This essay forwards situational analysis as the model of explanation most appropriate for an
adequate reflective understanding of political science. It keeps centermost our concerns with …

To venture into explanation of political action we need some map of our basic options: what
kinds of explanations are out there? Even advanced students and scholars can find the …

In this concise but wide-ranging text, Alan Zuckerman introduces the reader to the various
approaches to political explanation. He shows how researchers espousing different …

This original account of the role of philosophy and methodology in political science gets
back to the basics of studying politics. Cutting through long-standing controversies across …

Should the social sciences focus more than they now do on solving real (explanatory)
problems and less on developing methodologies or pursuing methodological programs …

Good sociology takes history seriously. Good political sociology, however, takes more than
political history seriously. If political sociology is to escape from the cramped prison of the …

The subdiscipline of political theory and political philosophy continues to suffer some
misunderstanding within political science as a whole. Notwithstanding its renaissance in the …

Une of the most interesting characteristics of American politi-cal science is the extent to
which this discipline has insulated itself from contemporary philosophy and especially from …

This chapter presents a set of approaches to systematic explanation of specific empirical
political and social phenomena. These approaches strive to create theoretical …

The concept of 'explanation'has attracted considerable attention in the social sciences, and
particularly within political science. However, scholars are not always familiar with what …