Resumen

MONSIVAIS C., Alejandro. De convergencias necesarias: teoría política normativa e investigación empírica. Intersticios sociales [online]. 2013, n.6, pp.1-28. ISSN 2007-4964.

The aim of this paper is to advocate a more open and active dialogue between political theory and the empirical study of politics. I will argue that activities that are common in political theory such as concept analysis and normative reconstruction are also necessary in political science research. This statement contrasts with the assumption that political theory and political science are two parallel but distinctly separate fields. To such a view, while political science follows the norms of social science research, political theory is a field of knowledge that properly belongs to humanities. I will state my argument, first, by showing that there are no restrictions to normative theory in the empirical analysis of politics, as long as we count on a non-empiricist conception of social science. Then, I will discuss the conditions that are to be met for political theory to be considered consequential to political science. I will illustrate my point with reference to contemporary debates in the theory of democracy. There are several research agendas in the study of democracy where normative debates coincide with empirical questions. The final section of this paper will comment on issues such as the study of political regimes, citizenship, political participation, the nature of public decisions, the quality of democracy, and participatory innovations in governance.

Palabras llave : Social Science; Political Theory; Political Science; Normative Theory; Methodology; Democracy.

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