PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Political Theory — meaning and approaches
‘Credo of Relevance’ in post-behaviouralism advocates the importance of action science. Analyze.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
R1: 1969 APSA address — behaviouralism perfected technique, lost relevance (“ivory towers”). R2: 1960s crises unanswered — knowledge committed to use = action science.
Body flow
Easton's “genuine revolution, not a reaction…” — twin watchwords: relevance + action — keeps method, adds values — relevance before precision — brute realities — protect human values — politicise the profession.
Counter-view
Beardsley: false science-vs-relevance dichotomy; still leans on systems theory. Waldo: “raving, rumbling structure’.
Conclusion routes
R1 knowledge must serve action — science committed to
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
