chapter 19 - relevance of political science

Question 1

6 positions on the relevance of political science

Answer 1

to enhance relevance PS should:

1. PS should do good science and if the science is good
2. PS should be better at communicating its results
3. PS should be prepared to have its agenda set by problem-solving or puzzle-solving concerns that matter to policymakers and citizens
4. PS should be prepared to develop a capacity not just for analysing problems, but also for developing solutions
   5.PS needs to develop a more engaged co-production approach to research, working alongside actors outside academia to address their concerns and so advance the relevance of research
5. PS needs to embrace a wider role in creating a civic culture essential to democracy

Question 2

guidelines for those within political science interested in taking relevance more seriously:

Answer 2

celebrate and promote a diversity of practice and a commitment to working across boundaries within the profession of political science

1. don’t allow relevance to compromise high-quality research/investigation, embrace it as a critical friend
2. develop relevance as the heart of what you select to investigate
3. offer solutions as well as analyses of problems
4. support methodological pluralism: variety of approaches will deliver a rich array of relevant work
5. be committed to work in partnership with other disciplines to improve the relevance of your work
6. cultivate links with intermediaries as appropriate
7. celebrate the role of teaching as a means of delivering relevance by encouraging a cadre of critically aware citizens and policymakers

Question 3

criticism economics

Answer 3

it has developed a near monoculture and a set of quantitative toolkit methods for undertaking research and judging evidence

belief that there is only one true approach

this is more and more challenged (e.g. behavioural economics), but still, this monoculture is hard to escape from easily

Question 4

political science should do good science and if the science is good it will be relevant

Answer 4

• what constitutes relevance is not fixed: it varies according to time, circumstance and observer (so e.g. work on a very specific topic may not be relevant until it is)
• Peter John: political scientists should be more confident of their claims of relevance, they should stick to the production of knowledge (technical terms and complex models and methods), in the end policy makers will come to them rather than the other way around

!! political science should not be craven to the practitioner world, as it makes its knowledge to similar to other knowledge providers

how can this relevance be demonstrated in political science?

1. enlightenment function: empirical work can change thinking in the world of practice
2. critical challenge: empirical work can point to failings and consequences of current practice and outline alternatives
3. technical tweaking: detailed expert knowledge can help in the reform of established systems or institutions

Question 5

political science should be better at communicating its results, if it were it would be more relevant

Answer 5

failure to share and show the value of work funded by taxpayers puts political science in a vulnerable position

• resources mainly go into the research, not into the delivery of the research
• (too) often complicated jargon, language and formulae (sometimes researchers don’t notice, sometimes done deliberately to show excellence, sometimes to gatekeep (only letting few specialists into the debate))
• Matt Flinders: political science fails to communicate its social value + mentions triple writing (research article, popular summary, journalistic short blog)
• using social media expands networks and connections + establishes knowledge as social good rather than marketable commodity

Question 6

political science should be prepared to have its agenda set by problem-solving or puzzle-solving concerns that matter to policymakers and citizens, if it did it would be more relevant

Answer 6

argument that there should be a relationship between the world of political analysis and the practice of politics in the world

• agenda shouldn’t be set by own theories or methods as if it was in a separate world
• Shapiro: political science should be theoretically illuminating to outsiders, not only to the small world of political science

Question 7

political science should be prepared to develop a capacity not just for analysing problems, but also for developing solutions, that move would enhance its capacity for relevance

Answer 7

• Herbert Simon: political science falls in the artificial science tradition: they are open for design thinking
• political sciences’ knowledge of substance allows to advice and predict, and design public policy
• design involves knowledge of the causes of policy problems, and knowledge about putting policies into effect

political science can make a contribution to the intellectual dimension of policy design, but it is less equipped to speak to the strategic assessments of policy (e.g. election gain, votes etc.)

Question 8

Herbert Simon
- two great traditions in sciences

Answer 8

• the science of nature (what is)
• the science of the artificial (design thinking, everything created by human beings)

political science should fall in the artificial tradition: political systems aren’t natural -> it is open for design thinking

Question 9

political science needs to develop a more engaged co-production approach to research, working alongside actors outside academia to address their concerns and so advance the relevance of research

Answer 9

• Perestroika movement: criticism that mainstream political science focuses to much on quantitative methods, rational choice modelling and game theory -> neglects qualitative traditions that may have more direct engagement with those involved in politics
• Richardson argues for a citizen social science: hands-on involvement of people doing it, understanding it and debating it
• engaging with those who are the focus of the research -> reaching different groups, gaining new insights, achieve legitimacy and bring immediacy to your findings, giving them relevance

!co-production doesn’t mean the abandonment of expertise but rather greater willingness to share its process

Question 10

examples of design thinking in political science

Answer 10

• Reynolds: designing democracy, develops diagnostic toolkit to judge what intervention may work in what situation
• Elinor Ostrom: study how to support collective action among stakeholders particularly with common pool resources (has 8 design principles, e.g. identifying stakeholders and giving them rights to participate in any system of management)

Question 11

political science needs to embrace a wider role in creating a civic culture essential to democracy, if it does that it will be relevant

Answer 11

• Bernard Crick: political science has become disengaged from the practice of politics, political science needs to engage in creating the conditions for political citizenship to flourish
• citizenship education is important
• much deeper engagement with society is necessary
• political science should be more concerned with protecting the very foundations of liberal democracy
• political science has a wider duty to create the conditions for better politics