1.5: Student Resources

Key Terms/Glossary

• American politics - a subfield of political science which focuses on political institutions and behaviors within the United States.
• Area studies - a traditional method for comparing where scholarship is organized geographically.
• Between-nation comparisons - where subnational governments are compared across different countries.
• Comparative politics - 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.
• Confederal government - a system of government where sovereignty is held at subnational levels. (Example: Switzerland, Iraq).
• Cross-national studies - a method for comparison similar to area studies but often considered unique as comparison occurs involving two or more countries, not necessarily confined to a single similar region.
• Devolution - occurs when the central government in a country deliberately transfers power to a government at a lower level.
• Federal government - national or centralized authority differentiated from state and local governments. Federalism is a system where governmental power is shared between the federal, state, and local governments. (Example: United States, Canada)
• Formal institutions - institutions are based on a clear set of rules that have been formalized. Formal institutions often have the authority to enforce the rules, usually through punitive measures
• Informal institutions - institutions are based on an unwritten set of rules that have not necessarily been formalized. Informal institutions are based on conventions on how one should behave.
• Institutions - the beliefs, norms, and organizations that structure social and political life.
• International relations - (sometimes called World Politics, International Affairs or International Studies), a subfield of political science that focuses on how countries and/or international organizations or bodies interact with each other.
• Political economy - a subfield of political science that considers various economic theories (like capitalism, socialism, communism, fascism), practices and outcomes either within a state, or among and between states in the global system.
• Political institutions - they are the space where the majority of politics and political decisions take place.
• Political philosophy - (sometimes called political theory), a subfield of political science that reflects on the philosophical origins of politics, the state, government, fairness, equality, equity, authority and legitimacy.
• Political psychology - a subfield within political science, which weds together principles, themes, and research from both political science and psychology, in order to understand the potential psychological roots for political behavior.
• Political science - a field of social and scientific inquiry which seeks to advance knowledge of political institutions, behavior, activities, and outcomes using systematic and logical research methods in order to test and refine theories about how the political world operates.
• Public policy - a subfield of political science that explores political policies and outcomes, and focuses on the strength, legitimacy and effectiveness of political institutions within a state or society.
• Qualitative research - type of research approach which 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 more thoroughly, and possibly individually, to gain greater understanding.
• Quantitative research - type of research approach which centers on testing a theory or hypothesis, usually through mathematical and statistical means, using data from a large sample size.
• Research methods and models - a subfield of political science in itself, as it 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 - fundamental governmental power, where the government has the power to coerce those to do things they may not want to do.
• Subnational studies - a method for comparison where subnational governments are compared.
• Unitary government - a type of government where power is centralized at a national level, sometimes with a President/Prime Minister and a national Parliament. (Example: France, Britain).
• Within-nation comparisons - is studying 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. Scholars occasionally disagree 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

Comparativists compare polticis 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 examining 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 that can draw its focus to a number of different critical areas.

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 Methods and Models.
2. Which level-of-analysis focuses on state relations from similar geographic regions?
   1. Area studies
   2. Cross-national studies
   3. Subnational studies
   4. None of these is correct.
3. Who is considered the father of political science?
   1. Socrates
   2. Plato
   3. Aristotle
   4. Homer
4. According to Gerardo L. Munck, what is the most recent noted period in the evolution of the study of comparative politics?
   1. The Second Scientific Revolution
   2. The Behavioral Revolution
   3. The Constitution of Political Science as a Discipline
   4. The Post-Behavioral Revolution
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. Large sample size / Global trends

Answers: 1.b, 2.a, 3.c, 4.a, 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 the 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. (1990) A Discipline Divided: Schools and Sects in Political Science, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
• Boix, C., & Stokes, S. [editors]. The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Kesselman, M., Krieger, J., & Joseph, W. [editors]. Introduction to Comparative Politics. Boston, MA: Cengage.
• Kopstein, J., & Lichman, M. [editors]. Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Lichbach, M. I., & Zuckerman, A. S. (2009). Comparative politics : rationality, culture, and structure (Second edition.). Cambridge University Press.