The Application of Political Science Methods in Europe : A Multifaceted Dilemma

This book attempts to provide the first comprehensive description of the complexity and comparative homogeneity of political science methods in Europe today. It deals with the present (and future) of political science methods in Europe in order to explore a multifaceted dilemma concerning not only the prospects for the profession, but also political scientists’ ability to do their part in empowering supranational integration and democracy. Thus, the book offers a broad analytical reflection on the changing ways that political scientists use “methods” and “methodological tools” in their daily work. It examines the evolution of processes regarding the standardization and dissemination of a reliable methodological inventory and invites readers to foster a methodological pluralism and improve the quality of methods available to the community of political science scholars. In order to do so, it analyzes the development of European Political Science since the turn of the 21st century from the particular angle of the sensibility for questions of methods. In a nutshell, the common denominator of all chapters is the evolution of the “toolkit” available to political scientists, since they show that the methodological sensibility and specific methodological instruments have since spread across countries, disciplines, and generations of scholars.