从本土生成到比较视野——中国政治学概念生产的策略转变

From Indigenization to Comparative Perspective:The Strategic Transformation of Conceptual Production in China’s Political Science

中国政治学研究一直面临西方理论和中国经验之间的冲突,概念连接现实经验和理论体系,成为这一冲突的具体体现。西方学者按照普遍主义原则,通过概念移植或概念调适来解释中国政治问题。90年代起中国学者从特殊主义立场出发,强调中国政治学概念生产的本土化路径。在新时期论证中国政治体制比较优势的目标下,研究者开始超越本土化路径,纳入比较视野,意图将本土概念普遍化。本文总结近年来中国政治学概念生产的策略转变,将其概括为属性调整和统摄性概念转换两种类型。前者承认西方概念,以中国经验为基础,调整既有概念的内涵;后者以中国政治体制的比较优势为基础,构建新的政治学概念。本文认为,两种策略各具保守和激进特征。在构建中国政治学话语体系的过程中,概念生产具有阶段性,属性调整是基础性步骤,在其基础之上进一步实现统摄性概念转换,最终目标是建构既立足中国本土同时又具有普遍性的概念体系。

The concept is the fundamental elements in academic research. Guided by the principle of universalism, many western researchers have been adapting and using existing concepts to the study of Chinese politics. Since 1990 s, Chinese researchers have begun to highlight the importance of localization of conceptual production in China’s political science study. In recent years, however, researchers have attempted to further such approach by incorporating comparative perspectives and generalizing local concepts, which could be viewed as a way to better addressing the comparative advantages of China’s political system in the new era. This article studies the strategic transformation of conceptual production in recent Chinese political science research : from attribute modification to overarching concept conversion. The former modifies the meaning based on Chinese experience, which is a more conservative strategy, despite acknowledgement of western concepts. The latter invents new concepts based upon the comparative advantage of the Chinese political system—a more progressive strategy. This article argues that there is a certain hierarchy in creating the conceptual discourse in Chinese political science : with attribute modification setting the basis, followed by overarching concept conversion, a conceptual system that fulfills the need of both native and universal application ought to be built。