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Power, Liberalism, And Political Science: Some Christian Reflections, Daniel E. Young

Northwestern Review

How should a Christian political scientist think about power, liberalism, and political science? In answering this question, this article first defines power. Considered primarily in relation to the state, power is exercised in conflicts of interests: by officials, parties, or groups or elites getting others to do something the others would not otherwise do, or keeping one or more alternative from even being discussed, and perhaps obscuring what the real interests of others are. Then the argument turns to establishing that how one thinks about power is closely related to one’s larger political theory, e.g., what counts as the “real …