A New Handbook of Political Science


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This work is an authoritative survey of developments in the discipline compiled by 42 of the best political scientists worldwide, analyzing progress over the past twenty years and assessing this in the context of historical trends in the field. International in its scope, systematic in its coverage, A New Handbook of Political Science will be the reference book for political scientists, and those tracking their work, into the next century.A New Handbook of Political Science Review
A handbook can be a wonderful resource, for those who want an accessible introduction to, in this case, an academic discipline. This is a handbook of political science. As such, it does a good job providing entree to the discipline.The organization is straightforward--an introductory section followed by sections considering the various subfields of political science. There is enough detail in the book to provide a birds-eye view. Indeed, the total is 35 chapters and 800 pages.
The Introduction has 3 chapters. The first defines the discipline; the second provides a history; the third locates political science within the social sciences.
Other sections (with 4 chapters per section) focus on political institutions, political behavior, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, public policy and administration, political economy, and political methodology. One question comes to me: Why a whole section on political economy? One can make the case, of course, but this is not one of the standard areas that people use in describing the scope of the discipline. Perhaps it is understandable that the volume tends to take a mainstream view of the discipline. But, in the process, other approaches are invisible--such as the application of biology to understanding of politics and political science.
In the final analysis, even though this volume is a little long of tooth (published in 1996), it serves the purpose of introducing people to the discipline and serving to summarize key literature in the various subfields.
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