CEVAP:

Despite the dominance of empiricism in political science, there occurred significant contributions to the study of political ideas and history of political thought in the post-war era. Contextual approach was one of these contributions. In broad terms, the contextual approach stresses the need to historicize the works of political theory in order to understand the particular historical moment and its impact upon the political thinking. According to such an approach to the political thought, the way great philosophers grasp society and the spirit of their own times, the others who address their works, and their sources of influence carry significance only within a contextualized perspective towards the political ideas. It claims that the political target of the philosophers and their wish to change or preserve the social and political order in which they live should be taken into consideration for a better analysis of political thinking.