THE IDEOLOGICAL FUNCTIONALITY OF AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE: THE

Abstract

The comprehension of political development was produced in the aftermath of World War II, particularly in American political science, and then achieved to have a dominant position in the extant literature. This dominant position, lasted until the 1970's, is conditional to historical circumstances created by the Cold War. In this historical process, theoretical and methodological changes undergone in disciplines of social sciences heavily influenced American political science. In the study, it is aimed to make a critical evaluation towards American political science by questioning the theoretical and methodological perceptions, mostly developed under positivism. In conclusion it is argued that American political science has acquired a very functionality based on dimension which has been questioned by itself.

C1 [Turkbay, Rezzan Ayhan] Pamukkale Univ, Iktisadi & Idari Bilimler Fak, Denizli, Turkey.