Political science as a UNESCO project. To the 75th anniversary of the international conference on “Methods in political science”

Abstract

The article analyzes the UNESCO activities in the implementation of the research project “Methods in political science” in the first years after the end of World War II. The project realization resulted in recognizing political science as an independent discipline by the world academic community. One of the key events during the work on the project was the holding of the international conference on “Methods in political science” in September 1948 in Paris. The participants of this conference reached a fundamental agreement on the content of the scope of the emerging discipline, while noting, however, that the list of subjects does not claim to be exhaustive completeness or strict logic. As shown by the reference to archival documents copies posted on the UNESCO website, subsequently the above list underwent certain adjustments, but, nevertheless, it became the basis for further fruitful cooperation between scientists and specialists from different countries involved in the study of various aspects of social and political reality. The conference also formed a Preparatory Committee to convene and organize the work of the Founding Conference of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), which took place exactly a year later, in September 1949.