Abstract
This article attempts to discuss the debate about “indigenizing political science in China” from the logic of comparative politics. The author believes that the phrase “indigenizing political science in China” is misleading at best and destructive to political science development in China at worst. The logic of comparative politics is the same as other comparative social sciences: namely, it is the process of replacing proper names and treating tempo and spatial factors as potential variables contributing to the explanation of political phenomena. As social scientists, we should not be content in using “local Chinese conditions” or “special Chinese cultural factors” to explain political behavior and phenomena in China. Instead, we should decompose the “special Chinese conditions” and “cultural factors” for the deeper meaning of these conditions and factors so that we can conceptualize and elevate these conditions and factors to a theoretical level. In short, the author favors making political science study in China more scientific and argues that the future of political science studies in China lies in replacing the proper name “China” or “Chinese”.
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Notes
See Neumann [1].
See Wiarda [2].
See, for example, Friedrich and Brzezinski [3].
See Almond [5].
See Almond and Verba [7].
See Howard Wiarda, “Comparative Politics: Past and Present,” p. 4.
See Zhong and Wu [11].
Adam Przeworski and Henry Teune, The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry.
Sigelman and Gadbois [13].
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Zhong, Y. The Logic of Comparative Politics and the Development of Political Science in China. J OF CHIN POLIT SCI 14, 335–342 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-009-9068-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-009-9068-4