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This article employs an interpretive approach, and in the light of contributions to this symposium by Butler and McAllister, and McLean et al., holds that metrics of research 'quality' are socially constructed and hence are as 'subjective' as peer review. Thus it rejects the use of stand-alone metrics as an 'objective' basis to inform funding allocations. Rather, the optimum method of 'quality' assessment is a panel-based exercise with expert judgement informed by a range of discipline-sensitive metrics and peer review of publications. The article maintains that the politics of metrics of political science conceals interests about the foundations of social scientific knowledge, and so the dispute over metrics and peer review is a metaphor for the conflicting epistemological preferences of UK political scientists. It is also argued that metrics-led assessment subjects political science to 'Gradgrinding' on two fronts: that political science departments amount to less than the sum of their parts, and the audit culture strips the discipline of its humanism.

Despite current strong trends in the world toward political & economic liberalization, counterveiling trends also exist, as evidenced by the widening gap between rich & poor nations. Also, despite declines in proportionate population, rich nations now account for a greater share of world wealth, trade, & finance than they did in the 1970s. The widening gap is due largely to the rapid technological progress taking place in the rich nations & a counterproductive asymmetry in the management of the world economy. Rich nations must assume greater responsibility for alleviating these conditions. Social science can assist through research in: economic history; strategies for strengthening the UN system; integration of environmental inputs into the system of national accounts; & the depth, scope, & dispersion of the growing interdependence of nations. 12 References. D. Generoli

The cycle of relations between the Dept of Defense (DoD) & the university is described with particular reference to the social sciences & international studies. This cycle is characterized by: a general decline in amity since WWII, decreased support for DoD objectives, a concern for the effect of DoD priorities on the general research profile, the growth of inhouse & nonacademic vendors in research & training, & the enclaving of the military-connected research community within the university. The pattern of DoD support for strategic studies, linguistics, & language & area studies is also examined. HA