Journal•ISSN: 0263-3957
Politics
SAGE Publishing
About: Politics is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Politics & Democracy. It has an ISSN identifier of 0263-3957. Over the lifetime, 1737 publications have been published receiving 16688 citations.
Topics: Politics, Democracy, Government, Voting, State (polity)
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an accessible way of introducing students to the key generic terms of social science research, such as the gene, the gene expression, and the gene pool.
Abstract: The aim of this article is twofold: first, to present an accessible way of introducing students to the key generic terms of social science research. There is an obvious need for clarifying the gene...
537 citations
TL;DR: Policy transfer is a dynamic whereby knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements or institutions is used across time or space in the development of policies and administrative arrangements and institutions elsewhere as discussed by the authors. But policy transfer is not a static process.
Abstract: An area of recent interest in the International Relations and Comparative Politics literature concerns ‘policy transfer’. This is a dynamic whereby knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements or institutions is used across time or space in the development of policies, administrative arrangements and institutions elsewhere. Policy transfer is deemed to be on the increase in an era of globalisation. Indeed, some governments and international organisations are proactive in promoting harmonisation and convergence or exporting policy lessons. This paper surveys the state of the burgeoning literature, identifies some methodological issues in studying policy transfer, and outlines some additional routes of research.
437 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the author's own recent experience of interviewing a number of top civil servants, both serving and retired, was used to introduce some of the issues involved in elite interviewing to researchers new to the use of the technique.
Abstract: Interviews are one of the major tools in qualitative research, although there is a limited literature on the subject of interviewing generally and elite interviewing particularly. The aim of this article is to introduce some of the issues involved in elite interviewing to researchers new to the use of the technique. Emphasis is also placed on the need for the interviewer to know his/her subject thoroughly, and to be prepared to be flexible in an interview situation. The information is based on the author's own recent experience of interviewing a number of top civil servants, both serving and retired.
408 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted interviews with a wide range of political actors to understand the motivations and activity of those involved in the political process and found that what information one can glean may not always serve the purpose that was originally intended.
Abstract: Conducting interviews can be a fundamentally important part of a research project that analyses the motivations and activity of those within the political process. However the logistics of interviewing are fraught with a number of serious obstacles and what information one can glean may not always serve the purpose that was originally intended. This article offers some observations gathered from conducting interviews with a wide range of political actors which is intended to help prepare all those considering interviewing for the first time.
275 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the difficulties with both the theoretical content and application of the concept of path dependence in political studies, but suggests that, by combining it with insights from morphogenetic social theory, they can provide a coherent framework for its use.
Abstract: This article explores the difficulties with both the theoretical content and application of the concept of ‘path dependence’ in political studies, but suggests that, by combining it with insights from morphogenetic social theory, we can provide a coherent framework for its use. After providing a brief survey of the literature on path dependence, it presents a summary of the most significant criticisms made of the approach. The article then moves on to examine morphogenetic social theory and its potential to meet these criticisms before concluding by characterising the elements of a path-dependent system incorporating insights from both new institutionalism and morphogenetic social theory.
211 citations