Traditional Scholarship

The first academic writers on politics – Plato and Aristotle – whose works are still studied in detail in most British universities – combined insights from history and current affairs with discussions on the big moral issues such as ‘What is the best form of government?’ or ‘What is justice?’

This somewhat ‘eclectic’ approach (combining insights from various different sources) was also adopted by some of the classic writers in the nineteenth century such as John Stuart Mill [1806–1873], Bryce [1838–1922] and De Tocqueville [1805–1859].

These writers saw the rise of democracy as the major political development of their time, analyzed not only the idea, but also its manifestations in different countries, and suggested improvements and accommodations with the emerging democratic government.

Serious writers on politics now are university lecturers, who have specialist interests and lists of articles in professional journals and/or monographs published by respectable academic publishers. They now adopt a much more limited conception of their role: philosophically trained writers explore concepts and the history of ideas, historians limit their studies to small periods of time and limited geographical areas, and students of political institutions specialize in electoral systems, UK parliamentary select committees or the politics of privatization. There is no doubt that such academic specialization may bring benefits in terms of specific discoveries. But this approach results in some loss of perspective and the loss of a non-academic audience – who often fail to see the relevance of much of this work to current policy issues.

Within British university politics departments scholars produce work on political theory and ‘political institutions’, but do not relate findings to general theories of political behaviour or ‘social science’. Students of ‘political theory’ divide roughly into two main camps. One group are the philosophers who see their main task as the study of political concepts (such as justice and democracy) and their relevance to contemporary concerns. Second group are the historians of ideas who trace the evolution of writings on politics, the writers of these texts and their influence on events.

Those who have written on ‘political institutions’ have often been less explicit in their theoretical intent. In established and relatively stable democracies like Britain and the United States, it is evident that much of what is called politics centres around important governmental institutions like parliaments, elections, government departments, local authorities. The study of how these institutions have evolved, the rules and practices surrounding them, and consideration of how they may be improved, is clearly very important.

1 Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following words and expressions.

Insight, moral issue, justice, eclectic, rise, manifestation, electoral system, privatization, concern, to trace.

2 Translate words and word combinations from Ukrainian into English and use them in your own sentences.

Поточні події, покращення, узгодження, розуміння (концепція), урядова установа.

3 Complete the sentences with words or phrases from the list.

Justice, the big moral issue, political concepts, current affairs, academic writers, political institutions

1. Liberal, _____ _______, such as Bruce Ackerman, Ronald Dworkin, and Frank Michelman, may address the Supreme Court, but so do many conservatives and other non-liberal writers.

2. This background knowledge thus enables the citizen to understand relationships, to gain insight into the deeper implications of _____ _____, and generally to act in an informed and responsible manner.

3. The most telling objection to the interstate commerce approach is that it does not meet ____ ____ _____ _____ of discrimination.

4. Institutional approach is another kind of approach which is used for the study of political science, it is an old approach. The followers of this approach confine the study of political science to ______ ______.

5. A wide range of ______ ______ are value-laden in this sense - 'liberty', 'rights', '________', 'equality', 'tolerance', and so on.

4 Complete the sentences.

1. Serious writers on politics ...

2. One group are the philosophers ...

3. The first academic writers ...

4. A second group are ...

5. There is no doubt that ...

6. They now adopt ...

7. The study of how ...

5 Comprehension questions.

1. What did Plato and Aristotle combine in their writing on politics?

2. How is the theory of politics related to the rise of democracy?

3. What are modern political authors like?

4. Can non-academic audience see the value and relevance of contemporary political research?

5. What do scholars in British university politics departments study?

6. Why are government institutions important in political analysis?

6 Say if the following statements are true according to the text

1. Plato and Aristotle were interested in politics, history, and current affairs.

2. Eclectic approach is the one combining insights from different sources.

3. Democratic governments were analyzed by the writers.

4. Today serious writers on politics work in government.

5. Modern political conceptions are often limited.

6. Academic specialization is always a negative thing.

7. Students of ‘political theory’ divide roughly into three main camps.

8. Historians of ideas trace the evolution of political regimes.

9. Britain and the United States are seen as stable democracies by political scientists.