The Problem of Method in Political Theory

Öz

This article focuses on the problem of methodology in political theory and employs a self-narrative approach to explore how the discipline’s lack of explicit engagement with method poses challenges for both new students and established scholars in the field. Rather than being a method-oriented study in the traditional sense, the article is a reflexive, narrative-oriented examination of the problem of method within political theory itself. Drawing on a personal experience during my MA in the History of Political Thought, I examine political theory’s longstanding reluctance to confront and critically assess the methodological tools that underlie its own research practices, as well as the intellectual and pedagogical consequences of this reluctance. I argue that this tendency arises from several interrelated factors, and that it ultimately reflects political theory’s failure to apply critical thinking—one of the discipline’s defining features—to its own methodological foundations. Finally, I call for a more sustained and reflexive approach that foregrounds methodological awareness in political theory, contending that such an approach could move the discipline beyond its closed “dialogue of the deaf” and toward more productive interdisciplinary engagement.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Political theory
• Methodology
• Self-reflexivity
• Methodological reflexivity

Siyaset Teorisinde Yöntem Sorunu

Öz

Bu makale, siyaset teorisindeki metodoloji sorunu üzerine eğilmekte ve disiplinin yöntemle açık bir şekilde ilgilenmemesinin alana hem yeni gelen öğrenciler hem de yerleşik akademisyenler için ne türden zorluklar teşkil ettiğini öz-anlatı yaklaşımını kullanarak araştırmaktadır. Makale, geleneksel anlamıyla yöntem-odaklı bir çalışma olmaktan ziyade siyaset teorisinin kendi içindeki yöntem sorununun düşünümsel ve anlatı-odaklı bir incelemesidir. Siyasal Düşünce Tarihi alanında yüksek lisans yaptığım esnada yaşadığım kişisel bir deneyimden yola çıkarak, siyaset teorisinin kendi araştırma pratiğinin temelini oluşturan metodolojik araçlarla yüzleşmek ve bunları eleştirel bir şekilde değerlendirmek konusunda uzun süredir gösterdiği isteksizliği ve bu isteksizliğin entelektüel ve pedagojik sonuçlarını inceliyorum. Bu eğilimin birbiriyle ilişkili birkaç faktörden kaynaklandığını ve nihayetinde siyaset teorisinin, disiplinin belirleyici özelliklerinden biri olan eleştirel düşünceyi kendi metodolojik temellerine uygulamadaki başarısızlığını yansıttığını savunuyorum. Son olarak, siyaset teorisinde metodolojik farkındalığı ön plana çıkaran daha sürdürülebilir ve refleksif bir yaklaşım çağrısında bulunuyorum ve böyle bir yaklaşımın, disiplini içe kapalı “sağırlar diyaloğu”ndan çıkarıp daha üretken bir disiplinler arası etkileşime doğru taşıyabileceğini savunuyorum.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Siyaset teorisi
• Metodoloji
• Öz-düşünümsellik
• Metodolojik düşünümsellik

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