Ideologies and Political Change

At several points in our discussion of the political process, we have noted the importance of political ideas. Indeed, the first steps in the development of the study of politics were motivated by the desire to find the ‘best system of government’. 1 Constantly the problem of evaluation and the difficulty of scientific objectivity have been of supreme importance in the practice and the study of politics. The relationship between the political process and political ideas can be seen at various levels: it can be seen in the nature of the rules that regulate the political process; in the influence that these ideas have on the policies of governments; in the political motivation of individuals in the political system; in the methods of studying politics and the political values of the students of politics. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.