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A nomenclature is a system of names or signs, or both, used in any field of knowledge. Such systems are of value to scientists in a field if they enable positions to be seen more clearly or distinctions to be drawn more readily.In a recent article, Huntington Cairns says: "There prevails, secondly, confusion with respect to the instrument—linguistics—with which the anthropologist, the jurist, or the social scientist must pursue his investigations and through whose medium he must state his conclusions. … But once the social scientist passes from these simple aspects to the realm of theory, linguistics becomes a problem and it is in his struggle with this problem that he is most envious of the symbolism of the mathematician."1Confusion and uncertainty appear to be present in several sections of political science. Linguistics is a problem for us in theory; in addition, it is a serious one in teaching and in the field of research.When a problem appears in a field of knowledge which handicaps effective work, experiments are in order, not only to analyze the phenomenon itself, but, in addition, to find ways or means by which the causes producing the unfortunate circumstance may be removed, or at least reduced. Can the apparent confusion and uncertainty among political scientists concerning the meaning of terms, labels, or intellectual positions be reduced? This is an important problem which directs our attention to the possibility of developing a nomenclature for political science.

The existence of Kuhnian paradigm shifts in the US political science tradition is contemplated. It is contended that the proliferation of political scientific theories (eg, rational choice theory & institutionalism) does not constitute paradigm shifts; nevertheless, it is asserted that one paradigm shift has taken place within US political science. The transition between theories of the state & the emergence of the theory of democratic pluralism that arose during the 1920s & 1930s is interpreted as the only paradigm shift within US political scientific thought since the mid-19th century. After asserting that theories of the state had become stagnant in US political science by the early 1900s, scholarship that contributed to the rise of theories of democratic pluralism during the 1920s is identified. Even though theories of democratic pluralism were reworked prior to & immediately following WWII, it is argued that the behavioral revolution in political science during the 1950s does not represent a Kuhnian paradigm shift. Indeed, it is concluded that present-day political science scholarship continues to use the conceptions of political reality & democratic pluralism that were established during the interwar period. 20 References. J. W. Parker

Africanist contributions to political science that appeared in the early days of the discipline in the late 1950s have continued with the current generation of Africanists. Africanist research has been fundamental to modernization & cultural pluralism theories. It has contributed concepts like "clientelism," expanded qualitative methodologies, & highlighted issues underrepresented by Americanist scholars. Africanists do not believe that homogenizing political science benefits research or teaching. Africa's relative political marginalization provides an especially interesting counterpoint to Americanist content. It forces a confrontation between exogenous & endogenous definitions of culture that is a revived research frontier. 22 References. M. Pflum

The Political Science Program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) announces it awards for basic research support and dissertation improvement grants for fiscal year 2009. The program funded 56 new projects and 34 doctoral dissertation improvement proposals. (Additional program funds were spent on continuing grant increments. These result from awards that were made in previous fiscal years, but where funds are being disbursed on a yearly basis instead all up front.) The Political Science Program spent $10,461,799 on these research, training, and workshop projects and $383,238 on dissertation training grants for political science students. In addition, the program contributed $345,000 to support three Graduate Research Fellowships. The program holds two grant competitions annually (Regular Research, August and January 15; Dissertation Improvement, January 15) and constitutes a major source of political science research funding as part of fulfilling NSF's mission to encourage theoretically focused empirical investigations aimed at improving the explanation of fundamental social and political processes and structures.