About
When it comes to politics everybody has an opinion, and as a result there are many blogs already dedicated to discussing current political issues with an incredibly variety of perspectives. It is commonly forgotten that there are also genuine students of politics, those who attempt to understand these issues through an academic lens in the field called Political Science. Sadly, in most bookstores that I have seen where there is a “Political Science” section, it is simply full of partisan nonsense by everybody from Bill O’Reilly to Al Franken. While such writing can occasionally have entertainment value, it is certainly not at all scientific.
Of course, many academics are happy to live in their little bubble isolated from society as a whole, and so the rift between popular culture and academia has both sides to blame. Political Science, like any academic discipline, can be criticized as being too abstract and disconnected from practical issues. While we high-mindedly study the causes of war and peace, it’s the actual politicians and policy makers who decide the course of humanity. Though a few PhD’s work their way into think-tanks and the like, the vast majority spend their time writing admittedly erudite but ultimately insignificant (as far as the greater public is concerned) articles in scholarly journals.
The purpose of this site is to bridge this gap, filling a niche both in popular society and academia. The goal is to use and discuss concepts and theories from Political Science, as an academic discipline, but to also apply them to current events. By considering scholarly ideas in the context of practical issues, both the academic and the layman will have plenty of room to participate and contribute, and hopefully both will benefit as well. Personally, I hope that this endeavor helps keep me grounded in the real world as I pursue my own studies. Ideally, it will also serve to enlighten and bring together others on both “sides” of this particular cultural divide.
So with this “mission statement” in mind, I invite any and all interested to contribute and join in the discussion. All entries allow for comments, and if you are interested in writing actual entries then I encourage you to register an account (make sure to provide a legitimate email address and I will get in touch with you shortly). Another advantage to registering an account is once you are logged in you no longer need to provide your information when you make comments.
You need not be a scholar to participate in this website, but I encourage you to check out the list of reading suggestions in order to help gain a grasp on the established academic views on pertinent topics. Of course if you are a political scientist you are quite welcome to contribute as well, and if you have any interest in pursuing some formal academic idea based on discussion here then let me know. And lastly, as long as your participation is in the spirit of the purpose discussed above then there shouldn’t be any issues, but just in case I encourage you to check out the Guidelines page to avoid any future confusion.
If you like this site then I would be very appreciative if you tell people you know about it and continue to visit and participate. If you have your own website or blog then I would certainly appreciate if you add a link to my site (and if you let me know I’ll likely reciprocate). And if you just feel like talking about something and there isn’t an appropriate thead for it on the front page, I encourage you to use the open discussion page (this is also a good way to just get in touch with me if you want to). And that, as they say, is that. Thank you for visiting, and I hope you enjoy Polisci Applied!
