Political Science and Political History

Abstract

This chapter offers an overview over the relationship between political science and political history after the Second World War. The pioneers of the contemporary politics in the 1960s and 1970s had sufficient historical perspectives, as they developed a general theory from the observation of the historical phenomenon. However, the divergence between political science and history has progressively grown. On the one hand, political science had gradually lost its historical perspective in the name of “scientification.” On the other hand, when “the end of history” was widely publicised coinciding with the conclusion of the Cold War, political history as a subfield of political science seemed to lose its significance and relevancy. In the 21st century, authoritarianism is far from disappearing and liberal democracy is disturbed. In other words, the time of crisis has returned. This chapter explores the possibility of a new integral approach combining political science and political history, particularly in light of the current political context being characterised by the resurgence of authoritarianism. In order to grasp the current historical phase of politics, an integral approach is needed, which builds bridges between the study of contemporary politics and political history.