¿La ciencia política entiende la política?

A los que leen francés, les recomiendo el blog "Polit’bistro: des politiques, du café. Un blog de doctorants en science politique".

http://politbistro.hypotheses.org/

Allí se recomienda ver la revista European Political Science, en cuyo último número se discute la pregunta "La science politique interprète-t-elle correctement la politique?"

http://politbistro.hypotheses.org/103

Ver por ejemplo:

A Political Scientist's Experience in the Real World of Politics
Nils Muiznieks
Advanced Social and Political Research Institute, University of Latvia

Abstract
Doctoral candidates in political science have a universe of potential career options to choose from. These include not only academia, but also the non-governmental sector, political consulting, and government work. When I obtained my doctoral degree in 1993, little did I imagine that within fifteen years I would have tried my hand in all of these fields, including serving as a cabinet minister. In this article, I reflect on how this professional whirlwind came about, how each field helped and/or hindered the others, what these wanderings taught me about post-communist democratic politics, and particularly what lessons a political scientist learned from entering, albeit briefly, the 'real world' of politics.

Extractos:

"Studying political science had not provided any recipes for success in real-life politics. […] While I found some of the insights of social science (e.g., regarding bureaucracies, conditionality) quite useful in forging my way in real-life politics, my general impression is that political science often assumes too much rationality and that it looks for clean, parsimonious explanations of a reality that is very messy and dictated by short-term considerations".

"Observers of politics have traditionally attributed various motivations to politicians, starting from a patriotic desire to serve their country and implement ideas, to the desire for prestige, money, and raw power. However, I often sensed fear as well, especially around election time. For rank and file politicians, this was a fear of not being elected and the prospect of trying to make a living outside of politics when their professional qualifications were no longer marketable or their party affiliations severely limited career opportunities. Some of the ‘oligarchs’ undoubtedly fear that the absence of power could mean losing acquired fortunes or actually ending up in jail. However, in the ‘oligarch’ I could observe most closely, I sensed most of all a sportsman in search of the adrenalin rush of a good fight or the satisfaction of having again proved the sceptics wrong. I was quite surprised to discover that another core motivation in politics is revenge".

Se trata de un tema interesante de debate, al que ya he aludido antes. En general, quienes viven la experiencia política la viven como un vértigo imprevisible y aleatorio. Pero vista desde afuera, desde la ciencia política, en realidad las cosas no lo son tanto. Digamos que en un extremo los estructuralistas enfatizan el peso de la historia, las clases sociales, mientras que algunos políticos parecen percibir que todo es agencia y contingencia. En general, lo más sensato me parece que es buscar un plano intermedio, delineado por las instituciones políticas.