Introduction

For any in-depth and structured reflection on the development of political science it is essential to start with the key questions about the subject being studied, methods and boundaries. Those elements have been discussed within our discipline now for decades and as such there is no need to reiterate those debates here. In this article we adopt the pluralistic vision of political science as a discipline sharing the object of research with other social sciences and humanities. Political science defined this way is enriched by philosophical reflection present in axiological considerations affecting the political sphere, and by historical reflection which looks at trends and development directions in the political sphere from a historical perspective, and by scientific reflection which focuses on drawing observation-based conclusions that can be used in explaining and predicting political phenomena. Such a vision of political science would also see it as a field concerned with looking for practical applications of theoretical statements in the field of politics, and as such – a basis for rational actions (Krauz-Mozer et al., 2011, p. 14). All of those angles complement each other and used jointly and developed in research they translate into the richness of political science.