Since its democratic transition, Ecuador has experienced three presidential breakdowns, several institutional reforms including a National Assembly, and the surge of an indigenous political movement. Given the unparalleled sequence of political events in this country, it is fair to say that most of the political analysis
has taken place on the streets, popular assemblies, or newspaper articles. Lacking a common methodology, rigorous empirical research, and a comparative perspective, political science in Ecuador –with notable exceptions– has been limited to providing post mortem explanations of major political events. This paper
reviews the evolution of the themes, analyzes the institutional factors that hindered the teaching and research, and outlines the main factors to promote the development of political science in Ecuador.