Radical Approaches to Political Science: Roads Less Traveled

This ground breaking volume offers a range of alternative approaches to political science, highlighting problems too rarely confronted by "mainstream" political scientists. Ranging from Gunfighter Sagas to the changing faces of an imaginary Mars, the innovative chapters introduce whole new ways of rethinking politics, stirring up the all too conventional ways of the discipline. "Klaus von Beyme, one of the most erudite members of our profession, in his introduction conclusively demonstrates the book's crossdisciplinary merits. I believe this valuable work will be a powerful boost to an international, comparatively informed, pluralist political science." Theodore J. Lowi (Cornell University), former President, International Political Science Association

About the Author :
Prof. Dr. Rainer Eisfeld is Professor emeritus of Political Science at the Osnabrück University, Germany. He taught at UCLA as a Visiting Professor.

Review :
Der Autor, der selbst der Frankfurter Schule entstammt, fordert eine normative Politikwissenschaft und eine häufigere Anwendung der Kritischen Theorie. Er wirft seinen Kollegen vor, dass sie zu häufig die Perspektive der Mächtigen statt die der Bürgerinnen und Bürger einnehmen. Erst wenn sich das ändere, werde die Politikwissenschaft auch wieder gesellschaftliche Resonanz finden. Neben mehr Inter- und Transdisziplinarität ist Eisfeld auch die sozio-historische Perspektive wichtig. Das zeigt sich unter anderem in Texten, in denen er etwa die westlichen Einflüsse auf die portugiesische Nelkenrevolution untersucht oder, in die Zukunft gerichtet, beschreibt, wie sich gesellschaftliche Vorstellungen früher und heute auf eine mögliche Besiedelung des Planeten Mars projizierten. Damit zeigt er anschaulich die Möglichkeiten, die sich der Politologie abseits der Mainstreamthemen bieten. PW-Portal.de, 20.03.2014  The collection is a very good example of old fashioned socio-historic research that will leave the reader with the good feeling of having learned something interesting and being able to make the connection between our hectic, new, super-modern, digital present and a past that remains relevant and informative if studied carefully and employed to contemporary challenges that often lie at the heart of international development. aidnography.blogspot.se, 25.07.2013 Radical Approaches to Political Science is a unique collection of essays which is of value not only to any political scientist sensitive to political phenomena and their developments, but also or perhaps primarily, to all those who in their academic work find room for methodological reflection with regards to the state of our discipline. It is this kind of awareness that affords us the avoidance of such pitfalls as excessive descriptiveness and aim at what Eisfeld propagates throughout the book: becoming critical thinkers. By doing so, we can master the science of democracy. Polish Political Science Review 01/2013 Eisfeld's ambitious engagement with the subject matter casts light upon new and alternative approaches in terms of reshaping political science with 21st century relevance, the creation of a discipline with a heightened regional scope, and the adoption of flexible new frameworks that are of service to pluralism and the changing nature of democratic governance. Inherent within the chapters are chords of critical political theory, factors of diversity and convergence, private and public interest amid an environment of anti-democratic thought, ideological dimensions of violence within culture, frontier myth, as well as transitions toward democracy within the Western Europe sphere. As such, the volume features a rich blend of traditional practices and perceptions, radical interpretation, historical dynamism, societal conflict, and power relations that cut across conventional boundaries from being both interdisciplinary and anti-disciplinary in critical thought and expression. CEU Political Science Journal 1/2013 This very comprehensive volume offers a range of alternative approaches to political science, highlighting problems too rarely confronted by mainstream political scientists. MILTECH 9/2012 Rainer Eisfeld is to link political science to the sovereignty of citizens and improve human condition. Future political scientists will admire his priorities on nature, pluralism, participation, justice, peace and transformation as they will be important factors for human progress and help recover political science from its loss of vision. The interdisciplinary insight makes the book rich in contents. nepalpolity.blogspot.de, 06.08.2012 "Klaus von Beyme, one of the most erudite members of our profession, in his introduction conclusively demonstrates the book's cross-disciplinary merits. I believe this valuable work will be a powerful boost to an international, comparatively informed, pluralist political science.” Theodore J. Lowi (Cornell University), former President, International Political Science Association "Rainer Eisfeld is a rather unorthodox political scientist..." Klaus von Beyme