Where the twain meet: Reconciling science and politics in analysis

It is argued that the conceptual and practical differences of intent and application that characterize politics and science - as professions and processes - are so great as to render interaction between them problematic. In fact, analysis is postulated as a third distinct alternative, having its own imperatives, purposes, and uses; furthermore, the relationships between science, analysis, and politics are identified and found to be of potentially greater significance to those concerned with the policy process than is normally imagined.