The study of the development of political science represents a growing field. "The Development of Political Science" is the first comprehensive discussion of the subject in a comparative international perspective. The book begins with a discussion of the historiography of the discipline in the United States, the country which has been at the forefront of the field, and goes on to examine Western Europe as a focus for discussion, with studies of other areas such as China and Africa. The international approach taken here emphasizes the contributors' vision of political science as a growing transnational body of knowledge. In presenting their critical analysis of the state of the field, the contributors aim to further the study of the development of the discipline in the countries of discussion. The resulting study is one which will be of interest not only to political scientists, but to all those concerned with the development of the social sciences.

Introduction 1 The historiography of American political science 2 The development of political science: methodological problems of comparative research 3 The interaction of the state and political science in Canada: a preliminary mapping 4 Cultural and contextual constraints upon the development of political science in Great Britain 5 Political development and political science in West Germany 6 The development and institutionalization of political science in Italy 7 French political science and its 'subfields': some reflections on the intellectual organization of the discipline in relation to its historical and social situation, 8 Political science in the Nordic countries 9 Political science in contemporary Spain: an overview 10 The sociology of political science in the People's Republic of China 11 Political science in 'Anglophone' Africa: its context and developmental logic in historical perspective 12 Political science in the United States: past and present