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In this focus article the book Making Social Sciences More Scientific by Rein Taagepera is discussed. The book proposes an innovative approach to quantitative modelling, the "quantitatively predictive logical modeling". In the first contribution, the originality of this approach is discussed, through a comparison with three traditional methodological perspectives: qualitative research; rational- choice modeling; empirically-oriented quantitative research. Then, the potential of Taagepera's approach is evaluated with respect to the problem of the relationship between concepts and signs. In this regard, the non-linear, theoretically-driven construction of mathematical models advocated by Taagepera could provide a far more accurate operationalization of the conceptual models developed in the social sciences, which often feature non-linear relationships. Finally, the possibility of integrating Taagepera's suggestion with the traditional quantitative approach -- based on the generalized linear model -- is discussed, by pointing out potential problems and possible solutions. In the second contribution, Taagepera's critique of the prevalent approach to quantitative analysis of social phenomena is illustrated and commented, along with his proposal to adopt quantitatively predictive logical models as the basic analytical tool of the social sciences. Then, it is argued that, though based on sound arguments, Taagepera's critique of generalized linear regression models is somewhat too severe, since it overlooks some of regression's analytical best strengths. Adapted from the source document.

The Italian Society of Political Science (SISP) has made its first forty years. In 1973 a small group of scholars, led by Giovanni Sartori, Norberto Bobbio and Alberto Spreafico, decided to create the Italian Section of Political Science within the Italian Association of Political and Social Sciences. Since then, a lot of water and passed under the bridge of the discipline: many studies have been conducted, many volumes on many areas of the field have filled our libraries, and most importantly, what in 1973 was a small, although combative group of scholars today and become a community that gathers around 400 members. To celebrate this birthday, in 2013 and was published, the publisher Il Mulino, a volume dedicated to the forty-year political science in Italy, edited by Gianfranco Pasquino, Marta and Marco Regalia Valbruzzi. The book, a collaboration of twenty-nine members of the SISP, tries to take stock of all that the Italian political science has produced over the past four decades, comparing the aspirations of the founders with the achievements of his later lovers. Adapted from the source document.

This article traces the formation of a new discipline -- international political economy (IPE) -- in terms both of concepts & theoretical debates, & of the social process of its institutionalization, as shown by journals, textbooks, course offerings, & Internet Websites. In its first part, this article presents some well-known definitions of IPE & illustrates different types of theory. Special attention is given to Robert Gilpin, because of the importance of his work & the evolution of his thinking about IPE. In the second, the 30-year life of IPE is analyzed to identify the most important events leading to the creation of a new field of social research: the organization of conferences in the early 1970s; the publication of important books written by unorthodox economists like Kindleberger & Hirschman; & theoretical debates. The work of R. W. Cox, which is related to the "Gramscian turn" in international relations, is a particular focus of attention. Finally, the consequences of the "Fourth Debate" on positivism in international relations are considered in terms of the connection of IPE with constructivism, historical sociology, & the "cultural turn" in the social sciences. The third part shows how the debate on IPE has moved from being fully internal to (American) political science, to include general concerns about the social sciences at the beginning of the 21st century. An extensive bibliography follows. 210 References. Adapted from the source document.

The history of the conceptualization & application of the notions of culture, political/civic culture, & social capital in politology, & comparative political science in particular, is traced, discussing: (1) treatments of the relationship between civic culture & democracy in classical works of sociology & political science (eg, Montesquieu, Guizot, Herder, or Tocqueville), (2) the pioneering study in Gabriel A. Almond & Sidney Verba's Civic Culture (Princeton: Princeton U Press, 1963), (3) neglect of the notion of civic culture in the 1970s & 1980s, (4) civic culture as a dependent & independent variable, (5) J. Coleman's (1988) definition of social capital, (6) Robert D. Putnam's definition of social capital & its use in La tradizione civica nelle regioni italiane ([The Civic Tradition in Italian Regions] Milan: Mondadori, 1993) & Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000), (7) the effectiveness of the concept of social capital as a descriptive-explanatory tool in comparative political science, & (8) the continued controversy & debate on this notion in contemporary politology. References. Z. Dubiel

The political role of international theoretical discourse is an essential & most contested issue in the IR contemporary debate. The resistance of traditional perspectives to the inclusion of self-reflective elements on the agenda of international political analysis reflects the inadequacy of the theoretical framework to bear the ambiguous relation between political & theoretical discourse. I argue that metaphorical analysis has the potential both to offer an important self-reflective contribution to IR discipline & to discard its theoretical boundaries -- as defined by positivist & neopositivist assumptions. Political metaphors establish meanings that frame both political & theoretical discourse. The distinction between these two, albeit possible on analytic grounds, is in practice much less tenable; the cognitive representations of each commonly spill over to the other. Once metaphorically established, the meanings attached to these representations play a role that is both influential & latent or, more precisely, influential because latent. The analysis of political metaphors offers the opportunity to shed some light on & investigate the latent meanings that theoretical discourse assimilates from political discourse & vice versa. However, the theoretical requirements of metaphoric analysis are not compatible with the main assumptions that constitute the theoretical framework of IR traditional perspectives. The second part of the article presents reasons why metaphoric analysis, while comfortably adaptable to critical & constructivist research programs, does indeed "threaten" IR disciplinary boundaries -- as defined by the realist, pluralist, & structuralist triad -- but it also offers the opportunity to expand them toward grounds that appear more acceptable both socially & theoretically. 1 Table, 84 References. Adapted from the source document.

The intention of this study based on analysis of the series of European Value Study (1990, 1999, 2009 and 2018) is to investigate, using a comparative, diachronic approach, the relationship between modernization and the gender gap in religiosity in Italy. In line with the theoretical perspective which valorizes the role of culture in explaining this relationship, our hypothesis is that the most modernized areas demonstrate a more contained gender gap. We expect that differences of religiosity between men and women are more contained in the country's north-central zones - characterized by higher levels of modernization - compared with the south. Furthermore, since the distance between the levels of modernization in the two areas has not increased noticeably over the last three decades, we could be forgiven for expecting that the difference between them in the religious field would not reveal important changes. To our surprise, the findings of the analyses offer but limited support to our hypothesis.

Effects of the continuous process of redefinition among parliamentary groups after the 1994 election and during the 12th Italian parliament. Summary in English p. 450.

Summary in English.

The purpose of this contribution is to study the importance of values and the intergenerational transmission from the point of view of the z generation. Through the Evs2018 data and a case study that involved 716 subjects between the ages of 20-25 years, we have analyzed the values considered most important by young people, those believed to be inherited from parents, the knowledge of their family history and intergenerational solidarity. An in-depth study was also carried out in relation to the values that became most important for young people during the Covid19 health emergency. The main results have highlighted some aspects of continuity and specificity between the different generations and confirmed the importance of the gender dimension in the intergenerational transmission processes.

This paper focuses on the current position of political science in Italian universities. In doing so, it aims not only at providing a purely descriptive account, but also at evaluating the general status of political science in Italy. The analysis of the academic status of a subject helps us to understand what kind of general status it possesses within a country. The number of people teaching political science, the kind of institutions it is taught in, & exactly what is taught, all provide an understanding -- albeit not an exhaustive one -- of some of the essential conditions influencing the real status of political science in Italy. After a brief historical introduction, detailed figures are given regarding the number & distribution of political scientists in Italy's universities, & the courses currently offered in the field of political science are described & discussed. In the second part of the paper, the author gives his views on the current state of Italian political science, which he considers to be not dissimilar to that of other countries, & they subsequently invite the reader to reflect on the need for an increase in its social status. At the same time, some reflections are presented about the risk Italian political science could fall into without a more conscious collective strategy aimed at improving its own position & status in universities. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.