The problem of political science and practical politics

Claire Donovan*, Phil Larkin

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    10 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We reflect on the reasons why there is not a greater and more fruitful relationship between those who seek to understand policy and the political process from academia and those with a similar task in 'practical politics'. We attribute this lack of engagement to three core factors: (1) from without, instrumental government visions of political science perpetuate the view that the discipline exists to serve those with power; (2) from within, scientism and abstraction diminish the discipline's stock of 'usable' product for 'practical politics'; and (3) where relevant research exists, its uptake is hampered by limited communication between these spheres.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)11-17
    Number of pages7
    JournalPolitics
    Volume26
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 2006

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