nonpoliticalscience

Nonpoliticalscience is a coined term used to describe perspectives that study political topics without adopting explicit political aims or normative advocacy, or that examine political science as a field rather than politics as a subject. It is not a widely recognized formal discipline, and it does not appear as an established department in major universities. In some usages, nonpoliticalscience denotes meta-analysis of political science—the history, theories, and methods of the discipline itself—without proposing policy positions. In other readings, it refers to cross-disciplinary approaches that apply methods from other fields (economics, sociology, anthropology, statistics) to political questions while intentionally avoiding prescriptive political conclusions.

The scope can include the structure and functioning of political institutions, voting behavior, or public policy analysis framed in descriptive or explanatory terms rather than normative recommendations. Methods commonly associated with nonpoliticalscience include comparative case studies, large-scale data analysis, mathematical modeling, historical documentation, and qualitative theory building, employed with transparency about values and assumptions.

Reception of the term is mixed. Critics argue that politics inherently involves values and normative questions, so a strictly nonpolitical approach may be impossible or imprudent within social inquiry. Proponents contend that separating description from advocacy can clarify arguments and improve methodological rigor. Because the term is not widely used as a formal field, there are few, if any, dedicated journals or departments, and references to nonpoliticalscience typically appear in philosophical, meta-scientific, or interdisciplinary discussions.

See also: Political science, philosophy of science, social science methodology, value neutrality.