1.5: Student Resources

Key Terms

• American politics is a subfield of political science that focuses on political institutions and behaviors within the United States.
• Area studies is an approach to comparison in which scholarship is organized geographically.
• Between-nation comparisons are comparisons in which a researcher compares subnational governments across different countries.
• Comparative politics is a subfield of political science that seeks to advance understanding of political structures around the world in an organized, methodological, and clear way.
• Confederal government is a system of government in which sovereignty is held at subnational levels.
• Cross-national studies is an approach to comparison involving two or more countries. Unlike area studies, the countries are not necessarily confined to one region.
• Devolution occurs when a country's central government deliberately transfers power to a government at a lower level.
• Federal government is a national or centralized authority differentiated from state and local governments.
• Formal institutions are based on a clear set of rules that have been formalized, often with the authority to enforce the rules through punitive measures.
• Informal institutions are based on an unwritten set of rules that have not necessarily been formalized, but rather come from conventions on how one should behave.
• Institutions are the beliefs, norms, and organizations that structure social and political life.
• International relations is a subfield of political science that focuses on how countries and/or international organizations interact with each other.
• Political economy is a subfield of political science that considers various economic theories, practices, and outcomes either within a state, or among and between states in the global system.
• Political institutions are the spaces in which the majority of politics and political decisions take place.
• Political philosophy is a subfield of political science that reflects on the philosophical origins of politics, the state, government, fairness, equality, equity, authority, and legitimacy. 
• Political psychology is a subfield of political science that weds together principles, themes, and research from political science and psychology to understand the psychological roots of political behavior.
• Political science is a field of social scientific inquiry that seeks to advance knowledge of political institutions, behavior, activities, and outcomes using systematic and logical research methods to test and refine theories about how the political world operates.
• Public policy is a subfield of political science that explores political policies and outcomes, focusing on the strength, legitimacy and effectiveness of political institutions.
• Qualitative research is a type of research that centers on exploring ideas and phenomena, potentially with the goal of consolidating information or developing evidence to form a theory or hypothesis to test. Qualitative research involves categorizing, summarizing, and analyzing cases thoroughly to gain greater understanding, often using a small sample.
• Quantitative research is a type of research that centers on testing a theory or hypothesis, usually through mathematical and statistical means, using data from a large sample.
• Research methodology is a subfield of political science that seeks to consider the best practices for analyzing themes within political science through discussion, testing, and critical analysis of how research is constructed and implemented.
• Sovereignty is fundamental governmental power and authority in decision-making within a given territory.
• Subnational studies is an approach to comparison in which researchers compare subnational governments.
• Unitary government is a type of government in which power is centralized at the national level.
• Within-nation comparisons are comparisons in which a researcher compares the subnational governments or institutions within a single country.

Summary

Section 1.1: What is Comparative Politics?

Comparative politics is a subfield of study within political science that seeks to advance understanding of political structures from around the world in an organized, methodological, and clear way. There is still ample scholarly debate over the definition and scope of comparative politics, with scholars occasionally disagreeing about the ideal methodological approaches and methods for case selection. Comparativists (those who study comparative politics) use both qualitiative and quantitative research methods to advance the field. Beyond comparative politics, a number of other subfields exist within political science, including American politics, international relations, political philosophy, research methodology, political economy, public policy, and political psychology.

Section 1.2: Ways Comparativists Look at the World

Understanding the necessity to compare and contrast countries, comparativists approach comparison in three main ways: area studies, cross-national studies, and subnational studies. Area studies involve selecting countries from a similar geographic area, often in close proximity to each other, as a starting point for inquiry. Cross-national studies involve looking at at least two or more countries, but these countries may not be close in proximity or necessarily alike in basic ways. Subnational studies enable comparativists to look within a country, possibly over time and considering a number of themes, to draw out conclusions and test theories.

Section 1.3: Things that Comparativists Study and Say

Comparative politics is a diverse field that focuses on a number of different topical areas. One of the first areas of inquiry focuses on the origins of the state, considering the determinants of a strong versus a weak state in relation to political capacity. Another area of intense interest for comparativists is the study of institutions. The study of political institutions can lend greater understanding to different political outcomes among states, especially since the influence of strong and legitimate institutions within a state can contribute to the success or failure of prioritized public policy issues. The next topical area, extending from the discussion of the state and its institutions, is a state's political regime. Some states have democratic regimes, some states have authoritarian regimes, some states have a semi-democratic hybrid, and some states undergo regime transitions. Other topical areas of study for comparativists are political identity (relating to culture, race, ethnicity, gender, nationalism, religion, and class), collective action and social movements, and political opinion. Each of these areas can produce a robust and thorough picture of why and how states differ. A final topical area of study for comparativists is political violence, with aims to understand the types, causes, and outcomes of political violence.

Review Questions

1. Which of the following is not a subfield of political science?
   1. comparative politics
   2. comparative advantage
   3. American politics
   4. research methodology
2. Which approach to comparison focuses on state relations from similar geographic regions?
   1. area studies
   2. cross-national studies
   3. subnational studies
   4. none of the above
3. Who is considered the father of political science?
   1. Socrates
   2. Plato
   3. Aristotle
   4. Homer
4. A country's constitution is an example of which of the following types of institutions? Choose all that apply.
   1. formal institution
   2. informal institution
   3. political institution
   4. economic institution
5. Which of the following areas of inquiry falls outside the domain of comparative politics?
   1. voting behavior
   2. democracy and regime transitions
   3. political violence
   4. none of the above

Answers: 1.b; 2.a; 3.c; 4.a,c; 5.d

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What are some of the key differences in studying comparative politics versus international relations? What tends to be the research methodologies of choice in each of these fields?
2. Consider the approaches of area studies, cross-national studies, and subnational studies. What can be the benefits or drawbacks of using these approaches? Which approach do you think would be most appropriate if considering the spread of COVID-19 or other pandemics? Similarly, which approach would be best if looking at climate change or environmental problems?
3. Considering how political science and comparative politics are defined, are these fields scientific? In what ways are these fields scientific, and how do they approach questions of politics in other countries?
4. What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative research? How can each of these methods be applied within comparative politics?
5. Some scholars have called for integration or merging of the subfields of comparative politics and international relations. What would be the pros and cons of doing this? Given the pros and cons, what is the preferable future for the study of comparative politics?

Suggestions for Further Study

Websites

• CIA World Factbook
• Journal for Comparative Politics
• Our World in Data

Journal Articles

• Abadie, A., Diamond, A., & Hainmueller, J. (2015). Comparative Politics and the Synthetic Control Method. American Journal of Political Science, 59(2), 495–510.
• Lijphart, A. (1971). Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method. The American Political Science Review, 65(3), 682–693.
• Munck, G. L. (2001). Game Theory and Comparative Politics: New Perspectives and Old Concerns. World Politics, 53(2), 173–204.

Books

• Almond, G. (1989). A Discipline Divided: Schools and Sects in Political Science. Sage Publishing.
• Boix, C., & Stokes, S. (Eds.). (2009). The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. Oxford University Press.
• Kesselman, M., Krieger, J., & Joseph, W. (Eds.). (2018). Introduction to Comparative Politics (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Kopstein, J., & Lichman, M. (Eds.). (2014). Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Lichbach, M. I., & Zuckerman, A. S. (2009). Comparative politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.