Two Dominant Schools of Thought Traditionalism versus Behavioralism

Historical Origins Traditional approach has its roots in the normative, philosophical tradition dating back to Plato and Aristotle Study of collection of major political thinkers; their ideas are constitutive parts of “canonical” political thought Normative dimension central: the prescription of values and standards of conduct; what ‘should be’ rather than ‘what is.’ Questions: Why do we need gov’t? What is individual freedom and what should be its limits?

Historical Origins Empirical tradition was combined with normative approach; Aristotle’s taxonomy of constitutions; Machiavelli’s realist account of statecraft; Montesquieu’s sociological theory of government and law Empirical: based on observation and experiment; empirical knowledge is derived from sense data and experience Empiricism: belief that experience is the only basis of knowledge and that all hypothesis and theories should be tested by a process of observation

Empiricism fostered Positivism Positivism: an intellectual movement (Auguste Comte) that claimed that all social science and philosophical inquiry should strictly adhere to the methods of the natural sciences. The advent of modern science and the scientific method became a widely embraced methodology; advocates proclaimed it was the only reliable means of disclosing truth Pressure and “desire” to develop a science of politics became irresistible

Positivism fostered Behavioralism Behavioralism: the belief that social theories should be constructed only on the basis of observable behavior, providing quantifiable data for research Developed in 1950s and 1960s in the United States Preoccupied with objective and quantifiable data objective: external to the observer, demonstrable; untainted by feelings, values, or bias Gave rise to the focus on the study of “human behavior” (voting behavior, behavior of legislators, politicians, lobbyists etc.) Neglected concepts of justice, liberty, equality, rights and other normative concerns

Assumptions of Traditionalists  Politics very complex  Focus on events/case studies: a country, a particular law, a president, a war etc.  Interpretation of each political event for its own sake  Emphasis is on the normative dimension of politics, though empirical data and assessment is important f.ex. How well does a policy, process, institution, work?

Assumptions of Traditionalists Sources: Documents, political and philosophical writings, governmental officials, court cases, expert opinions etc. Qualitative over quantitative analysis: seek detailed, noncommercial information on cases Stresses history, philosophy, and ideology

Assumptions of Behavioralists Stress scientific method; often use survey research Focus on regularities/patterns across set of events Willingness and necessity to sacrifice detail Avoidance of moral/value judgments Emphasis on facts based on observations, verification Emphasis on abstract theories; model themselves on other social scientists, such as economists, who analyze events as instances of general processes, treated abstractly Test hypotheses against data Focus on human behavior

SURVEY RESEARCH  use of questionnaires and interviews  closed-ended questions preferred  Targets large sample of population or population subgroup thus its breadth (scope) is broader  ability to test for statistical significance—is it possible that linkages between variables are random or incidental? Different indicators can measure degree of relationship, f.ex. Pearson’s r between an d r=0 no relationshipr=+1.0 perfect positive r==.30 mild positive correlation correlation

Correlation and Causation Correlation: a relationship in which changes in one variable in connection with changes in another variable (the higher the income, the more likely people are to vote ) Causation: one variable causes, prompts another variable: f.ex. Direction and intensity of high winds can change the speed and direction by which an airplane approaches an airport for landing (depending on the airplane’s size and weight)