The Logics of Comparative Politics and the Development of Political Science in China

Abstract

The discussion about political science development in China is an important and timely subject. Political science as a social science field was reestablished in China 20 some years ago. It is high time to evaluate the development of this discipline and look at the future of political science in China. This article attempts to discuss the debate about “indigenizing political science in China” (中国政治学本土化) from the logic of comparative politics. I believe that the phrase “indigenizing political science in China” is misleading at best and destructive to political science development in China at worst. Scholars who push for this effort may have good intentions but are misguided. We have not heard Chinese physicists talking about “indigenizing the study of physics in China” or Chinese mathematicians discussing “making mathematics more Chinese”. The reason is simple: science is universal and does not vary depending on the country. I also disagree with the phrase “Chinese political science should be connected to the world” (中国政治学与世界接轨), since the word “world” is very ambiguous. I favor the phrase “making political science study in China more scientific” (中国政治研究与科学接轨). What this phrase means is that, when we study political phenomena in China, we need to study casual relationships by using the appropriate scientific methods and employing social science theories and relate our findings back to theories. We should not be content in simply describing political events, institutions and behavior. In other words, political science study in China should move out of the shadow of a country study or a regional study and should become truly a comparativestudy.