Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Understand the range of substantive areas for inquiry within comparative politics.
- Identify the relevance of substantive areas within comparative politics.
- Consider limitations to the field of comparative politics.
Approaching this Textbook
Although students could, in theory, read chapters in this textbook according to their order of interest, it is most helpful to read this book from a linear perspective to ensure understanding of foundational terminology. Chapter 2, in particular, provides necessary information to understand how the authors selected case studies in subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 introduces key terminology; reviews quantitative and qualitative research methods; addresses how the scientific method manifests in comparative politics; and provides an introduction to posing research questions, developing theories, and testing hypotheses.
Following the discussion of research methodology in Chapter 2, this textbook contains three major sections: institutions and institutional change, intersections and boundaries, and comparative political behavior.
- Institutions and institutional change: Part one delves into many of the basic terms and questions within comparative politics. What is the state? How do we identify important institutions for analysis, and how do comparativists understand how and why institutions change? What is a political regime? How do regime types vary, and how do transitions between them occur?
- Intersections and boundaries: Part two considers how important internal structures and components differ across countries, focusing on political identity and political economy. While the concept of political identity is incredibly large in scope, this textbook will consider the influence of race, ethnicity, gender, nationalism, religion, and class on collective political outcomes.
- Comparative political behavior: Part three examines several manifestations of political behavior, such as how social movements vary, how public opinion influences political outcomes, and how political violence occurs.
By reading this textbook in a linear manner, students will gain a progressively wider understanding of the scope of topics and issues within comparative politics. The following sub-sections provide additional details about the three major sections of the textbook.
Part One: Institutions and Institutional Change
Chapter 3 introduces a focal point of comparative politics by addressing how “the state” can vary so greatly from place to place. The chapter discusses the historical foundations of “the state,” and differentiates important terms like state, regime, nation, and government. Chapter 3 also delves into concepts such as the social contract, sovereignty, power, authority, and legitimacy. The chapter culminates with case study comparisons of two states: Botswana and Somalia. Botswana, sometimes considered one of Africa’s longest standing and most stable democracies (with some level of debate here), juxtaposes itself from Somalia, a place which some have argued operated with more stability under, paradigmatically, stateless conditions. This chapter will help acquaint students with a number of the basic terms used in comparative politics, while also raising questions about why and how states can be so different, even when they share similarities in location, heritage, regime type, and other factors.
Chapter 4 introduces a foundational discussion in contemporary studies of comparative politics: the characteristics and nature of democracy and democratization. More than one-half of all countries currently in existence identify as democracies, and yet many questions remain over the quality, stability, and different types of democratic governments that exist. Is democracy the best form of government? Are there certain predictable characteristics that arise from states experiencing regime transitions to democracy? This chapter culminates with a comparison of Iraq and South Africa, considering movements toward democracy through the process of democratization.
Chapter 5 considers non-democratic regimes and the potential for democracies to “backslide” into non-democratic regimes. While many democracies now exist globally, there have been ample occasions where previously democratic regimes, for various reasons and circumstances, engaged in political trajectories that took away the liberal aspects of their governance. There can be political, cultural, economic, and social factors that contribute to democratic backsliding. The chapter concludes with a case study of Russia, which has experienced multiple periods of non-democratic rule.
Part Two: Intersections and Boundaries
Chapter 6 introduces political socialization and the importance of political identity relating to key factors such as culture, race, ethnicity, and gender. Political identity can be of critical importance when attempting to understand political behavior and decisions being made within a state. To this end, this chapter compares the history of the caste systems in Japan and India in an attempt to understand how caste systems influenced, and continued to influence, the political systems within.
Chapter 7 continues the discussion of political identity by considering the concepts of nationalism, religion, and class on the political behavior and outcomes within various countries. Nationalism and class are newer phenomena in politics, whereas religion is not. There were many instances of people in minority religions rising to prominence in the courts of empires, or of religious differences leading to conflict. However, their use as an identity and how one’s identity can shape one’s politics is even newer. As countries have democratized, these identities have taken on more meaning. This chapter compares the examples of political identities within Israel and Iran, where religion and nationalism both play significant roles in their societies.
Chapter 8 discusses political economy, which can be understood as a type of inquiry that explores the intersection and relationships between market systems and individuals, groups, and political outcomes within a state. In some respects, considering the interconnected relationship between economic markets and politics can seem like a chicken and egg problem. Does politics affect the economy? Or does the economy affect politics? In many cases, politics and the economy are deeply synergistic and connected, and combinations of different political systems and economic systems create manifestly different political outcomes for various states. The end of this chapter compares the highly government controlled economy of China and the moderately controlled economy of Germany.
Part Three: Comparative Political Behavior
Chapter 9 discusses collective action and social movements. The chapter examines how collective action, any activity in which coordination by and across individuals has the potential to lead to achievement of a common objective, has been observed in various places and with differing outcomes. It additionally considers the rise of social movements, which are organized activities not derived through established political institutions. This chapter concludes by comparing the cases of labor movements within Poland and China.
Chapter 10 introduces the study of comparative public opinion, an analysis of how the public thinks and believes in particular policy and political issues across at least two different countries. Rather than focus on a single country, this chapter considers how public opinion is measured using different metrics, and how this can vary from place to place.
Chapter 11 addresses political violence. The concept of political violence can be difficult to define, but many scholars consider various types of violence that can occur within states, whether the violence is sponsored or propagated by the state itself, or whether the violence stems from other groups not sponsored by state authority. In considering how political violence can come to an end, this chapter compares Turkey and Bangladesh, describing how an end to violence does not inherently lend itself to a peaceful outcome.
While the scope of this textbook is somewhat extensive, there remain many unanswered questions about the future of comparative politics as a discipline. Are the current scientific methodologies used in comparative politics sound? Are there advances that can be made in the way comparativists approach the problems within their field? Chapter 12, the final chapter of this book, raises a number of the immediate issues in the subfield today.
Organization of this Textbook
This textbook is an Open Educational Resource (OER) that consists of the 12 chapters described above. A team of eight political scientists at seven different community colleges in California co-authored this Open Educational Resource.
Title and Author(s) for Each Chapter
| Chapter |
Chapter Title |
Authors |
| 1 |
Introduction |
Dino Bozonelos, Ph.D & Julia Wendt, Ph.D. |
| 2 |
How to Study Comparative Politics: Using Comparative Methods |
Dino Bozonelos, Ph.D., Julia Wendt, Ph.D., & Masahiro Omae, Ph.D. |
| 3 |
States and Regimes |
Julia Wendt, Ph.D |
| 4 |
Democracies and Democratization |
Julia Wendt, Ph.D, Dino Bozonelos, Ph.D. & Stefan Veldhuis |
| 5 |
Non-Democracies and Democratic Backsliding |
Charlotte Lee, Ph.D. |
| 6 |
Political Identity: Culture, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender |
Julia Wendt, Ph.D |
| 7 |
Political Identity: Nationalism, Religion, and Class |
Dino Bozonelos, Ph.D & Jessica Scarffe, Ph.D. |
| 8 |
Political Economy |
Jessica Scarffe, Ph.D. & Julia Wendt, Ph.D |
| 9 |
Collective Action and Social Movements |
Charlotte Lee, Ph.D. |
| 10 |
Public Opinion |
Bryan Martin, Ph.D. & Josh Franco, Ph.D. |
| 11 |
Political Violence |
Dino Bozonelos, Ph.D & Masahiro Omae, Ph.D. |
| 12 |
Conclusion: The Future of Comparative Politics |
Dino Bozonelos, Ph.D & Julia Wendt, Ph.D. |
The structure of each chapter is consistent, including the following seven elements: chapter outline, chapter sections, key terms, summary, review questions, critical thinking questions, and suggestions for further study.
- The chapter outline provides a list of the chapter’s sections. A reader click on the name of the chapter section to move directly to that section. This outline is important because it quickly and concisely provides you an overview of the chapter and a clear sense of its contents.
- The chapter sections include the substantive content of the chapter. While each chapter author has endeavored to write chapter sections as stand-alone parts, there will naturally be a flow and integration of the chapters.
- The key terms, listed in alphabetical order, serve as a repository of definitions of key terms used throughout the chapter sections. In some instances, key terms are linked to external content for students and faculty to explore the term further. Additionally, key terms are linked within chapter sections, meaning you can click on the key term and be directed to the section on key terms.
- The summary of the chapter provides a one paragraph synopsis of each section of the chapter. The goal is to distill each chapter section into a bite-sized chunk that can be quickly referenced, but the summaries should not be viewed as replacements for reading chapter sections.
- The review questions include at least five questions that could serve as a pop quiz, clicker questions, student self-check, or as part of a question bank used for a summative assessment.
- The critical thinking questions include at least three questions that can serve as a short or long essay prompt for an in-class or at-home assessment.
- The suggestions for further study section includes links to websites, journal articles, and books related to the chapter topic. The goal is to build a robust repository of resources, both open access and not, that students and faculty can explore.
As noted in the first sub-section on this page, for most coherent use, the authors recommend that students read the chapters in the order presented. We do, however, recognize (and encourage) that some faculty may want to assign specific chapters to complement an existing textbook adoption.
Note for instructors: Page edited for clarity and consistency by Katherine Michel, Ph.D. on 2/23/2025.
