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AbstractThe patterns of democracy are related to the success or failure of national governance; hence, they are a key topic in the theoretical research of political science. It is difficult to comprehend the worldwide political conflicts caused by the promotion of liberal democracy in the study of democratic models that have liberal democracy as their core. The emphasis of historical political science on the genes of civilization provides an opportunity to reinterpret the patterns of democracy. Relying on specific civilization genes, the patterns of democracy can be divided into the "value pattern", which is shaped by historical civilization genes, and the "practice pattern", which is based on the "value pattern". Based on Christian concepts, Western civilization produced liberal democracy as the value pattern, and the value is inherited through the practice pattern of party democracy. Chinese civilization has continued the tradition of people-orientation and consultative practice, establishing socialist democracy in value and consultative democracy in practice. Theoretically, the analytical framework of the value pattern and the practice pattern of democracy illustrates the source of the diverse patterns of democracy, which helps demonstrate the limitations of liberal democracy and points out the possibility of developing a non-liberal democracy pattern.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's novel, The First Circle, is studied to discern its message concerning the nature of political science, especially the relationship of modern scientific development to political functions. The book shows how modern development has allowed tyranny to reach new limits. It has provided the tools that, combined with uncompromising vision, can make the application of cruelty reach a scale never before thought possible. Josef Stalin is shown by Solzhenitsyn to be a unique tyrant in the sense that he does not use his power for self-gratification in a material sense, but is obsessed with his role in changing world history. The novel's central characters relate to modern scientific rationality in revealing ways, as they, in the first circle, or the sharashka, consist of bright scientific minds, who are too valuable to eliminate, yet, in their opposition or departure from the communist regime, deserve punishment within the technical institute staffed by prisoners. Solzhenitsyn argues the need for a deep Socratic questioning & an Aristotelian idea of morality & philosophy in the application of political rationale. L. A. Hoffman

Publication date based on date received. ; "Mr. Bradford, presently completing his degree in political science., prepared this report." ; Mode of access: Internet.

This article analyses the content and processes of reforms in the university sector in Denmark. It reveals radical reforms combining governance reforms, research policy reforms and educational policy reforms anchored in New Public Management ideas. The reforms introduce values that are alien to prevailing university values. They change decision-making processes and may have problematic constitutive effects on academic practice. The challenge to political science lies in the difficulty of documenting accountability, while still meeting the demand for economic value. Adapted from the source document.

The committee has been charged by the Council with exploring possibilities for employment of political scientists outside of universities in the present and future. This assignment is prompted by some historic facts. We can expect to see a 25 percent decline in the number of undergraduate students in the next decade. This means fewer faculty members. If graduate programs continue at their present size during that period, one-half of the Ph.D.s in political science will be employed outside of academic life by the late 1980s.The discipline could encourage these trends by closing down many graduate programs, keeping the field small and academic, and focusing increasingly on undergraduate teaching. This may happen anyway as prospective graduate students disappear.As an alternative the discipline could develop new kinds of graduate education which would prepare M.A. and Ph.D. students for professional careers outside academic life.

Anniversaries, for good or ill, are often hard to ignore. The finiteness and roundness of a century proves almost too irresistible for us to not stop and try to derive some sense of accomplishment and meaning from our individual and collective efforts. The recent 100th anniversary of the American Political Science Review in 2006, for example, proved too much to ignore and, as a result, provided us with just such a reckoning (see, e.g., Sigelman 2006). As alluring as the end of a century is for such reminiscing, this impulse is even more forceful at the end of a millennium. Such a closing represents a chance for letting go of the past, gaining some sense of forgiveness, and with the hope of constructing a new future, taking a chance to begin again. This notion of renewal and change was very much on the mind of the individual behind the original "Perestroika" e-mail, circulated in the fall of 2000. In the e-mail, Mr. Perestroika called into question the relevance of the APSA and the American Political Science Review (APSR), questioned the narrowness of our methods, and bemoaned the whiteness and maleness of most of the leadership positions within the discipline. The new millennium seemingly called for a new approach to the study and practice of political science that would move us away from the "coterie" of "East Coast Brahmins" who dominated the APSA and APSR. The tenth anniversary of Mr. Perestroika's e-mail offers us a chance to reflect on and revisit the millennial promise of the Perestroika movement, examine its impact upon the discipline, and assess the nature of its future.

The simple act of voting—and its barriers, costs, benefits, and
mobilization—continues to be central to politics and political
science (Kelley and Mirer 1974). The Supreme Court case Crawford vs.
Marion County Election Board (2008) and a well-attended
panel on the topic at the 2008 APSA annual meeting in Boston
highlight the pertinence of voter-ID issues to the polity and
discipline for the 2008 and future elections. As simple as voting
is, it is also "of the most fundamental significance under our
constitutional structure" (Burdick v. Takushi
1992).