ABSTRACT
This chapter exposes the reader to the issues of political science. It describes that the discipline is not neutral; indeed there is a politics that shapes outcomes. Distinguishing between myth and reality is essential in the study of politics. Critical observers of politics frequently search for discrepancies and abuses of government or private power groups. It is usually assumed that the university is neutral with respect to the major questions of society and that the university is primarily devoted to teaching and research in the service of society. Political scientists are concerned with policy, and their research may shape the formation of policy. During the late 1960s radicals also directed attention to the corporations. They argued that academics work only for the administration and trustees of research and development corporations called universities. The understanding of the ideologies of politics has provoked a reassessment of political science and comparative politics, however.
