Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 4-2016 The Behavioral Revolution in Contemporary Political Science: Narrative, Identity, Practice Joshua R. Berkenpas Western Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Political Science Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation Berkenpas, Joshua R., "The Behavioral Revolution in Contemporary Political Science: Narrative, Identity, Practice" (2016). Dissertations. 1427. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1427 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE BEHAVIORAL REVOLUTION IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL SCIENCE: NARRATIVE, IDENTITY, PRACTICE by Joshua R. Berkenpas A dissertation submitted to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Political Science Western Michigan University April 2016 Doctoral Committee: Emily Hauptmann, Ph.D., Chair John Clark, Ph.D. J. Kevin Corder, Ph.D. John G. Gunnell, Ph.D. THE BEHAVIORAL REVOLUTION IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL SCIENCE: NARRATIVE, IDENTITY, MYTHOLOGY Joshua R. Berkenpas, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2016 The behavioral revolution of the 1950s and early 1960s is a foundational moment in the history of political science and is widely considered to be a time in when the discipline shed its traditional roots by embracing its identity as a modern social science. This dissertation examines reference works published between 1980 and 2012 in order to gauge the contemporary significance of the behavioral revolution. The behavioral revolution is discussed in many foundation narratives throughout reference works like dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks. After sixty years, why does the behavioral revolution still figure centrally in the way political scientists remember their discipline’s past? I answer this question by developing a political theory of mythology that focuses on the nexus between narratives, identities, and practices in communities like academic political science. This mythological nexus provides significance to identities and practices through the repetition of narrative elements centered on the story of the behavioral revolution. I analyze the narrative context of each mention of the behavioral revolution in reference works, discuss how they answer a need for significance, and show how they provide models for practice in a community. The dominance of practices in political science like quantitative analysis stem from professional identities that are shaped by the repetition of narratives about the behavioral revolution. The behavioral revolution mythology also works to marginalize political scientists whose identity and preferred practices are more in-line with humanistic disciplines like history or philosophy. A political theory of mythology makes it possible to understand why narratives about the behavioral revolution continue to be central to identities and practices and may shed new light on how political science can embrace the plurality fostered by its disciplinary mythology. Copyright by Joshua R. Berkenpas 2016 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writing of this dissertation has been a Heraklean task. Like the gods and goddesses who helped Herakles complete his labors, the advice of my advisers proved essential to the task of finishing this dissertation. Most important among these advisers is Emily Hauptmann, the chair of my dissertation committee, and my long- term adviser on all things academic. Without Dr. Hauptmann as my guide through the purgatory of proposal drafting and dissertation writing, I would never have been able to commence much less complete this journey. The advice of Kevin Corder, another member of the dissertation committee, proved to come at a pivotal stage in the proposal writing process. It was Dr. Corder’s advice that pushed me from a diachronic to a synchronic perspective, which ultimately made it possible to develop the political theory of mythology presented in this dissertation. John Clark also served on the dissertation committee and while less hands on during the writing process, his imagined feedback helped structure the work presented here. Above all, Dr. Clark’s role as ‘conscientious objector’ pushed me to keep this dissertation grounded in the realities of contemporary political science and stay alert to the significant ways that the discipline changed after the behavioral revolution. Lastly, my outside committee member is the eminent political theorist and disciplinary historian John G. Gunnell. Dr. Gunnell’s work has been an inspiration for my own and his influence is evident throughout the dissertation. His quick responses to my emails and his deep insight ii Acknowledgments – Continued into the history of political science was an important asset throughout the dissertation writing process. Word cannot adequately express my gratitude for the steadfast love and support of my family during the period I wrote my dissertation. Their confidence in my ability to finish was unwavering; despite the occasional ribbing, “You’re not done with that yet” or “When are you going be done anyway?” I thank my mother Nancy, my sister Rachael, my sister Sarah, her husband Cheick, their daughter Wilhelmina, my brother David and his son Noah. It is also a pleasure to thank my wife Erin for her ardent support over the period I wrote this dissertation. Erin cheerfully read drafts of chapters and her feedback is evident in many of the chapters that follow. Erin was a consistent beacon of joy, even in what could be a gloomy day in the epic journey of dissertation writing. Finally, I offer a mūthos for baby Berkenpas who will join our family soon: May you live a life of philosophia.and wonder. Joshua R. Berkenpas iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 The Behavioral Revolution Mythology and Disciplinary Identity ...... 1 The Behavioral Revolution in the Discourse of the Discipline ........... 5 “Discursive Object,” History, Mythology ................................... 21 Selection Criteria for Reference Materials .......................................... 28 A Political Theory of Mythology ........................................................ 36 The Mythological Nexus.............................................................. 39 Mythology as Authoritative Speech .................................... 41 Narrative, Identity, and Mythology ...................................... 43 The Narrative Context ................................................................. 45 The Subfield Context ........................................................... 46 The Referents to the Behavioral Revolution ........................ 47 Referents and Tropes ............................................................ 52 The Thematic Context .......................................................... 53 Mythological Analysis of the Behavioral Revolution: An Example ............................................................................................... 58 The Narrative Context ................................................................. 59 iv Table of Contents – Continued CHAPTER The Mythological Nexus ............................................................. 60 Chapter Overview of Dissertation ....................................................... 62 II. A POLITICAL THEORY OF MYTHOLOGY .......................................... 69 Introduction ......................................................................................... 69 Meanings of Myth and Mythology: The Passage from Mūthos to Logos ................................................................................................... 72 The Poets ...................................................................................... 73 The Historians .............................................................................. 78 The Philosophers .......................................................................... 81 Logos Opposed to Mūthos .................................................... 82 Mūthos as the Plot of a Tragedy ........................................... 84 Mūthos as Authoritative Speech ................................................. 85 The Mythological Nexus and the Spartan Herakles Mythology ......... 88 The Narrative Dimension ............................................................ 91 The Dimension of Identity .......................................................... 95 The Practical Dimension ............................................................. 98 Political Mythology and the Behavioral Revolution ........................... 102 III. THE BEHAVIORAL REVOLUTION MYTHOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY DICTIONARIES ..................................................... 110 Authoritativeness and the Prescriptive Force of Mythology ..............