In this post, the fifth in our series celebrating the 35th year of the journal, we look at the most cited articles published by Politics from 2001-2005. We find a mixture of pedagogical, practical, and conceptual pieces, united in the common aim of seeking to transform how we understand key elements of the political.
- ‘Introducing students to the generic terminology of social research’ by Jonathan Grix which provides insight on how to best present concepts like epistemology, ontology, and methodology to students while arguing for the need to understand their ‘directional’ and logical relationship.
- ‘The potential of path dependence in political studies’ by Ian Greener which outlines the state of the art in path dependency research while arguing that morphogenetic social theory can be used to correct problems that have been identified with it.
- ‘Transition in Post‐Communist States: Triple or Quadruple?’ by Taras Kuzio which makes an argument for new means of understanding post-communist transitions and the importance of state and nation building to these processes.
- ‘Interviewing the Political Elite: Navigating a Potential Minefield’ by Darren G. Lilleker. Another excellent guide to the method and logistics of interviewing elites.
- ‘New Institutionalist Explanations for Institutional Change: A Note of Caution’ by Michael J. Gorges which demonstrates the ‘explanatory poverty’ of the new institionalist literature on institutional change.