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The article argues an extension of "intended applications" of present day radical constructivism to the domain of historical sciences. After a brief presentation of constructivism's core theory of "observing observations", a long exposition is undertaken in which central historical notions like "memory", ,,remembering" or ,,forgetting" are re-defined and adapted to the overall constructivist framework. Further extensions of the notion of memory to the societal level are made, for instance, the new notion of "politics of memory" will be introduced which, hopefully, will offer new insights into the interplay between the physical infrastructures of, horribile dictu, ,,information bases", ,,knowledge utilizations" and the steering mechanisms of societal sub-systems, primarily, but not exclusively, of the economic system. ; The article argues an extension of "intended applications" of present day radical constructivism to the domain of historical sciences. After a brief presentation of constructivism's core theory of "observing observations", a long exposition is undertaken in which central historical notions like "memory", ,,remembering" or ,,forgetting" are re-defined and adapted to the overall constructivist framework. Further extensions of the notion of memory to the societal level are made, for instance, the new notion of "politics of memory" will be introduced which, hopefully, will offer new insights into the interplay between the physical infrastructures of, horribile dictu, ,,information bases", ,,knowledge utilizations" and the steering mechanisms of societal sub-systems, primarily, but not exclusively, of the economic system.

The question "What is political science?" is nearly as old as the
discipline itself. Political science continually self-examines the
discipline to evaluate who we are and how we have changed. In
addition, there are numerous studies of groups within political
science, including political science in the U.S. South and women in
political science. There are also reviews of the development and
state of subfields, e.g., urban politics , international relations,
comparative politics, and political theory. Each of these histories
provides an image of what political science is or what it should be.
These self-reviews provide images of the discipline that shape our
identities as political scientists and advance the progress of
political science. Even if the images do not affect future
directions in political science, they are "an important dimension of
identity and critical reflection on the theory and practice of
political science". Developing and critiquing these images are
important academic exercises. J. Tobin
Grant is assistant professor, department of political science,
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He is coauthor (with
Thomas Rudolph) of Expression vs. Equality: The Politics
of Campaign Finance Reform (Ohio State University
Press, 2004). I thank
Badredine Arfi, Gregory Kasza, Scott McClurg, Thomas Rudolph,
Edward Schatz, and Herbert Weisberg for their comments and
suggestions on this article.

Edited by Eugene C. Barker. cf. Foreword ; "References for further reading" at end of each chapter except the first ; Mode of access: Internet.

"A collection of essays by a diverse group of scholars, The Politics of Cyberspace tackles the most important themes tied to the emergence of cyber-space - inequalities of access, the use of the Web by mainstream political parties, the challenge to the First Amendment, the possibility that the Web may foster new understandings of gender, and the need for progressive intellectuals to embrace and utilize the internet in their political struggles."--Jacket

Problem setting. It has always been recognized by different scholars of social sciences that concepts are essential both to theory construction in different scientific realms as well as to applied research. A practical approach to concepts suggests that concepts, however complicated they might be, should be, in essence, boiled down to measurable indicators that, in turn, can be thoroughly studied by applying qualitative or quantitative approaches. Discussion around the nature of the concepts in social science in general and particularly in the political science brought about a number of terms to denote the concepts like «essentially contested concepts» or «nomadic concepts». In order to avoid the bothersome discussion of the meaning of concepts, a prominent American scholar of social science research methodology and international relations G. Goertz said that he preferred to define concepts implicitly through a discussion of how they could be constructed. He coined the term «semantic approach» to denote the traditional approach to concepts and his alternative approach is what this article critically analyzes in comparison to other approaches to concepts ' studies, including the traditional ones. Recent research and publications analysis. A great number of scholars contributed to the studies of concepts, among them G. Sartori, J. Gerring, Ch. Ragin, D. Collier, M. Richter and others. After W. B. Gallie coined the expression «essentially contested concepts» in 1956, a discussion on the phenomenon of «contestedness» of social and political concepts has commenced and never stopped. Among the very recent contributions to analysis of concepts the papers of M. W. Spicer, F. Berenskoetter and C. Greene should be mentioned. Paper objective is to identify both advantages and disadvantages of applied approaches to political concepts' construction that go beyond the traditional semantic approach and that, in turn, implies a closer examination of a causal, ontological, and realist view of concepts, suggested by G. Goertz, ...

Examines the policy implications of research findings, and the role of political scientists in improving democracy in the US, from the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BRCA).

The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy. Roger N. Lancaster and Micaela di Leonardo. eds. New York; Routledge, 1997. 574 pp.

Beauchamp reviews 'Basic Interests: The Importance of Groups in Politics and Political Science' by Frank R. Baumgartner and Beth L. Leech.

New Political Science, a leading section of the American Political Science Association for more than forty years, condemns Glenn Beck's dangerous and inflammatory mischaracterizations of Frances Fox Piven. Professor Piven, who has been a member of New Political Science since its founding in 1967, is an internationally-recognized scholar and activist. Piven, and her now-deceased husband and co-author Richard Cloward, have devoted their careers and lives to improving the political and economic opportunities of ordinary Americans, especially those living in poverty. Adapted from the source document.