The Making of Eclectic Pluralism in Political Science

• In Event: Political Theory, Discipline, and Method

Abstract

This paper focuses on the internecine debates about the meaning of "theory" in political science. I record changes in the way political scientists understand the meaning of "theory" since the 1940s. I argue that these "theory" debates are central to disciplinary identities in political science. Thus, rather than being a problem to solve, a state of eclectic pluralism in meanings of "theory," is seen as a salutatory condition for political science.

Author

• Joshua R. Berkenpas, Minnesota State University, Mankato