Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Political science
(1,091 words)

1. Development

Political science is the technical term for a political, economic, and legal field of knowledge that emerged toward the end of the 18th century; it took shape over the course of the 18th century as a coherent subject with its own methodology, initially still called cameralism (Cameralism 2.). Its roots went back to the 17th century, in a body of literature oriented toward practical politics, which aimed to provide the prince (Latin princeps) advice on how to stabilize and expand his power – …

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Simon, Thomas, “Political science”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 30 May 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_027997>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20210107



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