Nils Stjernquist i lundensisk statsvetartradition: Mellan historia, juridik och samhällsvetenskap

Abstract

Nils Stjernquist in the Lund tradition of political science: Between history, law and social science.. In 1870 political science was established as an academic discipline, attached to history, at the Lund University. In 1877 a chair in history and political science was  reated. Twentyfive years later it was transformed into a chair in political science and statistics. In 1926 that symbiosis was put to an end and political science was awarded a chair of its own. Pontus Fahlbeck, professor from 1889 to 1917, was a historian who developed into a social scientist with broad interests: political science, statistics, economics and sociology. Several of his books were also published in foreign languages and he had many contacts with colleagues abroad, particularly in France and Germany. However, the critical period in the modernization of political science in Lund happened just after the middle of the 20th century, with Nils Stjernquist, holding the chair from 1951 to 1983, at helm. The dependence of history and legal science waned; the influence of social science, especially in its American version, increased. The result was a modern political science department with broad interests and worldwide contacts.