Overcoming Methodological Differences: The Debate about Knowledge Politics in an Age of Uncertainty

Overcoming Methodological Differences:
The Debate about Knowledge Politics in an Age of Uncertainty


Gaman-Golutvina O.V.,

Dr. Sci. (Polit. Sci.), Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Comparative Political Science Department, MGIMO University; President of the Russian Association of Political Science; Professor, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Editor-in-Chief of the journal “Comparative Politics”; member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Public Council under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia, ogaman@mgimo.ru


elibrary_id: 250180 | ORCID: 0000-0002-2660-481X | RESEARCHER_ID: E-4046-2012


DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2019.05.03

For citation:

Gaman-Golutvina O.V. Overcoming Methodological Differences: The Debate about Knowledge Politics in an Age of Uncertainty. – Polis. Political Studies. 2019. No. 5. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2019.05.03


The article was prepared in the framework of RFBR project № 17-03-00746a.


Abstract

In connection with some assessments about the state of crisis in which modern political science finds itself, the author considers the development of one key area of the discipline – political comparative studies, including its methodological dimensions and methodological tools. In order to make a reasonable assessment of the state of this subdiscipline, the author reconsiders its methodological measurements and its methodological tools. This analysis, as undertaken in the article, of the evolution of these comparative studies shows that the current stage is characterized as ‘multiparadigm pluralism’, but unlike the period of the beginning of the 21st century (which was regarded as a sign of crisis for this subdiscipline), this pluralism is productive. The author does not consider the current state of comparative studies to be a state of crisis, but characterizes it as requiring substantial updating; further, they suggest considering it, rather, as a phase of ‘normal science’ (according to Kuhn’s terms thereof). The key problem seems to be finding a methodological algorithm of comparative studies that is adequate to the post-non-classical dynamics of politics. An examination of the currently-used comparative methods shows that the key task in this area is to refine the effective algorithm for using quantitative methods, in connection with the simplified procedures for their application that have become widespread. This determines the relevance of the ‘comparative’ version of the Great Debates for structuring the subject field, as well as updating the methodology and methods of this subdiscipline.

Keywords
political science, political comparative studies, methodology, method, quantitative and qualitative research.


References

Achen Ch. 1983. Towards Theories of Data: The State of Political Methodology. – Political Science: The State of the Discipline. Ed. by A. Finifter. Washington D.C.: American Political Science Association. P. 69-94.

Achen Ch. 1985. Editorial. – Political Methodology. Vol. 11. P. 3-4.

Achen Ch. 2002. Toward a New Political Methodology: Microfoundations and ART. – Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 5. P. 423-450. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.5.112801.080943

Almond G. 1990. A Discipline Divided: Schools and Sects in Political Science. Newbury Park, London: New Dehli.

Beck N. 2000. Political Methodology: A Welcoming Discipline. – Journal of the American Statistical Association. Vol. 95. No. 450. P. 651-654. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.2000.10474244

Bennett J. 2010. Vibrant Matter. A Political Ecology of Things. Durham: Duke University Press.

Brady H.E., Collier D., Box-Steffensmeier J.M. 2011. Overview of Political Methodology: Post- Behavioral Movements and Trends. – The Oxford Handbook of Political Science. Ed. by R.E. Goodin. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P. 1005-1063.

Bull H. 1969. International Theory: The Case of a Classical Approach. – Contending Approaches to International Politics. Ed. by K.E. Knorr, J.N. Rosenau. Princeton: Princeton University Press. P. 20-37.

Collier D. 1993. The Comparative Method. – Political Science: The State of the Discipline. Ed. by A.W. Finifter. P. 105-119. Washington, D.C.: American Political Science Association.

Collier D., Munck G. 2017. Building Blocks and Methodological Challenges: A Framework for Studying Critical Junctures. – Qualitative & Multi-Method Research. Vol. 15. No. 1. P. 2-9.

Dogan M. 1994. Use and Misuse of Statistics in Comparative Research. – Comparing Nations: Concepts, Strategies, Substance. Ed. by M. Dogan, A. Kazansigil. P. 35-71. Oxford/Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

Gaman-Golutvina O.V. 2007. Political Elites in the Commonwealth of Independent States: Recruitment and Rotation Tendencies. – Comparative Sociology. Vol. 6. No. 1-2. P. 136-157. www.doi.org/10.1163/156913307X208140

Gaman-Golutvina O.V. 2008. The Changing Role of the State and State Bureaucracy in the Context of Public Administration Reforms: Russian and Foreign Experience. – Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics. Vol. 24. No. 1. P. 37-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523270701840449

Gaman-Golutvina O. 2018. Political Elites in the USA under George W. Bush and Barack Obama: Structure and International Politics. – Historical Social Research. Vol. 43. No. 4. P. 141-163. https://doi.org/10.12759/hsr.43.2018.4.141-163

Gerring J. 2012. Social Science Methodology: A Unified Framework. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gerring J. 2017. Qualitative Methods. – Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 20. P. 15-36. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-092415-024158

Gigerenzer G. 2004. Mindless Statistics. – Journal of Socio-Economics. Greenwich, Connecticut. Vol. 33. P. 587-606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2004.09.033

Hargens L., Kelly-Wilson L. 1994. Determinants of disciplinary discontent. – Social Forces. Chapel Hill. Vol. 72. No. 4. P. 1177-1195. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/72.4.1177

King G. 1991. On Political Methodology. – Political Analysis. Vol. 2. P. 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1093/pan/2.1.1

King G., Keohane R., Verba S. 1994. Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 300 p.

Kittel B. 2006. A Crazy Methodology? On the Limits of Macro-Quantitative Social Science Research. – International Sociology. Vol. 21. P. 647-677. https://doi.org/10.1177/0268580906067835

Laitin D. 2002. Comparative Politics: The State of the Subdiscipline. – Political Science: The State of the Discipline. Ed. by I. Katznelson, H. Milner. Washington D.C.: American Political Science Association.

Latour B. 2018. Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime. Polity Press.

Lieberman E. 2005. Nested Analysis as a Mixed-Method Strategy for Comparative Research. – American Political Science Review. Vol. 99. No. 3. P. 435-452. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055405051762

Longford N.T. 2005. Editorial: Model Selection and Efficiency – Is ‘Which model...?’ The Right Question? – Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A. Vol. 168. P. 469-472. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-985X.2005.00366.x

Making Political Science Matter. 2006. Ed. by S. Schram, D. Caterino. New York: New York University Press.

Meillassoux Q. 2015. Science Fiction and Extro-science Fiction. University of Minnesota Press; Univocal Publishing.

Monroe K.R. (ed.) 2005. Perestroika! The Raucous Rebellion in Political Science. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Munck G., Snyder R. 2007. Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Neumann I. 2012. Introduction to the Forum on Liminality. – Review of International Studies. Vol. 38. No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210511000817

Ragin Ch. 1987. The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. 2010. Ed. by Brady H., Collier D. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Roberts M.E. 2018. What is Political Methodology? – PS: Political Science and Politics. Vol. 51. No. 3 P. 597-601. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096518000537

Schmitter Ph. 2009. The Nature and Future of Comparative Politics. – European Political Science Review. Vol. 1. No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773909000010

Schrodt P.A. 2014. Seven Deadly Sins of Contemporary Quantitative Political Analysis. – Journal of Peace Research. Vol. 51. No. 2. P. 287-300. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1661045

Taagepera R. 2008. Making Social Sciences More Scientific: The Need for Predictive Models. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Taagepera R. 2015. Logical Models and Basic Numeracy in Social Sciences. Tartu.

Taagepera R. 2018. Science Walks on Two Legs, but Social Sciences Try to Hop on One. – International Political Science Review. Vol. 39. No. 1. P. 145-159. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512116682185

The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology. 2008. Ed. by J. Box-Steffensmeier, H. Brady, D. Collier Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The Relevance of Political Science. 2015. Ed. by G. Stoker, B.G. Peters, J. Pierre. New York: Palgrave and Macmillan.

Valentine J.C., Aloe A.M., Lau T.S. 2015. Life after NHST: How to Describe Your Data without ‘p-ing’ Everywhere. – Basic and Applied Social Psychology. Vol. 37. No. 5. P. 260-273. https://doi.org/10.1080/019 73533.2015.1060240

Wahlke J.C. 1991. Liberal Learning and Political Science Major: A Report to the Profession. – Political Science and Politics. Vol. 24. No. 1. P. 48-60. https://doi.org/10.2307/419376 

Wendt A. 2015. Quantum Mind and Social Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Alekseeva T.A. 2017. Theory of International Relations in the Mirrors of “Scientific World Pictures”: What’s Next? – Comparative Politics Russia. Vol. 8. No. 4. P. 30-41. (In Russ.) http://dx.doi.org/10.18611/2221-3279-2017-8-4-30-41

Alekseeva T.A., Mineev A.P., Loshkarev I.D., Anan’ev B.I. 2018. “Kvantovyi podkhod” k mezhdunarodnym otnosheniyam [“Quantum Approach” to International Relations]. Ed. by T.A. Alekseeva. Moscow: ANO “Redaktsiya zhurnala ‘Znanie-sila’”. (In Russ.)

Alieva N.Z. 2008. Postneklassicheskoe estestvennonauchnoe obrazovanie: kontseptual’nye i filosofskie osnovaniya [Post-non-Classical Natural Science Education: Conceptual and Philosophical Foundations]. Moscow: Izdatel’skii dom Akademii Estestvoznaniya. (In Russ.)

Alker H.R. 1999. Political Methodology, Old and New. (Russ. ed.: Alker H.R. Politicheskaya metodologiya: Vchera i segodnya. – Politicheskaya nauka: Novye napravleniya. Pod red. R. Gudina i Kh.-D. Klingemanna. Moscow: Veche. P. 332-346).

Almond G.A. 1999. Political Science: The History of the Discipline (Russ. ed.: Almond G.A. Politicheskaya nauka: istoriya distsipliny. – Politicheskaya nauka: Novye napravleniya. Pod red. R. Gudina i Kh.-D. Klingemanna. Moscow: Veche. P. 69-112).

Avdonin V.S. 2015. “Vertical” Dimension of Methods: Meta-Theory and Meta-Languages (Organons). – Metod. Moscow: INION RAN. Vol. 5. P. 265-278. (In Russ.)

Bauman Z. 2004. Globalization: The Human Consequences. (Russ. ed.: Bauman Z. Globalizatsiya. Posledstviya dlya obshchestva i cheloveka. Moscow: Ves’ Mir Publ.).

Bor N. 1971. Selected Works (Russ. ed.: Bor N. Izbrannye nauchnye trudy. Stat’i 1925-1961 gg. Vol. 2. Moscow: Nauka).

Fidrya E.S. 2019. Factors and Justification of Reconstructing Meaning of Political Texts under Conditions of Cognitive and Interpretative Uncertainty. – Polis. Political Studies. No. 4. P. 40-56. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2019.04.04

Gaman-Golutvina O.V. 2016. Political Science as a Metadisciplinary Matrix. – International Trends. Vol. 14. No. 1 (44). P. 86-94. (In Russ.) https://www.doi.org/10.17994/IT.2016.14.1.44.7

Heidegger M. 1986. Die Zeit des Weltbildes (Russ. ed.: Heidegger M. Vremya kartiny mira. – Novaya tekhnokraticheskaya volna na Zapade. Moscow: Progress. P. 93-118).

Heisenberg W. 1989. Pysik und Philosophie; Der Teil und das Ganze. Gespräche im Umkreis der Atomphysik (Russ. ed.: Heisenberg W. Fizika i filosofiya: Chast‘ i tseloe. Moscow: Nauka).

Ilyin M.V. 2014. Methodological Challenge. What Makes Science One? How to Connect the Disconnected Spheres of Knowledge? – Metod. Moscow: INION RAN. No. 4. P. 6-11. (In Russ.)

Ilyin M.V. 2018. Modern Political Science: Crisis or Development? – Political Science (RU). No. 1. P. 40-67. (In Russ.)

Ilyin M.V. 2019. Sravnitel’nyi podkhod v istorii politicheskoi mysli [Comparative Approach in the History of Political Thought]. – Sovremennaya sravnitel’naya politologiya [Modern Comparative Political Science]. Ed. by O.V. Gaman-Golutvina. Moscow: Aspect Press. (In print) (In Russ.)

Ilyin M.V., Fomin I.V. 2017. Chem i kak mogut nasytit’ politicheskie issledovaniya matematika, semiotika i morfologiya? [How Can Mathematics, Semiotics and Morphology Satiate Political Studies?] – Ezhegodnik RAPN [Yearbook of the RPSA]. Ed. by A.I. Solovyov. Moscow: ROSSPEN. P. 22-47. (In Russ.)

Lokshin I.M. 2014. 20 Years of Discussion on Updating the Methodology of Social Sciences. – Metod. Issue 4. Ed. by M.V. Il’in. Moscow: INION RAN. P. 390-412. (In Russ.)

Melville A.Yu. 2020. Get out of ‘Ghetto’: the Contribution of Post-Soviet Studies to Modern Political Science. – Polis. Political Studies. No. 1. (In print). (In Russ.)

Pattsel’t V. 2018. Is Political Science in Crisis? – Political Science (RU). No. 1. P. 68-92. (In Russ.)

Prigogine I., Stengers I. 1986. Order out Of Chaos: Man’s New Dialogue with Nature. (Russ. ed.: Prigogine I., Stengers I. Poryadok iz khaosa: Novyi dialog cheloveka s prirodoi. Moscow: Progress).

Smirnov V.A., Fidrya E.S. 2016. Comparative Analysis of Permeability of Political Elite Recruitment Channels in the Baltic States. – Vlast’. No. 9. P. 98-104. (In Russ.)

Smorgunov L.V. 2012. Political Between: The Phenomenon of Liminality in Contemporary Politics. – Polis. Political Studies. No. 5. P. 159-169. (In Russ.)

Smorgunov L.V. 2014. Methodological Synthesis in Modern Comparative Political Science. – Metod. Moscow: INION RAN. Issue 4. P. 300-310. (In Russ.)

Solovyov A.I. 2019. Political Agenda of the Government, or Why the State Needs the Society. – Polis. Political Studies. No. 4. P. 8-25. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2019.04.02

Sovremennaya politicheskaya nauka. Metodologiya [Modern Political Science. Methodology]. 2019. Ed. by O.V. Gaman-Golutvina, A.I. Nikitin. Moscow: Aspect Press. (In Russ.)

Sravnitel’naya politologiya [Comparative Politics]. 2015. By Gaman-Golutvina O.V. Moscow: Aspect Press. (In Russ.)

Stepin V.S. 2011. Istoriya i filosofiya nauki [History and Philosophy of Science]. Moscow: Akademicheskii Proekt; Triksta. (In Russ.)

Torkunov A.V. 2018. Challenges to Social and Human Sciences in Russia. – Polis. Political Studies. No. 5. P. 8-16. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2018.05.02

Content No. 5, 2019

See also:


,
Address of political scientists of INION RAS. – Polis. Political Studies. 2015. No2

Oznobishchev S.K.,
Thirty Three Angles of Political Reality. – Polis. Political Studies. 2019. No3

Favrе P.,
Political Science in France. – Polis. Political Studies. 1996. No6

Almond G.,
Political Science: History of the Discipline. – Polis. Political Studies. 1997. No6

Information,
Political Science Chronicle. – Polis. Political Studies. 2007. No3

 
 

Archive

   2024      2023      2022      2021   
   2020      2019      2018      2017      2016   
   2015      2014      2013      2012      2011   
   2010      2009      2008      2007      2006   
   2005      2004      2003      2002      2001   
   2000      1999      1998      1997      1996   
   1995      1994      1993      1992      1991