Essence and Empiricism in African Politics
- 1 March 1981
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in The Journal of Modern African Studies
- Vol. 19 (1) , 1-30
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022278x00054082
Abstract
Whatis ‘essence’ and what is ‘appearance’ in African politics? Does class or interest-group analysis describe and explain the various realities? These questions are unanswerable without an examination of the methods by which claims to correct understanding are made. All claims to knowledge are arbitrary until the methods of enquiry and the justification for their validity are made explicit.Keywords
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