Introduction: the History of This Book

Abstract

This book has been written despite an initially mistaken hypothesis and an adverse socio-political context. This is probably not the most attractive way of presenting a new publication, because it might provoke reasonable doubts concerning the intellectual ability of the author, who instead of commenting on his own errors should rather underline the correctness and validity of his hypothesis and arguments. Yet, the particular history of this book should be mentioned for two reasons: firstly, because it has influenced its content, and secondly, because it is a good example of the complicated relationship between (social) science and politics and of the problem of how to ensure a minimum of scientific objectivity and rigour in the work of an academic, if his or her research is carried out under the more or less direct impact of politics.