Can political science save democracy? Learning from models of civic and political education across the world (original) (raw)
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Political Science and the Democratic Method: How Higher Education Can Strengthen Democracy at Scale
This paper proposes a theoretical, methodological and practical approach for political science to improve the effectiveness of democratic governance through civic education and engagement. Every state can be seen as an experiment in political science and a working model of how to govern, developed through trial and error, and peer reviewed by citizens in democratic societies. This insight provides a basis for scholars to help citizens address democratic deficits and improve pluralistic politics as a method for solving problems. Treating institutions as experiments also gives scholars new ways to increase effectiveness of research and civic engagement. The paper provides examples from across the world to illustrate seven levels of support for civic engagement that can be developed to strengthen pluralistic democracy. It concludes with three strategies for a large-scale experimental programme to close democratic deficits and improve democracy as a form of government.
The Role of Political Science and Political Scientists in Civic Education
2013
Civic education in America today is widely said to be in trouble. Whether the concern is primary and secondary education (K-12), where national civics tests show that only a quarter of 12th graders score at a level considered proficient; higher education, where requirements in core American history and government courses are being rapidly abandoned; or adult education for immigrants, where communities and businesses have fallen woefully short in providing English language and civics instruction, all signs point to a failure in imparting the basic knowledge that contributes to good citizenship. 1 We cannot say for sure if things have gotten worse than they were in the past, but leaders and educators today are certainly worried. As former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, now active in promoting civic education, recently noted, "We have a terrible problem on our hands." 2 Although not alone in expressing alarm, members of one profession can perhaps lay special claim to a proprietary interest in this problem: political scientists. Practitioners of political science in ancient Greece first identified the concept of civic education, and political scientists to this day continue to produce some of the most significant commentary and scholarship on the subject. In studying a major area of public policy, analysts sometimes examine the set of relations that exist among a body of knowledge, an organization, and the provision of a key social function. Applying this model to the case at hand, this essay will look at the discipline of political science, the profession of political science, and the provision of civic education. Each term, though familiar, needs to be considered more carefully.
Teaching democracy: The role of political science education
The British Journal of Politics & International …, 2008
Politicians and academics have pointed to the fact that young people are increasingly disengaged from conventional politics in the UK. This is illustrated by the dramatic fall in electoral turnout and the ageing of political party memberships in recent decades. Yet recent research has shown that young people remain interested in politics even if they are put off by the political process. In the context of higher education (HE), political science programmes have seen a significant increase in applications (mostly from young people). While a lot of attention has been paid to citizenship education in secondary schools, surprisingly little emphasis has been placed upon the role of the tertiary section in teaching democracy. This article argues that political science education can play an important part in rejuvenating politics by adopting a constructivist approach, establishing synergies between pedagogical and participatory goals.
What Good Can Political Science Do? From Pluralism to Partnerships
Perspectives on Politics
At a time when authoritarian regimes are on the rise around the world, higher education in general and political science in particular are facing declining support and sharper political pressures in many places. Political scientists have long promised that their discipline can add to knowledge about politics and educate citizens. However, doubts have grown about whether our increasingly pluralistic discipline collectively generates useful knowledge and communicates it effectively in teaching and in broader public communications. Political scientists need to do more to place their particular studies within big pictures of how politics and the world work, and to synthesize their results. They must focus more on the politics of identity formation that has generated resurgent nationalisms and deep social divisions. They must strengthen their understanding and their community contributions through civically engaged research. They must also place greater emphasis on improving teaching. In...
The relevance of political science and the public responsibility of political scientists
2020
The relevance of political science and the public responsibility of political scientists Political scientists face increasing demands to demonstrate the relevance of their research beyond the academy (the so-called 'impact agenda'). Matthew Flinders argues that this should be seen less a threat to the discipline's autonomy than an opportunity to rise to public responsibilities that have always accompanied a political science career. The 'noble science of politics' has changed a great deal through the 20th and 21st centuries. It has also rather (in)famously been 'a discipline divided', with tensions between warring factions and sub-fields too often dominating discussions, to the detriment of complementarity and pluralism. The 'tragedy of political science' is that it has spent too much time and energy fighting internal schisms and too little nurturing its position within the broader social context. This assertion might be challenged by some as a generalisation, yet the lively debates in the past two decades, prompted by books on the relevance of political science and making political science matter, suggest that the problem still persists. We are still waiting for 'punk political science' to explode onto the scene The 'raucous rebellion' in political science occasioned by the Perestroikan movement never actually seemed that raucous, and appeared more concerned with increasing methodological pluralism within the discipline than forging a new political science for the twenty-first century. We are still waiting for 'punk political science' to explode onto the scene.
Democracy in the prison of political science
International Political Science Review
After the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump, a widespread perception emerged that the world was witnessing a crisis of liberal democracy. Not surprisingly, said crisis is at the core of a new batch of political science literature. This review article takes stock of some key contributions to the literature, namely Albright (2018), Levitsky and Ziblatt (2018), Norris and Inglehart (2018), Runciman (2018a) and Eatwell and Goodwin (2018). My key argument is that the reviewed books are fundamentally limited by problematic ontological assumptions stemming from artificial disciplinary boundaries. Privileging either individual traits of authoritarian leaders or the very specific experience of the USA or the UK, they fail to capture varied, yet deeply interconnected international expressions of contemporary authoritarianism. Following Justin Rosenberg’s open invitation to place the concept of multiplicity at the centre of a renewed research agenda, I suggest that a more holistic t...
The Politics of Political Science and Toxic Democracies
2014
We are interested in problematizing the globally dominant analytical perspectives on democratization, which have mostly originated in English North America and Northern Europe, by way of looking at power relations from within and without political science as a discipline. We argue that such perspectives increasingly show serious shortcomings in explaining past and current realities in Latin America and beyond. They not only analyze “power” but in fact incarnate unequal international power structures. Our analytical exercise is twofold. On the one hand, we engage in the analysis of the politics of political science, looking at the discipline as an object of (political) inquiry. On the other, and as a product of the latter, we propose a new category, namely toxic democracies, as a conceptual tool that might allow for a critical understanding of the international and transnational dimensions of political regimes and their transformations in the so called “Global South.” In other words,...
This open access book offers an updated examination of the institutionalisation of political science in sixteen latecomer or peripheral countries in Europe. Its main theme is how political science as a science of democracy is influenced and how it responds to the challenges of the new millennium. The chapters, built upon a common theoretical framework of institutionalisation, are evidence-based and comparative. Overall, the book diagnoses diversity among the country cases due to their take-off points and varied political and economic trajectories.
Swiss Political Science Review, 2024
This debate aims at discussing the broader social relevance of political science research, a debate that has not yet taken place in Switzerland although it has been ongoing internationally. In this introduction, we highlight the main questions raised by the debate and illustrate the various contributions. With this debate we hope to stimulate further contributions on the topic in the future.