Comparative political science has ignored the central role that political ideas and models have on the creation and development of institutions. With the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the intellectual fervor that accompanied this event, possibilities of paying attention to the effects of political thought grew. Articulated by political thinkers, ideas direct actions, reflect dominant understandings among elites on the truth or provide a basis for criticism of these understandings. In this sense, their study may reveal some aspects of the effort to set up a regime. This article suggests an approach to the problem: focusing on how ideas are adopted, adapted and supported by the political actors.
Political science; Progress; Mimesis; Political ideas; Imitation; Development