Liberal Democracy and Political Science

The Johns Hopkins Series in Constitutional Thought

by James W. Ceaser

Do political scientists in a liberal democracy bear a special responsibility that goes beyond their academic persuits? In Liberal Democracy and Political Science James W. Ceaser, a well-known scholar or American political parties and the presidency, argues that they do, and he challenges collegues and students to re-examine what they do as political scientists. Ceaser begins with the observation that liberal democracy is a compound of two elements not easily wed―constitutionalism and republicanism. As such, it has a problem maintaining itself. The role of political science, he argues, is to perform the "superintending function" of keeping these parts together. Ceaser shows how traditional political science―an amalgam of historical sociology, a general political science of regimes, and a specific political science of different countries―once provided a foundation for performing this function. He then describes the failing of contemporary political science, both predictive and what Ceaser call the "new normativism," in this regard. What is needed, Ceaser argues, is a reconstruction of political science that borrows freely from both past and present-day practice. Ceaser concludes with a case study that puts his theory to work―and analysis of the susceptibility of our political culture to the influence of intellectuals and to contemporary critics of the Constitution.

Genres: Politics, Political Science

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1990

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow. this was amazing. clarifying and unifying several tensions which have been uneasily tangling in my mind a while. drawing primarily from Tocqueville he argues for a “new political science” to support the form of government holding two ideas in its mind at once - liberal democracy. this traditional political science is in between the overzealousness for general ideas found in rationalism and also abandon of them by traditionalism. he tours modern American political science to compare & contrast this mode with other developing schools such as the “new normativism,” provides a sketch of how traditional political science might be revived, elaborates what the role of political scientists might be in American political culture, and concludes with really a lovely and lucid case study illustrating how these principles would be applied. i am delighted. i may read it straight through again.

[Coyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially, the point of this book is to explore one particular problem experienced by liberal democracy: that of maintaining the sort of political culture/mores necessary for its own continued existence. That is, liberal democracy--a state that is both liberal in its view of freedom and democratic in its functioning, as opposed to say an illiberal democracy, a liberal despotism, or an illiberal despotism--requires a certain sort of citizens in order to continue to function....

Overall, this was an excellent and useful read. It will certainly affect how I approach the discipline in the future, and will even affect some of what I do in my American government courses. Recommended to those interested in thinking about teaching government and American politics, and those interested in Tocqueville.

Read the rest here: http://coyleneal.blogspot.com/2013/09...