Ideas and Politics in Social Science Research (Paperback)

Robert Henry Cox

ISBN 10: 0199736871 / ISBN 13: 9780199736874

Published by Oxford University Press Inc, New York, 2011

Paperback. Writing about ideas, John Maynard Keynes noted that they are "more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else." One would expect, therefore, that political science--a discipline that focuses specifically on the nature of power--would have a healthy respect for the role of ideas. However, for a variety of reasons--not least of which is the influence of rational choice theory, which presumes that individuals are self-maximizingrational actors--this is not the case, and the literature on the topic is fairly thin. As the stellar cast of contributors to this volume show, ideas are in fact powerful shapers of political and sociallife. In Ideas and Politics in Social Science Research, Daniel Beland and Robert Henry Cox have gathered leading scholars from a variety of subdisciplines in political science and sociology to provide a general overview of the theoretical, empirical, and methodological issues raised by social science research on ideas and politics. Throughout, they hone in on three central questions. What is the theoretical basis for studying ideas in politics? What arethe best methods? What sort of empirical puzzles can be solved by examining ideas and related phenomena such as discourse, policy paradigms, and framing processes? In sum, this is a state-of-the-art academic work onboth the role of ideas in politics and the analytical utility that derives from studying them. This volume surveys the resurgence of the social scientific study of ideas in politics. Daniel Beland and Robert Henry Cox's edited volume gathers leading scholars from a variety of subdisciplines in political science and sociology to provide a general overview of the theoretical, empirical, and methodological issues raised by social science research on ideas and politics. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780199736874

Synopsis:

Writing about ideas, John Maynard Keynes noted that they are "more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else." One would expect, therefore, that political science--a discipline that focuses specifically on the nature of power--would have a healthy respect for the role of ideas. However, for a variety of reasons--not least of which is the influence of rational choice theory, which presumes that individuals are self-maximizing rational actors--this is not the case, and the literature on the topic is fairly thin. As the stellar cast of contributors to this volume show, ideas are in fact powerful shapers of political and social life.

In Ideas and Politics in Social Science Research, Daniel Béland and Robert Henry Cox have gathered leading scholars from a variety of subdisciplines in political science and sociology to provide a general overview of the theoretical, empirical, and methodological issues raised by social science research on ideas and politics. Throughout, they hone in on three central questions. What is the theoretical basis for studying ideas in politics? What are the best methods? What sort of empirical puzzles can be solved by examining ideas and related phenomena such as discourse, policy paradigms, and framing processes? In sum, this is a state-of-the-art academic work on both the role of ideas in politics and the analytical utility that derives from studying them.

About the Author: Daniel Béland is Canada Research Chair in Public Policy and Professor at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan campus.

Robert Henry Cox is Professor of European Studies and Political Science and Co-Director of the European Union Center at the University of Oklahoma.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Ideas and Politics in Social Science ...
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, New York
Publication Date: 2011
Binding: Paperback
Condition: new