Suchergebnisse

Abstract
In this paper, I will focus on the role that findings of the empirical sciences might play in justifying normative claims in political philosophy. In the first section, I will describe how political theory has become a discipline divorced from empirical sciences, against a strong current in post-war political philosophy. I then argue that Rawls's idea of reflective equilibrium, rightly interpreted, leads to a perspective on the matter of justification that takes seriously empirical findings regarding currently held normative beliefs of people. I will finally outline some functions that empirical studies might have in political philosophy.

The contributors to this volume analyze the general problems of economic transition in countries of the former Eastern bloc: changing the ownership structure, abolishing the command economy, and integrating with the world economy. Because unique political, economic and social conditions in each nation require individual policy solutions, the contri

AbstractHow "historical" is Canadian political science? This paper sets out to answer this question through an analysis of historically oriented articles that have appeared in this journal from its first volume, in 1968, to 2015. We suggest that historical research in this journal is at once enduring and uneven, a pattern that we then explore in more detail in a case study, spanning forty years, of historical articles that focus on the interconnected themes of the constitution, courts, and federalism. The unevenness of this pattern suggests that the intellectual and methodological foundation of "historical" Canadian political science may not be as firm as it appears. We therefore conclude with a description of some methodological and conceptual tools, originally fashioned within the historically oriented subfield of American political development in the United States, that Canadian political scientists might deploy to probe important and enduring questions of Canadian politics.

Political science has, in the past 40 years, developed into a multi-dimensional discipline, training thousands of political scientists who have entered a variety of professions. Its development in Iceland over 40 years has been remarkable, from its small beginnings in 1970 to hosting the largest political science conference in Europe in 2011. However, as the ECPR's founders taught us, political science must always be aware of new challenges and be prepared to innovate and adapt to new realities. The financial crisis that hit Iceland and the world economy in 2008 embodies significant challenges to the discipline, but also opportunities -- and notably the opportunity to retrieve the dominance that market economics secured in the past over many political economy analyses. The specific experience of Iceland, as a small state in the north, represents a wake-up call for the discipline, raising key questions relating to the contribution political science can make to understanding the current transformation and to the capacity of the discipline to maintain its relevance. Adapted from the source document.