Abstract

The main problems of crisis research methodology are considered. Logical, general scientifi and special methods used by political scientists are considered. In modern political science different methods are used. Gabriel Almond and David Easton used system approach. Easton’s principal research interest was in elaborating a systems analytical approach as a central means of understanding how political systems operate. Structural functionalism is a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. This approach looks at society through a macro-level orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole, and believes that society has evolved like organisms. This approach looks at both social structure and social functions. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and political institutions. A common analogy, popularized by Herbert Spencer, presents these parts of society as organs that work toward the proper functioning of the whole body. In the most basic terms, it simply emphasizes the effort to impute, as rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or practice, its effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable, cohesive system. For Talcott Parsons, structural-functionalism came to describe a particular stage in the methodological development of social science, rather than a specifi school of thought. The structural functionalism approach can be considered as macrosociological analysis, with a broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole. Ilya Prigogine developed a synergetic one for political crises research. Synergetics is an interdisciplinary science explaining the formation and self-organization of patterns and structures in open systems. In the last few decades political crises have been studied not only in Western countries, but also in post-Socialist ones. The Polish scientist Piotr Sztompka explains the factors and consequences of crises and revolutions.