Finally, it has been argued that modernist writing on politics (‘political
science’) has been dominated by a male North American professional
elite committed to predominantly quantitative methods. A post-
modern approach would abandon the idea of a unitary study with a
consensus on methods and encourage greater use of writing by a
global network of excluded and non-professional groups (Gibbins and
Reiner, 1999: 167–178).
Conclusion
In looking at work by writers on politics, the important question is
not so much if they employ some methodological orthodoxy, but
whether their methodology is appropriate, consistently applied and
helpful (Box 1.2).
BOX 1.2 ASSESSING THE USE OF METHODOLOGY
IN POLITICS
There is good work published by writers of all persuasions.
Conversely some authors seem only to look for evidence supportive
of their theoretical assumptions. In the present state of knowledge, it
will often be found that a combination of insights derived from
different approaches often throws the most light on an issue.
Recommended reading
Crick, Bernard, 2000, In Defence of Politics, 5th edn, London, Con-
tinuum International.
POLITICS 23Is the approach employed appropriate to the problem in hand?
Are theories, concepts and models clearly defined and consistently
applied?
Are theoretical assumptions distinguished from empirically estab-
lished conclusions?
Is ALL the evidence on the issues examined?