Political Science and the Internet

Abstract

The Gutenberg invention of printing has been a major precondition for the development of present-day science and the science system. With this historical analogue as a starting point, the article addresses the present and future impact of the emergence of electronic communication networks as epitomized by the Internet and the World Wide Web on the future organization and operation of the science system, including political science and the effects that can already be found in the science system. The analysis finds that the impact of electronic communication is already strongly felt in the “hard” sciences, but much less so in the humanities and social sciences, although its potential there is also large. Electronic communication is a field where the social sciences should engage much more in research than is presently done.