histories of political science can ever be truly neutral, or whether they inevitably serve particular ideological functions - whether Whiggish or pessimistic. Contributors such as John Dryzek, John Gunnell, J.A.W. Gunn, and Malcolm Vout scrutinize how political science narrates its own origins, institutional commitments, and normative assumptions. These discussions, though abstract, raise enduring questions about the character of social scientific inquiry, the meaning of objectivity, and the relationship between disciplinary identity and political values. The second section offers substantive national case studies that track the institutionalization of political science across a spectrum of political systems - from established Western democracies to post-authoritarian transitions and non-liberal regimes. James Farr provides a nuanced account of 19th-century American political thought, showing how political science emerged as both a scholarly and civic enterprise, initially outside of universities. Michael Stein compares the trajectories of the discipline in the US, Britain, France, and Germany, analyzing how differing educational systems and political cultures shaped disciplinary consolidation. Other chapters explore how political science in Hungary and Poland evolved in tension with state Marxism, how democratization opened new possibilities for autonomous scholarship, and how political science developed in regions like Argentina, Japan, and broader Asia. These chapters demonstrate that the discipline's institutional and epistemic forms are deeply shaped by local political and ideological constraints. The overarching argument is not that political science requires liberal democracy to exist, but that its development and form are profoundly influenced by the nature of the surrounding political regime. Indeed, one of the most compelling themes of the volume is that in authoritarian or transitional regimes, political science often arises not as a tool of governance but as a form of intellectual resistance or democratizing critique. Yet the book also asks a reciprocal question often left unexamined: what impact, if any, does political science have on democratic regimes themselves? In today's global context - marked by democratic erosion, authoritarian resurgence, and the politicization of knowledge - Regime and Discipline is more relevant than ever. It provides a necessary framework for reflecting on how political science is produced, institutionalized, and practiced in divergent contexts, and how it might reclaim a more self-conscious role in shaping democratic futures. As higher education faces renewed scrutiny and scholars confront pressures to demonstrate social relevance, this book offers a potent reminder that disciplines are not politically neutral vessels of knowledge, but are historically situated, ideologically embedded, and normatively consequential.

Seller Inventory # 011366

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Regime and Discipline: Democracy and the Development of Political Science
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0472104446
• ISBN 13: 9780472104444
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 4th Printing
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Is the discipline of political science a specific by-product of democratic regimes? Can it develop and have an impact only where democracy itself is flourishing? Or is it possible to forge such a discipline in authoritarian and transitional regimes? Can political science shape the democratic process in established democracies? Can it foster liberalization in countries attempting to rid themselves of authoritarian regimes? The contributors to this volume seek answers to these questions from methodological and substantive perspectives. The methodological debate is presented in terms of whether the goal of objectivity and neutrality in disciplinary history is desirable and attainable, or whether all such histories are inherently "whiggish" or "pessimistic," and mere ex-post facto justifications of a particular disciplinary perspective. The volume then explores the relationship between democracy and the development of political science in a variety of national settings and political regimes, including older Western democracies, newer democracies, and current transitional regimes. The contributions reflect both consensus and disagreement about the nature of the interactive relationship between political science and democracy. Indeed, a fundamental debate centers on the very terms democracy and political science. Nevertheless, with one or two exceptions, the participants do acknowledge that some kind of relationship does in fact exist between democracy and political science, be it interactive and correlational or causal.

About the Author

David Easton is Andrew Macleish Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago, and distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of California at Irvine.

John G. Gunnell is Professor of Political Science, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, State University of New York at Albany.

Michael B. Stein is Professor of Political Science, McMaster University.