My background is in philosophy, meaning that I'm not trained in any empirical science, social or otherwise. Neither can I properly be called a successful auto-didact in any scientific area--in spite of my long-term interests in psychology and political science. Arguably, I am insufficiently sedulous, or maybe just too capricious--to have studied those subjects in the careful, methodical manner required to earn that designation.
In addition to those flaws, maybe as a result of reading so many great works by philosophical and literary giants over the years, I have come to be drawn to writings that seem (to me, anyhow) to be of lasting value. But the desire to be widely read for philosophical elucidation and/or aesthetic pleasure 100 years from now cannot have been among the goals of the editors or publisher here. A snapshot of the current state of research is simply not that sort of work.
In view of my multiple disqualifications, I am probably not the best choice to review Elgar's new Research Handbook on Populism, (edited by Yannis Stavrakakis and Giorgos Katsambekis). Nevertheless, I gave that task a shot. And, to be honest, I did learn a few things about both populism and social science research methodologies that I did not know before. But to be even more candid, I will admit to not being entirely sure it was worth the (fairly considerable) time and effort it took for me to absorb even those small portions of this giant tome that I did manage to plow through.
Anyhow, I hope the publisher, editors. and authors will take my review with a grain of salt, and chalk up the criticisms therein to Horn being an old dilettante who should stick to Hobbes, Hall, Hart, Huxley, and Haack (and if he absolutely MUST be allowed to muse out loud about some non-H-surnamed thinker, maybe Trollope or the Buddha), and stay the hell out of the way of scholars who are either conducting or writing about actual SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH!
Incidentally, just the other day, I received the (extremely generous, given the cost of these books) offer from Elgar Publishing to also review their next Research Handbook: this one on authoritarianism! Perhaps strangely, I was a little bit tempted. But I'm pretty sure we'll both be happier if I take a pass this time.
