Zach Jones

Writing 2

Tym Chajdas

November 7, 2019

Political Science as a Discourse Community

The election of Donald Trump and Brexit have led to a renaissance of political discussion Deleted: and

throughout the world. While talking politics was once considered taboo, politics has now become Deleted: P

an inescapable chamber that dominates all levels of culture, social media, and the world at large. Deleted: cultural

Concurrent with this development is the increasing importance of political science as an Deleted: society as a whole.

academic discipline and discourse community. In its modern practice, political science studies Deleted:

political institutions and systems, governmental decision making, and the struggle for power over

a polity.1 Political science is an incredibly broad discipline that is explored through several Deleted: is the study of political systems, governmental
decision making, and the struggle for power over a polity
distinct but interconnected subfields including: domestic politics, comparative politics, and

international relations. Despite inherent differences within the study of each of these subfields, Deleted: Domestic politics studies institutions and decision
making within one country’s borders.2 Comparative politics
compares domestic politics across several different
they all share the same overall objective as established within the political science discipline. countries.3 International relations studies how countries
interact with one another.4
Political science seeks to establish causal theories to explain general political phenomena. It is Deleted: across countries

under this objective that the discourse community surrounding political science operates. Writing

in the discourse community typically involves an author putting forth a theory on why something

happened and then supporting their claim using specific evidence. While authors can support Deleted: with

their claims using many different conventions, the most conducive to success in the political

science discourse community are the systematic use of case studies, historical precedent, and

1
“Domestic Politics Definition and Meaning: Collins English Dictionary.” Domestic politics definition and meaning
| Collins English Dictionary. Accessed November 7, 2019.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/domestic-politics.
 Jones 2

quantitative data. The use of these three conventions help to demonstrate the reliability of the

author and establish the quality of the writing.
Writers in the political science discourse community frequently use case studies to
support their theories because of the vast amounts of information they give the reader. In the
political science discipline, case studies survey a country by examining its political regime,
institutions, electoral system, party system, and national culture. This information regarding how
Deleted: Amongst the many different conventions used in
the political science discourse community the most important
in determining the success of writers in being able to back
their theories are systematic uses of case studies, historical
precedent, and quantitative data. These three conventions
and practices separate quality writing from subpar writing
and immediately demonstrate the reliability of the piece.
Deleted: For writers in the political science discourse
community, case studies are a reliable means to support a
given theory. …
Deleted: political

a country is organized can offer profound insights into why something has occurred and provide

grounds for theories that writers can put forth. This is shown in the class of comparative politics

at the University of California Santa Barbara. This course, which compares domestic politics

across various states, is centered around using case studies to formulate and support theories

explaining different issues. In the first half of the course, students were asked to establish

theories that explained differing levels of income inequality across advanced democracies. Deleted: come up with

Students found support for their theories in the lecture teachings and the class textbook. The

textbook provided case studies for the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany as well as

additional information needed to support potential theories.5 If the information from case studies

was not cited in students writings, it would have been tremendously difficult for students to Deleted: ’s
Deleted: on their theories
adequately support their claims and theories. Case studies also add an extreme level of detail to Deleted: to adequately support one’s arguments

an author’s writing, which helps to illuminate a higher standard of writing and signals to the

reader that the author has done their research on the topic. Overall, case studies are a surefire

way for writers in the political science discourse community to support their theories.
Outside of case studies, drawing upon historical examples to support one’s theories is
another way to establish the quality of a writing within the political science discourse
Deleted: Authors in the political science discourse also add
to the level of detail in their writing by elaborating on case
studies. This illuminates a higher standard of writing and
signals to the reader that the author has done their research
on the topic.

5
ONeil, Patrick H., Karl J. Fields, and Donald Share. Cases and Concepts in Comparative Politics: an Integrated
Approach. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.
 Jones 3

community. Political science as a field of study is very unique in that one cannot simply run

experiments in attempts to explain certain phenomena, as one could with chemistry. This makes

it necessary to use historical examples to support one’s theories. The main way that political

scientists draw upon history to support their theories is by linking current phenomena with

similar historical events. This is being done currently with political science writings on the Deleted:

situation in North Korea. Many political scientists have put forth theories stating that Deleted: Take the current case of North Korea and dictator
Kim Jong Un…
appeasement will fail to get North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to denuclearize. These theories Deleted: Many political scientists have put forth theories
saying that appeasement will not stop the development of
North Korea’s military and nuclear program.
are often grounded in the history of failed appeasement with regards to Hitler’s Germany in the
Deleted: is

lead up to World War II. For example, Ralph B.A. DiMuccio and Kym-Gu Kang cite this history Deleted: y
Deleted: is
of failed appeasement in their peer-reviewed article titled The Irony of U.S. Policy Towards

North Korea where they hold the appeasement is not an adequate foreign policy strategy for the

United States to use.6 This shows how historical precedent can help political science writers

establish causal relationships and support their claims their claims in a reliable way. When a Deleted: Historical precedent is a powerful tool in
attempting to establish causal relationships and theories
regarding general phenomena.
writer cites history in support of their theory, their argument is exponentially strengthened as

history cannot be refuted. Citing historical precedent can be the difference between a strong

writing and a weak writing.
As implied in its name, political science relies on a highly scientific approach to its
studies. This scientific approach manifests itself within the discourse community through the
Deleted: When a writer in the political science discourse
community is able to connect a situation they are considering
with one from the past to support their theory, the credibility
of their theory automatically increases. Using history shows
that there are grounds for a theory, and that the writer is not
simply pulling theories out of thin air.

need to quantitatively support one’s theories. In political science, quantitative data is primarily

used to quantify the conditions within a given country. Some common data measures in political

science include GDP per capita, infant mortality rate, life expectancy, and GINI Index (a Deleted: include
Deleted: poverty rate,
measure of economic inequality). These measures and others like them make countries

6
Dimuccio, Ralph B.A, and Kym-Gu Kang. "The Irony of U.S. Policy towards North Korea." Peace Review 10, no.
2 (1998): 275-80.
 Jones 4

comparable, which is of critical importance for comparative politics. With these data measures,

political scientists are able to accurately examine why a certain phenomenon is occurring and put

forth theories that can explain the phenomena. Political scientists then use these data measures to

support their theories. Rubén Ruiz-Rufino does this in his article When do electoral institutions Deleted: Through an examination of the quantitative data
from these measures, political scientists are able to then
examine potential reasons why such phenomenon are
trigger electoral misconduct as he masterfully uses quantified data to support his claim that occurring. Political scientist

countries that are majoritarian are more likely to have electoral misconduct.7 Ruiz-Rufino

mathematically quantifies electoral misconduct and maps out this data across multiple Deleted: uses

developing democracies in order to show in what types of governmental systems electoral

misconduct is happening most often. This offers direct, irrefutable support towards his theory. As

a whole, quantitative data helps to establish the credibility of a theory as numbers cannot be

refuted. Additionally, quantitative data makes a writer’s argument as objective as possible which

reduces potential views of bias. It cannot be understated how important quantitative data is.

Without quantitative data, it would be extremely difficult to for a writer to support their theories

and be seen as credible in the political science discourse community. Deleted: and reduce views of potential bias. Quantitative
data can be the difference between a really good writing in
the political science discourse community and an average
With the rise of social media as a medium for political exchange, people are being one. …

constantly inundated with political writing. This makes it imperative to understand what Deleted: In the modern era of social media and internet,
people are inundated with political think pieces and other
political writings.
constitutes good and reliable writing in the political science discourse. For a writing to be viewed
Deleted: Thus, it is imperative

as credible in the political science discourse community, case studies, historical examples, and

quantitative data must be used. The very best of writings in the political science discourse Deleted: Some mixture of case studies, historical examples,
and quantitative data is required for any political science
writing to be seen as credible.
community will contain all three of these conventions and practices. Once one is able to

differentiate good political science writing from bad, they are then better able to understand and Deleted: between

support their own views regarding political topics, institutional foundations, and structures of

7
Ruiz-Rufino, Rubén. "When Do Electoral Institutions Trigger Electoral Misconduct?" Democratization 25, no. 2
(2018): 331-50.
 Jones 5

political interaction. In our current political landscape, political scientists should be held to a Deleted: the

high standard within the discourse community and that starts with the systematic use of these Deleted: the use
Deleted: of
three conventions.