Qn. 18: Examine the significance of Behavioural Revolution in politics. (2011/I/2b/30)
The behavioural revolution in politics was the advent of a modern political methodology, as a protest movement, according to Dahl, to compensate for the perceived deficiencies of traditional approaches.
Behaviouralism inculcated scientific research methods for political analysis. Its significance can be said to be that behavioural revolution was an essential segment in the evolutionary continuum of political analysis.
The significance of behavioural revolution was that it arrived as the remedy for crisis in politics. This is the flashpoint of the behavioural revolution. But its roots can be traced to the rise of empiricism (or pre–behaviouralism). Locke, the founder of empiricism, presented parliamentary ideology on basis of empiricism. Pluralist thinkers (Mill, Laski etc.) developed it. Weber, Marx, Wallace, Durkheim and Bentley furthered it. Also, there was a vacuum created in political science due to the ineffectiveness of traditional approaches felt during war-time political events. Traditional normative theories were accused to being divorced from reality and propounding armchair theories while sitting in ‘ivory towers’ (Easton). Charles Merriam, father of behaviouralism, accused historical methodologists of ignoring psychological, social and economic factors. Catlin called for value-free pure social science. In response to all this, the behavioural revolution began as the necessary intervention.
The significance of behaviouralism was highlighted by the American political scientists (mainly Chicago School). American capitalists (Carnegie, Rockefeller etc.) funded social science research which further fuelled the revolution. Thus, revolutionary scientific research methods were installed in political science. Through scientific methods of surveying, sampling, interviewing etc, the actual behaviour of political actors was sought to be known. The inquiry was for pure knowledge and theory, through micro-level analysis, value neutrality and understanding status quo. Prominent behavioural revolutionaries were Easton, Almond, Dahl, Laswell, and Rice. David Easton gave eight intellectual foundation stones of the behavioural approach, which included: (1) Regularities; (2) Verification; (3) Techniques; (4) Quantification; (5) Value-neutrality; (6) Systematisation; (7) Pure Science; and (8) Integration.
Behaviouralism was significant in contributing to future developments. Later, neo- or post- behaviouralism emerged to replace behaviouralism as the latter had stretched too far in purifying techniques, pursuing social preservation and undermining philosophy. ‘Credo of relevance’ was called for (Easton). Content and applicability were refocused on, without abandoning scientific methods, to foster essential political and social changes.
Thus, it can be epitomised that the behavioural revolution was a significant stage in the evolutionary continuum of political theory-building. Behaviouralism, by itself, was not sufficient but was necessary.