Feministyczna politologia. O dwóch siostrach: Krytyce i Teorii
Feminist political science. About two sisters: Critique and Theory

Summary/Abstract: Before we consider how feminist theories changed political science, how they influenced its epistemology and methodology, and whether they contributed to significant cognitive turns within its framework, we first have to observe that, although feminism is thoroughly political and refers to the relationship between gender and power, it was created as an ideology of a social movement, and therefore outside the academy. The adoption of feminist theories by political science has never been as mutually satisfactory as in the case of sociology or history. Rather, it has been a history of a difficult relationship, a history of two paradigms or two sisters. The elder, Critique, is a pattern-defying activist of changing moods and views; the younger, Theory, is distanced and likes to weigh words but also follows the voice of her heart, albeit less often. Feminist political science must constantly refer to feminist thought and criticism in its broadest sense and adapt its research programme accordingly. Feminist criticism, however, shows little approval of or interest in feminist political science, regarding it as insufficiently bold and so far unable to reach sufficiently radical conclusions in its analysis of politics. On the other hand, feminist political science, drawing on feminist criticism, is also not entirely attractive to the traditional, "hard" mainstream of political science which does not fully understand its interdisciplinarity, crossing methodological boundaries and using various dictionaries. Such features are perceived as a threat to the identity of a scientific discipline that refers to specialist knowledge, placing feminist political science on the margins. The article discusses the pros and cons of this difficult relationship. Since it focuses on theories, the approach will be a epistemological and methodological. The text consists of three parts: an introduction to feminist politics, a presentation of feminist perspectives in political science, and the arguments supporting the hypothesis that Theory (feminist political science) is two steps behind Critique (activists, radical feminists).

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