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The rapid development of genetic research, determined, among others, by the requirements of The Human Genome Project, and a gradual reorientation in the perception of the role of nature and culture in the process of shaping complex networks of human relations by some political scientists, result in the increasing application of genetic data and methods in research regarding political behaviours. One of the key philosophical objections against the studies of the genetic foundations of political behaviours is that of excessive reductionism. This is supposed to manifest itself in the inadequate selection of the level of analysis for the explained phenomenon, the incompleteness of explanations and their low utility. My findings show that this objection is not sufficiently supported by contemporary science. Both studies using classical behavioural genetic methodologies and studies using DNA-based methods show that genes most likely play a role in political behaviours. Emphasising the significance of genetic influences in the midst of multiple extra-genetic interactions generates highly idealised explanations. Using the conceptual apparatus of the deformational concept of culture, I have demonstrated that the omission of a number of important extra-genetic influences by researchers is a consequence of focusing on specific causal patterns. This omission, however, does not entail negating the influence of non-genetic factors and, importantly, it may not have to be permanent. Following this approach, if correct, the reductionism of research into the genetic foundations of political behaviours is a standard cognitive procedure applied in science.

Classical game theory is one of the basic methods of scientific analysis of political phenomena. The models developed on this basis are used in the studies of electoral and legislative behaviour, in the analysis of processes of forming political coalitions, and in the analysis of issues related to democratization, national security and armed conflicts. Evolutionary game theory has developed from classical game theory. This theory is referred to in this article, which presents selected possibilities of using single-population evolutionary models in studies of political violence transmission. On the basis of the analysis of two population variants, the article describes the changes in the prevalence of selected behavioural traits and answers the questions regarding the asymptotic states of evolutionary processes and their stability. The study uses Hawk–Dove and Hawk–Dove–Retaliator type games. The calculations were carried out using the R program.

The purpose of this study was to identify longterm trends in conventional participation in the Federal Republic of Germany. The time frame for the analysis covered the period between 1946 and 2016. Conventional participation was measured against two variables using regression analysis: the level of participation in elections and the level of membership in political parties. For both variables, statistically significant development trends were identified, which were mainly of a declining nature. The data employed concerned voter turnout in elections to the Bundestag and Landtags, and the development process of membership levels in six major political parties: CDU, SPD, CSU, FDP, Alliance 90/ /The Greens, and the Left/PDS. || Celem badań była identyfikacja długookresowych trendów partycypacji konwencjonalnej w Republice Federalnej Niemiec. Ramy czasowe analiz objęły okres od 1946 do 2016 roku. Partycypacja konwencjonalna była mierzona dwiema zmiennymi: poziomem uczestnictwa wyborczego oraz poziomem członkostwa w partiach politycznych. Zarówno w przypadku pierwszej, jak i drugiej zmiennej wyodrębniono ważne statystycznie tendencje rozwojowe, głównie o charakterze spadkowym. W badaniach użyto analizy regresji. Posłużono się danymi dotyczącymi poziomu frekwencji wyborczej w wyborach do Bundestagu i do landtagów oraz danymi obrazującymi proces kształtowania się poziomu członkostwa w sześciu najistotniejszych partiach politycznych: CDU, SPD, CSU, FDP, Sojuszu 90/Zielonych oraz Lewicy/PDS.

The purpose of this study was to identify long-term trends in conventional participation in the Federal Republic of Germany. The time frame for the analysis covered the period between 1946 and 2016. Conventional participation was measured against two variables using regression analysis: the level of participation in elections and the level of membership in political parties. For both variables, statistically significant development trends were identified, which were mainly of a declining nature. The data employed concerned voter turnout in elections to the Bundestag and Landtags, and the development process of membership levels in six major political parties: CDU, SPD, CSU, FDP, Alliance 90/The Greens, and the Left/PDS.

The purpose of this study was to identify long-term trends in conventional participation in the Federal Republic of Germany. The time frame for the analysis covered the period between 1946 and 2016. Conventional participation was measured against two variables using regression analysis: the level of participation in elections and the level of membership in political parties. For both variables, statistically significant development trends were identified, which were mainly of a declining nature. The data employed concerned voter turnout in elections to the Bundestag and Landtags, and the development process of membership levels in six major political parties: CDU, SPD, CSU, FDP, Alliance 90/The Greens, and the Left/PDS.

What are the explanatory values characteristic of concepts consid-ering humans as entities aimed at maximizing expected utility by means of coherent and logical decisions? Do citizens who are ac-tive in politics behave according to the expectations of rational choice theorists? Reviews of premises constituting rational choice theory are found in the works of authors representing multiple dis-ciplines. The vastness of these views will not be discussed within the limitations of the present article, though I have focused on the output of selected disciplines: evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and social and cognitive psychology. Among the phenomena that question the theory I have included: emotions and feelings, uncon- scious prejudices, heuristics, self-deception and the monological belief system. ; Mateusz Wajzer

This paper identifies the major problems associated with the process of conceptualizing political participation. Two of them are discussed in detail. The first problem is that researchers ascribe political characteristics to any social behaviour, which is unsupported by proper arguments that would relate the proposed concepts to the subject matter of political science. The second one points to the strong presence of normative and crypto-normative elements, especially in studies of democratic societies. ; Mateusz Wajzer

In the article, we review key methodological issues and study results on the heritability of political attitudes. These studies show to what degree the variance of observed attitudes can be explained by genetic variance. We have analysed studies differing in terms of applied methods, techniques and research tools, as well as sample populations of different age and sex structures. Regardless of these differences, the studies show that political attitudes are most likely influenced to some extent by genetic factors. This research suggests that the influence of genes on attitudes is subject to change over the life cycle. It also provides knowledge regarding the mechanisms that may link genes and attitudes. The studies conducted to date offer the opportunity to broaden the culturalism-based explanations of political attitudes with biological aspects; however, they also point to several issues that will require additional attention from the researchers.

The purpose of the paper is to concisely present basic applications of game theory models for a scientific description of political violence. The paper is divided into four parts. The first part discusses the key theoretical issues including: the assumption of the players' rationality, the assumption of the players' common knowledge of their rationality, the Nash equilibrium concept, Pareto optimality, the Nash arbitration scheme and the concept of evolutionarily stable strategies. The second and third parts contain examples of uses of selected models of classical and evolutionary games in the studies on political violence. The following two interaction schemes were used to that end: the Prisoner's Dilemma and Chicken. The paper ends with a summary and discussion. The key feature of the discussed models is their methodological simplicity, as demonstrated by the lack of need to use complicated mathematical methods. This is why the paper is mainly addressed to individuals who had not studied game theory before or who have insufficient knowledge in the field to conduct own studies.

During the transition from family to state organizations, that is from structures built upon the cooperation of a few relatives to organizations controlling the behaviour of thousands and millions of genetically distant individuals, the unification of people around ideas processed by the mind became increasingly more important. A large part of the mechanisms that control these processes has been beyond scientists' interests. Meanwhile, the results that are available from archaeological research show that political control of the masses by specialized organization began to develop around 6,000 years ago in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and not only because of the increasing complexity of Neolithic agricultural societies. It was incredibly important that cooperating individuals shared visions of universal order. The results of modern neuroscientific research show that, ultimately, the emergence of political phenomena and their development were determined by the specific mental abilities of Homo sapiens, which were unprecedented at such a level of development or even absent in other species. In this text the authors analyze the most significant of them, explain how political mobilization was initiated and how many other political phenomena evolved to define the functioning of the human species today.