David Easton – författare

First Published in 1990, The Analysis of Political Structure is a major work of theory by one of our leading political scientists. David Easton here comes to grips with the nature of political structure, the way in which a political system is organized for making decisions, or its regime. Current methodologies within political science have failed to anticipate regime changes. We know little about the conditions for the emergence, maintenance, or decline of democratic or authoritarian types of regime structures. For example, the changes in Eastern Europe have come as a complete surprise. This liability to predict is, Easton argues, in part due to the limitations of the decompositional research typical of political science. Easton applies a method informed by theories of structuralism to the largely untouched field of political analysis. He takes a holistic systems analysis approach in place of predominant decompositional methods and argues that the organizational structure of political systems decides the forms regimes take.

To support his case, Easton notably engages the work of Nicos Poulantzas, a leading structural Althusserian Marxist. He shows how Poulantzas’ work supports the new statist movement, which fails to account for the variety of forms of regimes. This is a must read for students and scholars of political science.

First Published in 1990, The Analysis of Political Structure is a major work of theory by one of our leading political scientists. David Easton here comes to grips with the nature of political structure, the way in which a political system is organized for making decisions, or its regime. Current methodologies within political science have failed to anticipate regime changes. We know little about the conditions for the emergence, maintenance, or decline of democratic or authoritarian types of regime structures. For example, the changes in Eastern Europe have come as a complete surprise. This liability to predict is, Easton argues, in part due to the limitations of the decompositional research typical of political science. Easton applies a method informed by theories of structuralism to the largely untouched field of political analysis. He takes a holistic systems analysis approach in place of predominant decompositional methods and argues that the organizational structure of political systems decides the forms regimes take.

To support his case, Easton notably engages the work of Nicos Poulantzas, a leading structural Althusserian Marxist. He shows how Poulantzas’ work supports the new statist movement, which fails to account for the variety of forms of regimes. This is a must read for students and scholars of political science.

In recent years the history of political science has become recognised as an important but neglected area of study. The Development of Political Science is the first comprehensive discussion of the subject in a comparative international perspective.

Offering a wide-ranging account of the development of the subject and its dissemination across national borders and cultural divides, the book begins with a study of the historiography of the discipline in the United States, a country which has been at the forefront of the field. Widening its discussion to emphasise Western Europe as a focus for comparison, the contributors provide studies of further areas of interest such as China and Africa. This particular approach emphasises the book''s vision of political science as a growing transnational body of knowledge.

In presenting critical analysis of the state of the field, this vigorous study aims to further the development of the discipline in the countries discussed, and to provide a work that is interesting not only to political scientists, but to all those concerned with the development of the social sciences.

In recent years the history of political science has become recognised as an important but neglected area of study. The Development of Political Science is the first comprehensive discussion of the subject in a comparative international perspective.

Offering a wide-ranging account of the development of the subject and its dissemination across national borders and cultural divides, the book begins with a study of the historiography of the discipline in the United States, a country which has been at the forefront of the field. Widening its discussion to emphasise Western Europe as a focus for comparison, the contributors provide studies of further areas of interest such as China and Africa. This particular approach emphasises the book''s vision of political science as a growing transnational body of knowledge.

In presenting critical analysis of the state of the field, this vigorous study aims to further the development of the discipline in the countries discussed, and to provide a work that is interesting not only to political scientists, but to all those concerned with the development of the social sciences.