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The voting power approach : a theory of measurement. A response to Max Albert

List, Christian ORCID: 0000-0003-1627-800X (2003) The voting power approach : a theory of measurement. A response to Max Albert. European Union Politics, 4 (4). pp. 473-497. ISSN 1741-2757

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Abstract

Max Albert (2003) has recently argued that the theory of power indices “should not ... be considered as part of political science” and that “[v]iewed as a scientific theory, it is a branch of probability theory and can safely be ignored by political scientists”. Albert’s argument rests on a particular claim concerning the theoretical status of power indices, namely that the theory of power indices is not a positive theory, i.e. not one that has falsifiable implications. I re-examine the theoretical status of power indices and argue that it would be unwise for political scientists to ignore such indices. Although I agree with Albert that the theory of power indices is not a positive theory, I suggest that it is a theory of measurement that can usefully supplement other positive and normative socialscientific theories.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journal.aspx?pid=105545
Additional Information: Published 2003 © SAGE Publications. LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (<http://eprints.lse.ac.uk>) of the LSE Research Online website.
Divisions: Government
Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
CPNSS
Subjects: J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Date Deposited: 31 Mar 2006
Last Modified: 15 Sep 2023 12:58
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/700

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