Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Political Science at the Dawn of the 21st Century
- Austria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Political Science in Germany. Developments and Current State of the Discipline
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Macedonia
- Moldova
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- Biographical notes about the authors
Political Science in Germany. Developments and Current State of the Discipline
from Germany
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 January 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Political Science at the Dawn of the 21st Century
- Austria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Political Science in Germany. Developments and Current State of the Discipline
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Macedonia
- Moldova
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- Biographical notes about the authors
Summary
Summary: In this article it is argued that German political science as an academic discipline – compared to an Anglo-Saxon background – had to go a unique path. German political history and especially the late introduction of a democratic system and the outline of the university system itself were responsible for such a development. From a scientific point of view we can identify a strong US-American influence with its emphasis on social science theory and methods. Currently the situation of political science in Germany follows that path. We find a fully developed subject at the university level, in civics and adult education. Political science and political scientists found their place in the media, as consultants and in industry as well. Since World War II the subject had to undergo many changes but it has grown up and is well respected by academics and society. On an international level United States and British scholars lead the discipline, but the Germans are catching up. But on the other hand the orientation towards a neo-positivist mainstream leaves unaddressed the question of social justice and last but not least the old Aristotelian claim for a “good” life.
Introduction
To write about an academic discipline means in an elder tradition to define the subject, to lay out where it comes from, to identify the main topics and to talk about current developments. In a modern understanding there can be a different approach. Referring to King, Keohane and Verba (1994, p. 7), a scientific approach is “designed to make… inferences on the basis of empirical information about the world” and to draw conclusions thereof. Thus we have to formulate diff erentquestions, like what is the institutional setting, how many students are enrolled and got graduated, what is the number of the teaching personnel, how many political scientists hold adequate jobs, what is the relationship to other subjects in the academic field, what role does political science play in German politics, what do German political scientists contribute to the international community, what is the standing in comparison to other European countries and the United States? This article will combine the two approaches.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Political Science in Europe at the Beginning of the 21st Century , pp. 133 - 146Publisher: Jagiellonian University PressPrint publication year: 2015