Bibliometric verification of the leading trends in political theory: an attempt at systematization

Students often have questions about how new and advanced the field of political science is, how adequately a theory, concept, or idea describes or evaluates a political phenomenon. The subject of the author’s research was the verification of the leading directions of political theory: the core of political science, closely related to political philosophy and methodology, which has a significant impact on the development of scientific research in industry areas and even on the periphery of the research field of political scientists. The purpose of the study is to systematize the parameters and criteria for bibliometric assessment of the leading trends in political theory. The author applied bibliometric assessment tools to data sets of three large bibliometric databases. They have shown relatively high efficiency, and the method itself is suitable for the verification procedure of leading areas of science. The theory of international relations, political economy, theory of democracy, and public policy and management from the point of view of bibliometrics are the leading directions of modern political theory. In turn, migration and demographic studies, as well as the theory of state and law appear to be bibliometrically undervalued. Prospects for continuing research are considered in two main aspects: expert assessment of sectoral policy research, as well as assessment of the intensity and effectiveness of application of the achievements of modern political theory in sectoral research.