Political science research papers

Political science research papers

Research Papers on Political Science Political science is the study of governments, systems, political processes, public policies and political behavior. Students and professional related to the field of political science prepare research papers on this subject Nov 21,  · International Relations Political Science Research Topics. International Monetary Fund Structure. Amnesty International Controversies. Human Rights in Uganda. Global Poverty Causes. Syrian Conflict Cause-Effect. Arctic Circle Power Battles. Non-State Actors in Estimated Reading Time: 7 mins Political Science Research Paper Examples. This collection of political science research paper examples is an attempt to make fairly complex approaches in politics accessible to advanced undergraduate students and beginning graduate students. There is very little in the way of reference works in political science that are sufficiently accessible that students can profitably use them to

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This sample political science research paper features: words approx. Browse other research paper examples for more political science research papers. If you need a thorough research paper written according to all the academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help.

This is how your paper can get an A! Feel free to contact our writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments for reasonable rates. Within the discipline of political science in the United States, traditionalism, behavioralism, and postbehavioralism are three distinct political science research approaches. These three approaches represent different points of emphasis regarding the ways in which research about politics should proceed.

For example, it will be seen that traditionalism—in comparison with behavioralism—tends to emphasize the usefulness of analyzing governmental institutions when studying political phenomena, whereas behavioralism tends to assert the importance of research into the intricacies of the behavior of individual political actors e.

However, all three research perspectives share the belief that political science research should produce explanations that improve and deepen our understanding of complex political processes. As one begins to analyze the meaning and complexity of traditionalism, behavioralism, and postbehavioralism, it is important to keep in mind three points.

First, traditionalism, political science research papers, behavioralism, and postbehavioralism are broad categories, and within each category one finds a political science research papers of political scientists who are not necessarily in agreement on all matters relating to the study of politics.

For example, during the years in which traditionalism was the prevailing research approach within political political science research papers, Woodrow Wilson delivered an address to the American Political Science Association APSA that called into dispute various claims made by previous APSA president James Bryce.

Inpolitical science research papers, Bryce had stated that political science, that is, a scientific understanding of politics, was possible insofar as human actions tended to be similar, or repeatable, over time; thus, Bryce reasoned, one could generalize about patterns of human activity and draw conclusions about political life, political science research papers.

Wilsonhowever, while not altogether denying the existence of some degree of patterned activity over time, stressed political science research papers uniqueness characterizing human beings and human actions. Despite these differences, both Bryce and Wilson were representative of traditionalist political science.

Second, political science research papers, traditionalism, behavioralism, and postbehavioralism are often linked with certain decades in the development of political science in the United States. Traditionalism is usually associated with the political science practiced during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Behavioralism is generally associated with the post-World War II period, although its origins are sometimes traced back to the s.

It is important to realize, however, that these historical markers are best used as general designations, because the development of these three research approaches was too multifaceted and complex to fit neatly into rigid time categories.

The emergence of a new approach did not necessarily completely or entirely displace an older one; for example, while traditionalism was challenged by behavioralism in the s and s, a number of political scientists continued to hold to traditionalism.

Indeed, many contemporary introductory textbooks in U. politics continue to reflect the perspective of traditionalist political science, political science research papers.

Moreover, not all subfields of political science were affected equally or simultaneously by the emergence of a new approach. For instance, political science research papers, the subfield of U. politics incorporated the behavioralist approach earlier than did the subfields of international relations and comparative politics Sigelman, Third, two of the three research approaches have tended to define themselves in opposition to their predecessors and, in so doing, have helped shape the manner in which those prior approaches have been remembered.

Specifically, behavioralism defined itself in opposition to what it understood as constituting traditionalism, and post-behavioralism carved out its own identity, in part, as a critique of what it saw as the defining elements of behavioralism. As a result, one sees that the emergence of the newer approaches was coupled with a rejection of perceived deficiencies in the earlier approaches. In identifying what they saw as inadequacies in the older approaches, the newer approaches tended to highlight differences between the new and the old and, in some cases, tended to understate any similarities.

For example, behavioralism emphasized its adherence to scientific method and, in so doing, political science research papers, sometimes gave the impression that that which it was attempting to replace—traditionalism—had not regarded itself as scientific. As becomes clear when one analyzes the actual writings of traditionalists, however, traditionalists generally saw themselves as political scientists and often made much of the fact that, as political scientists, they were not to be confused with historians Farr, ; Gunnell, As early asan APSA president was calling on the discipline to employ statistical analyses to identify political patterns and test conclusions relating thereto Lowell, Similarly, postbehavioralists, it will be seen in the discussion below, emphasized the importance of producing research that was relevant in addressing contemporary questions, but, in stressing their own newness relative to behavioralists, postbehavioralists often tended to understate the extent to which earlyth-century political scientists had also sought to use political science research to address urgent, relevant problems in U.

life Gunnell, Traditionalism is an approach defined by its focus on the study of political institutions, law, political science research papers, or a combination of these. In addition, traditionalism locates its scientific reliability in its grounding in political science research papers historical or legal investigations that are designed to produce thorough descriptions of the subject in question Easton, ; Fried, ; Isaak, ; Macridis, A traditionalist seeking to understand how the Political science research papers. Congress works would, thus, investigate such questions as what the law e.

Constitution political science research papers for in terms of congressional powers and limits, how Congress as an institution has evolved historically, and how Congress as an institution fits into the larger institutional network of the U. government in its entirety. A traditionalist seeking to understand courts could follow a similar strategy of pursuing historical questions e. A traditionalist in the field of international relations might study international law or national laws and treaties relating to interstate interactions i.

Traditionalist political science has not been an approach that has demanded narrow or exclusive disciplinary specialization. On the contrary, early traditionalist political scientists needed to be comfortable with such fields as history or law in order to pursue their work. Traditionalist political scientists tended to be explicit in drawing connections between political science research and service to the public interest, in whatever manner the latter might be defined by the political scientist in question.

For a fuller, more detailed understanding of traditionalism, one can look in greater depth at two examples of traditionalist political science. Setting out to construct a technically detailed definition of the discipline per se, Goodnow contended, was not as productive an enterprise as determining what the discipline should have as its focus of research. Political scientists were neither the first nor the exclusive researchers of states, Goodnow explained, political science research papers, but were, rather, unique in targeting the state as a primary subject for analysis.

For example, historians might study historical states and might indirectly study contemporary states, Goodnow reasoned, and economists might investigate monetary matters relating to states. Goodnow was, in this address, identifying himself as a political scientist as opposed to a historian, even while his approach political science research papers political science would employ historical perspectives. Political science research papers, in identifying the institution of the state as opposed to the behavior of individuals, for example as the central and defining subject matter of political science, Goodnow was conveying what is generally termed the traditionalist orientation toward institutionalism.

Second, Goodnow framed the study of states— and thus political science as a discipline—broadly. Political values influenced state policies or will. He pointed to the benefits of studying the history of English poor laws as a guide for improving public administration generally. Finally, Goodnow closed his address by expressing hope that political science could contribute to the public good. He identified teachers and political practitioners as two groups that could benefit directly from the knowledge produced by the disciple.

Moreover, in disseminating a more descriptively accurate and comprehensive understanding political science research papers states, teachers and practitioners, in their respective professional roles, could contribute to an enhanced public well-being. Although better known as the 28th president of the United States, Wilson also served as president of APSA and, in this latter capacity, argued against a narrow, specialized conception of political science.

In fact, at one point in his address, he went so far as to assert that he disliked the name political science, which, he claimed, implied that human interactions should be studied objectively and narrowly.

In turning attention to the study of political actors, many behavioralists employed survey research to compare the attitudes of voters versus nonvoters, elites versus non-elites, political science research papers, partisan identifiers versus independents, or other subunits of populations.

Students of congressional politics could enlist behavioral approaches to shift research away from the analysis of the institutional history of legislatures to an empirical investigation of the actual behaviors of congressional officeholders, staff, or congressional committee members. Behavioralists were interested, political science research papers, for example, in whether members of Congress spent greater time and devoted greater resources to the actual drafting of legislation or to responding to constituency demands, political science research papers, campaigning for the next election, or interacting with lobbyists.

Robert Dahl traced the origins of this approach to the s and to the work of Charles Merriman and the so-called Chicago School of Harold Lasswell, Gabriel Almond, V. Political science research papers, and Political science research papers Truman.

During the post-World War II behavioralist period, publications in the American Political Science Review APSR became increasingly oriented toward statistical analyses of public opinion political science research papers behavior, especially in the subfields of U. politics and comparative politics Sigelman, As the title of his article suggested, McClosky was interested in the extent to which consensus, or broad agreement, on political values existed in the United States.

Although he opened his article with a brief overview of Tocquevillean comments on democratic culture and customs, McClosky framed his analysis around the investigation of specific hypotheses relating to the attitudes of political actors, in this case, actors grouped into two subunits of the U. McClosky hypothesized that the U. public was not uniform in its political views, that it was more supportive of democracy in the abstract than in particular cases, and that political elites those whom he called influentials were more supportive of democracy than non-elites were.

McClosky divided the U. population into two groups: the influentials and the general electorate. The influentials were individuals who had been delegates or alternates at the major party conventions inand the general electorate was simply the population at large.

McClosky used survey research to measure the attitudes of both groups. With respect to the influentials, a sample of more than 3, members of the delegates and alternates at the Democratic and Republican conventions was surveyed. With respect to the general population, Political science research papers used a national sample of 1, adults.

McClosky political science research papers greater degrees of consensus for political science research papers procedures among influentials than among the public at large. These items included statements that respondents were asked to register agreement or disagreement with and consisted of statements about whether a citizen could be justified in acting outside the law, whether majorities had an obligation to respect minorities, whether the means were as important as the ends in the pursuit of political outcomes, whether the use of force was ever justified as a political strategy, and whether voting rights should be expansive or curtailed.

Survey results demonstrated, Political science research papers reported, that influentials expressed consensus on most of the 12 items, whereas the general electorate expressed consensus on none of the 12 items. McClosky proceeded to report that, political science research papers, while both influentials and the general population exhibited broader support for freedom of speech when asked about this freedom in the abstract than when asked about freedom of speech for specific unpopular groups, influentials were more supportive than the general population of free speech for unpopular groups.

For example, support for the rights of Communists, of persons accused of treason, and of convicted criminals was higher among the influentials than among the general population. Furthermore, McClosky reported greater consensus among influentials on the importance of the democratic value of freedom than on the democratic value of equality. In fact, political science research papers, McClosky reported the absence of consensus among both influentials and the general electorate on the matter of whether all people were equal, political science research papers, as well as on questions relating to whether all people should be accorded equality.

In other words, on statements relating to whether most people can make responsible decisions in governing themselves political equalitywhether different ethnic groups are equal social equalityor whether all people have an equal claim to have a good job and a decent home economic equalityconsensus was absent. McClosky also sought to measure what he understood as ideological clarity and the ability to identify oneself accurately along ideological lines.

In evaluating survey participants in terms of their responses to particular statements relating to liberal versus conservative issues and their adoption of ideological markers liberal vs, political science research papers. conservativehe found that influentials were more accurate than the general population in naming themselves as liberals or conservatives and in identifying a position as liberal or conservative.

McClosky closed his article with six summarizing generalizations. First, political science research papers, elites influentials were different from non-elites in terms of a greater elite support for democratic processes and a more complete understanding of political political science research papers. Second, a comparison of the education and economic circumstances of the two groups suggested possible and testable reasons for the differences in attitudes demarcating the two groups.

Third, the level of support for democracy among U. elites was problematic on some issues e. Fourth, in spite of problematic levels of attitudinal support for democratic values, the U. system of Republican-Democratic politics appeared stable, a result, in part, of the nonparticipation of non-democracy-supporting non-elites. Fifth, classic accounts of democracy are inaccurate when claiming that the acceptance of democratic ideas is essential for the survival of democracy.

Sixth, although McClosky advised political scientists against becoming sanguine about the lack of support for democratic processes among the population at large, he shared his hope for a wider disbursement of democratic values among segments of the U.

population as the country continued to promote educational and scientific advancements. First, political science research papers, behavior was understood by behavioralists like McClosky broadly enough to encompass opinions and attitudes.

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Political Science Research Paper Examples. This collection of political science research paper examples is an attempt to make fairly complex approaches in politics accessible to advanced undergraduate students and beginning graduate students. There is very little in the way of reference works in political science that are sufficiently accessible that students can profitably use them to Political Science, Economic Theory. Ideas of Power: The Politics of American Party Ideology Development by Verlan Lewis. New York, Cambridge University Press, pp. Paper, $ Save to Library. by Adam Hilton. • Research Papers on Political Science Political science is the study of governments, systems, political processes, public policies and political behavior. Students and professional related to the field of political science prepare research papers on this subject