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. Beyond comparative politics, a number of other subfields exist within political science, including: American Politics, International Relations, Political Philosophy, Research Methods and Models, Political Economy, Public Policy, and Political Philosophy. Depending on the theme and the level-of-analysis, comparativists may use qualitative or quantitative research methods to advance the field.
Section #1.2: Ways Comparativists Look at the World
Understanding the necessity to compare and contrast countries, comparativists can begin to compare 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 does not require that these countries be close in proximity or necessarily alike in basic ways. Finally, 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 which can draw its focus to a number of different critical 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, and developing understanding for the implications of relationships between strong and weak states. In considering strong and weak states, a comparativist may select two weak states with different political outcomes, or one weak state and one strong state with similar outcomes. (These methods for Most Similar Systems Design, MSSD, and Most Different Systems Design, MDSD, will be explained in Chapter 2). 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. Extending from the discussion of the state and its institutions, is the type of regime a state has. Some states have regimes characterized as democratic, while others may be authoritarian, and still others may be “stateless,” altogether. By understanding the implications of various regime types, students can begin to understand why political outcomes can vary, and consider the consequences for regime transitions. Other substantive areas of concern for comparativists can include conversations of political identity (relating to culture, race, ethnicity, gender, nationalism, religion, and class), collective action & social movements, and political opinion. Each of these areas can produce a robust and thorough picture of why and how states are so different. Finally, the study of political violence is often a focal point in comparative politics, as it can also be within international relations. Often, there is an intense desire to consider the determinants for political violence in hopes of presenting options or ways to deter this violence in the future. Other times, the study of political violence is an attempt to simply understand its causes and outcomes to provide scholars and policymakers alike with a greater understanding.
Review Questions
- Which of the following is not a subfield of political science?
- Comparative politics.
- Comparative advantage.
- American politics.
- Research Methods and Models.
- Which level-of-analysis focuses on state relations from similar geographic regions?
- Area studies
- Cross-national studies
- Subnational studies
- None of these is correct.
- Who is considered the father of political science?
- Socrates
- Plato
- Aristotle
- Homer
- According to Gerardo L. Munck, what is the most recent noted period in the evolution of the study of comparative politics?
- The Second Scientific Revolution
- The Behavioral Revolution
- The Constitution of Political Science as a Discipline
- The Post-Behavioral Revolution
- Which of the following areas of inquiry falls outside the domain of comparative politics?
- Voting behavior
- Democracy and Regime transitions
- Political Violence
- Large sample size / Global trends
Answers: 1.b, 2.a, 3.c, 4.a, 5.d
Critical Thinking Questions
- 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?
- 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.
- 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?
- What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative research? How can each of these methods be applied within comparative politics?
- 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?