New political parties: what theoretical contributions?

Abstract

This paper aims to revisit the shift in American political science in the 1960s, when it moved from a conception more closely linked to elite theory to one more closely related to institutionalism, in which the rationality of agents became a fundamental factor in the analysis of political conflicts. The reference point addressed by the article will be the historical path that made such changes possible, delving into certain nuances that formulated the field. Fundamentally, the argument revolves around considering that confidence in the rationality of agents transformed the analysis of political science, and that the breaking point was the disagreement with considerations of a supposed superiority of political elites.