Some thirty years ago, Alfred Cobban irreverently defined political science as "a device, invented by university teachers, for avoiding that dangerous subject politics without achieving science." Irrespective of philosophical predispositions, few students of politics can easily remain aloof from the long standing debate between the so-called traditional and behavioral schools in political, science. Even the most cynical observer would be forced to admit that this academic exchange occasionally has raised some enduring—if not fruitful— questions with respect to the essence and study of political reality.

One of these enduring issues revolves around the separation of political facts from political values, a distinction which is often as nebulous as it is convenient. The development of the behavioral movement over the last four decades has brought with it a heated debate over the ability of scholars to achieve an objective understanding of political reality.