What is the traditional approach to comparative politics?
Traditionally, the study of comparative politics is entitled as ‘comparativegovernment’. It includes the study of political institutions existing in various states .In the 20th century the study underwent revolutionary changes. The traditional focus of the study of politics got replaced by new scope, methodology, concepts, techniques-popularlyknown as modern view of the study of politics.
How does one study comparative politics?
labelled as comparative politics. Basically, the study of comparative politics involves mindful comparisons in studying; political experiences, institutions, behaviour and processes of major systems of government. It comprises of the study of even extra constitutional agencies along with the study of formal governmental organs.
What does Comparative Politics stand for?
Comparative politics is the rational and objective understanding of different political systems, political institutions, conflicts and comparison of international politics. Comparative politics Suggests the study of Government and people by Distinguished it with other countries.
What is the comparative method of political analysis?
The comparative method aims to identify specific political trends by isolating data to test hypotheses involving just a few cases. For example, a comparative scholar may study the frequency of intrastate warfare among two, three or four states in Central Africa where natural resources like diamonds are looted.
What are the methods in comparative politics?
The following tentative classification of levels of comparative analysis was suggested: (1) comparison of a single problem limited to political systems that are homogeneous in character and operation; (2) comparison of several elements or clusters of elements in relation to political systems that are fairly homogeneous ...
What are the nature and methods of comparative politics?
NATURE OF COMPARATIVE POLITICS: Comparative government includes the study of features and legal powers of political institutions existing in various states. It is the study of state and other political institutions in terms of their legal powers, functions, and positions on a comparative basis.
What are the types of comparative method?
There are several methods of doing comparative analysis and Tilly (1984) distinguishes four types of comparative analysis namely: individualizing, universalizing, variation-finding and encompassing (p. 82).
What are the 5 methods of political science?
Political scientists rely on a variety of empirical methods and statistical models, such as linear regression, maximum likelihood estimation, laboratory and survey experiments, and social network analysis. Mathematical models are also important tools for rigorous theoretical analysis.
What is case study method in comparative politics?
A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. Generally, a case study can highlight an individual, group, organization, event, belief system, or action.
How do you use the comparative method?
ApplicationStep 1, assemble potential cognate lists. ... Step 2, establish correspondence sets. ... Step 3, discover which sets are in complementary distribution. ... Step 4, reconstruct proto-phonemes. ... Step 5, examine the reconstructed system typologically.
What are the 3 types of comparative?
CAS offers three comparative modes: intra-regional, cross-regional, and trans-regional. A number of scholars have used CAS's comparative rubrics, even without knowing about the wider CAS agenda and program.
What is the comparative method based on?
The comparative method in historical linguistics is concerned with the reconstruction of an earlier language or earlier state of a language on the basis of a comparison of related words and expressions in different languages or dialects derived from it.
What is comparative analysis method?
Comparative analysis is the process of comparing items to one another and distinguishing their similarities and differences. When a business wants to analyze an idea, problem, theory or question, conducting a comparative analysis allows it to better understand the issue and form strategies in response.
What are the three method of political science?
Three (descriptive, explanatory-prognostic and practical) methodological traditions for political science (chapter 3)
What are the 4 types of research methods?
Data may be grouped into four main types based on methods for collection: observational, experimental, simulation, and derived.
What do you mean by method in political science?
Methods are the tools used to collect and analyze data, scrutinize the independent variables in question, and draw inferences that best explain causes of the dependent variable in question. Broadly, there are two approaches in political methodology, quantitative and qualitative.
What is the nature of political system?
In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state. It defines the process for making official government decisions.
What is the main features of comparative politics?
Comparative politics is the comparative study of other countries, citizens, different political units either in whole or in part, and analyzes the similarities and differences between those political units. Comparative politics also entails the political study of non-US political thought.
What are the 3 approaches in the study of politics?
In this thesis I will evaluate the applicability of three general models of political development to a case study. The three models are those known as the dependency approach, the evolutionary approach, and the institutional approach.
What are the three frameworks of comparative politics?
comparative politics built around "behaviouralism, structural-functionalism, and system's approach." analysis.
What gives judicial power to the US Supreme Court?
The Constitution
What was the Constitutional Reform Act (2005)?
An act that changed the role of the House of Lords and Lord Chancellor and led to the creation of the UK Supreme Court
What is the difference between how Supreme Court Justices are appointed?
The Judicial Appointment Committee was established to nominate judges to the UK Supreme Court, whereas in the US the President nominated judges to...
How long do Supreme Court judges in the US serve?
They have life tenure, but can resign, retire or be impeached by Congress
How long do Supreme Court judges in the UK serve?
They can serve until they are 70 years old, they can also resign, retire or be removed by the Houses of Parliament
What is the last court of appeal in the US?
The Supreme Court
What is the third alternative approach to comparative politics?
The third alternative approach to the study of comparative politics is the more systematic use of the area concept. However, neither geographic, historical, economic, nor cultural similarities constitute prima facie evidence of the existence of similar political characteristics.
What is a cooperative effort between students of international politics and comparative politics?
More generally, however, a cooperative effort between students of international politics and comparative politics should be centered in the following areas of mutual interest: (1) The process of decision making has become a function in international politics through existing organizations.
What are the components of a political system?
The major components of the political process, which should provide a fairly coherent classification scheme as well as the possibility of formulating hypothetical relations, are the following: the “elective” process of the system, its “formal” deliberative process, its “informal” deliberative process, its structure of “influence,” and its structure of “power.” The major tasks, envisioned under this scheme, in the analysis of political systems are: (1) to analyze the legitimacy myth of the society in terms of specific content and relationship to the society’s general myth structure; (2) to inquire into the system’s political aspirations, political processes, and effective power factors; (3) to analyze both the complexity and ultimacy of decision-making systems in the society, specifically the conditions under which political ultimacy is either diffused or concentrated, and the relationships between subsidiary and ultimate decision-making systems; (4) to provide for a theory of change through the study of “formal” and “informal” processes.
What was the political science subfield in the 1950s?
In the early 1950s, the nascent political science subfield of comparative politics wrestled with questions of method and whether to approach comparing nation-states via abstract concepts or a problem-oriented focus. To begin addressing these concerns, the SSRC convened an interuniversity research seminar in which political scientists began to create a framework for the field that ultimately led to the formation of the Committee on Comparative Politics. Roy Macridis, in this report, summarizes the seminar’s discussion, which included the relative merits of area studies approaches to more abstract theorizing. The conversation clearly tilted toward starting with conceptual schemes independent of context, and so exemplifies the impact of behavioralism that Michael Desch illustrates in his Items essay.
What are alternative approaches?
Alternative approaches. The general agreement on the usefulness of a conceptual scheme was coupled with an equally strong emphasis on the need for alternative approaches. It was thought that the present state of comparative politics calls for a “pluralistic” rather than a unitary approach, and that for each of the alternative approaches suggested, the same degree of methodological rigor should be followed as in the development of a conceptual scheme. The alternative approaches agreed upon were: the problem approach, the elaboration of a classificatory scheme or checklist to aid in more coherent and more systematic compilation of data, and the area approach.
What are the levels of comparative analysis?
The following tentative classification of levels of comparative analysis was suggested: (1) comparison of a single problem limited to political systems that are homogeneous in character and operation; (2) comparison of several elements or clusters of elements in relation to political systems that are fairly homogeneous; (3) comparison of institutions or segments of the political process irrespective of “homogeneity”; (4) comparison of political systems as such. These four levels of comparison require increasingly higher levels of abstraction. At the fourth level, some such approach as that of “ideal types” would seem to be called for.
When was the Northwestern University seminar on comparative politics held?
This article is a summary of a longer report on the proceedings of the interuniversity summer research seminar on comparative politics held at Northwestern University during July and August 1952 . Plans for the seminar were described briefly in the March 1952 issue of Items, p. 7.
What are the methods used in comparative politics?
While the name of the subfield suggests one methodological approach ( the comparative method ), political scientists in comparative politics use the same diversity of social scientific methods as scientists elsewhere in the field, including experiments, comparative historical analysis, case studies, survey methodology, and ethnography. Researchers choose a methodological approach in comparative politics driven by two concerns: ontological orientation and the type of question or phenomenon of interest.
What is comparative politics?
Definitions. Comparative politics is the systematic study and comparison of the diverse political systems in the world. It is comparative in searching to explain why different political systems have similarities or differences and how developmental changes came to be between them.
How does comparative political science work?
While historically the discipline explored broad questions in political science through between-country comparisons, contemporary comparative political science primarily uses subnational comparisons. More recently, there has been a significant increase in the interest of subnational comparisons and the benefit it has on comparative politics. We would know far less about major credible issues within political science if it weren't for subnational research. Subnational research contributes important methodological, theoretical, and substantive ideas to the study of politics. Important developments often obscured by a national-level focus are easier to decipher through subnational research. An example could be regions inside countries where the presence of state institutions have been reduced in effect or value.
What is the difference between comparative politics and international relations?
The division between comparative politics and international relations is artificial, as processes within nations shape international processes, and international processes shape processes within states. Some scholars have called for an integration of the fields. Comparative politics does not have similar "isms" as international relations scholarship.
Why is comparative politics important?
Comparative politics is significant because it helps people understand the nature and working of political frameworks around the world. There are many types of political systems worldwide according to the authentic, social, ethnic, racial, and social history.
Who is the most famous philosopher who traces the history of comparative politics back to Aristotle?
Harry H. Eckstein traces the history of the field of comparative politics back to Aristotle, and sees a string of thinkers from Machiavelli and Montesquieu, to Gaetano Mosca and Max Weber, Vilfredo Pareto and Robert Michels, on to James Bryce - with his Modern Democracies (1921) - and Carl Joachim Friedrich - with his Constitutional Government and Democracy (1937) - contributing to its history.
Who invented the family tree of comparative politics?
Philippe C. Schmitter argues that the "family tree" of comparative politics has two main traditions: one, invented by Aristotle, that he calls "sociological constitutionalism"; a second, that he traced back to Plato, that he calls "legal constitutionalism"".
What is comparative politics?
Some popular definitions of Comparative Politics: “Comparative Politics is the study of the forms of political organisations, their properties, correlations, variations and modes of change. ”. M. G. Smith. “Government is not the sole concern of students of comparative politics. Comparative Politics, no doubt, has to be concerned with ...
Who used comparative methods to develop his theory of politics?
He used the knowledge gained for building his theory of politics. Following Aristotle, several political thinkers began using the comparative method for analysing and presenting their views and conclusion about politics. Thus, it can be legitimately observed that comparative politics had its origin with Aristotle .
Why is comparative politics a right to claim Aristotle as an ancestor?
“Comparative Politics has a particular right to claim Aristotle as an ancestor because of the primacy he assigned to politics among the sciences and because the problems he raised and the methods he used are similar to those still current in political studies.”
What is the objective of systematic and comparative politics studies?
The traditional objective of deciding the best forms of government came to be replaced by the objective of systematic and comparative politics studies for comprehensively, realistically and precisely analysing and explaining all the processes of politics.
Why is comparative politics important?
A large number of political scientists even regard it as an autonomous discipline because of its vast scope and importance for a comprehensive understanding of politics in all societies.
Why is comparative government so dissatisfied?
The dissatisfaction with the traditional approach and scope of Comparative Government due to its lack of comprehensives in scope, unrealistic nature and unscientific methodology led to the birth of the need for developing a new science of Comparative Politics capable of explaining all phenomena of politics in all parts of the globe as well as for building a scientific theory of politics.
What is comparative normative prescriptive study?
A comparative normative-prescriptive study of political institutions was conducted for answering these questions. The features, merits, demerits, similarities and dissimilarities of political institutions were compared and an attempt was made to identify the best political institutions. This focus continued to remain popular up till the end of the 19th century.
What is comparative politics?
Comparative politics is a subdiscipline of political science. The goal of political science is to promote the comparison of different political entities, and comparative politics is the study of domestic politics within states. It differs from the other subdiscipline of political science— international relations —which instead focuses on politics between states. Traditionally, it has been assumed that whereas comparative politics studies politics in contexts where there is an ordering principle (the sovereign state), international relations, instead, studies politics in contexts without such a principle (the international system). The first is interested in studying politics in stable domestic contexts, the second in studying politics in unstable, extradomestic contexts. The first has concerned itself with studying order (because it is guaranteed by the sovereignty of the state), the second with studying disorder (an outcome of the anarchy of the relations between states). Some have questioned whether such a distinction between these subdisciplines is still plausible at the beginning of the 21st century.
What is the main branch of comparative politics?
The main theories generally have a focus on institutions; they are variations of the institutionalist approach. Institutionalism not only constitutes the main branch of the theories of comparative politics but also stands at the origin of political science as a whole.
What is historical institutionalism?
Historical institutionalists analyze institutional and organizational configurations rather than single institutions in isolation, and they pay attention to processes of long duration. They show how general contexts and interactor processes give shape to the units that organize the political process. For them, time is a crucial intervening variable in explanations of specific outcomes. The aim of the analysis is to establish the sequences and the variations of scale and time that characterize a given political process. One of the fundamental concepts of historical institutionalism is path dependence. The theory of path dependence argues that, in politics, decisions made at time t will tend to shape the decisions made at time t 1. Once a given institution has asserted itself, it tends to reproduce over time. Contrary to what occurs in the economy, however, in politics, the marginal productivity of an institution increases over time, as Paul Pierson has shown.
What is the purpose of case study in political science?
This method has also characterized historical research and is designed to collect the largest possible amount of information (quantitative and qualitative) on a specific country (or other political entity). This method is also referred to as ideographic. A case study may have a purely descriptive purpose or, instead, may have an interpretative goal or even be designed to generate hypotheses (if not theories) susceptible to generalization (e.g., Alexis de Tocqueville’s study of U.S. democracy, from which several hypotheses as well as a theory on the tendencies of Western democracies have been derived). This method is largely used in the United States, as is evident even from the comparative politics section of the book reviews in the American Political Science Association journal Perspectives on Politics, where there is an abundance of studies on single countries. This is not so (or rather less so) in Europe, where comparison generally involves the study of several cases.
Why are constitutions important in comparative politics?
The study of constitutions and constitution-making processes features prominently in the comparative politics discourse, especially in the newly democratizing countries. The return to democratic rule has ushered in new debates on how best to craft and reform constitutions and helped ensure that constitutions facilitate democratic governance and protect human, ethnic, cultural, and other rights that characterize complex postcolonial and postconflict societies . In this regard, in Africa, the constitutions of Namibia and South Africa have been considered good examples because of their racial and ethnic balancing, power-sharing mechanisms, protection of basic human rights, and enshrined checks and balances. Constitutional reforms have been introduced in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Lesotho to deal with internal conflicts. In these and other cases, the reform of the national constitution has been considered necessary for engineering peaceful political succession.
What is the main method of political science?
The Comparative Method. There can be no doubt that the main method at the disposal of political science is the comparative method . In a now-classic 1970 essay, Giovanni Sartori pointed out that all political science presupposes, even if implicitly, a comparative frame of reference.
How have political parties changed since the Cold War?
Political representation has changed dramatically since the end of the Cold War. In established democratic systems, starting with the United States, political parties have entered a long phase of downsizing and restructuring. Mass political parties have become icons of the past. Political parties have become state agencies in Europe (as argued by Richard Katz and Peter Mair) and electoral committees in the United States (as argued by Sandy Maisel). On both sides of the Atlantic, they have developed as supporting structures of the leader at the electoral and governmental level. A vast literature has shown how parties have been integrated by other actors in the electoral arena. While in the West scholars have been investigating the consequences on governance of the decline and transformation of political parties, in the non-Western world, the research issue has been the opposite: What role can newly founded parties play in promoting democracy? In democratizing countries, strong political parties have been considered a necessary pillar for supporting democratic consolidation (M. A. Mohamed Salih, 2003). Political parties have generally been weak and constrained by a lack of resources. This has also drawn attention to the issue of their funding. The weakness of political parties has been fed also by their tendency to fragment along ethnic lines or to rally around a founder patron who has often constrained their ability to institutionalize and practice internal democracy. Opposition parties, in particular, have been conflict ridden and fragmented throughout the new democracies, leading to their poor showing at elections.
What are the methods used in comparative politics?from en.wikipedia.org
While the name of the subfield suggests one methodological approach ( the comparative method ), political scientists in comparative politics use the same diversity of social scientific methods as scientists elsewhere in the field, including experiments, comparative historical analysis, case studies, survey methodology, and ethnography. Researchers choose a methodological approach in comparative politics driven by two concerns: ontological orientation and the type of question or phenomenon of interest.
How does comparative political science work?from en.wikipedia.org
While historically the discipline explored broad questions in political science through between-country comparisons, contemporary comparative political science primarily uses subnational comparisons. More recently, there has been a significant increase in the interest of subnational comparisons and the benefit it has on comparative politics. We would know far less about major credible issues within political science if it weren't for subnational research. Subnational research contributes important methodological, theoretical, and substantive ideas to the study of politics. Important developments often obscured by a national-level focus are easier to decipher through subnational research. An example could be regions inside countries where the presence of state institutions have been reduced in effect or value.
What is quantitative methodology?from classroom.synonym.com
Quantitative methodology means statistical analysis involving hard numbers. It values parsimony over nuance. If often isolates one possible cause of a phenomenon -- say, civil war in Africa -- such as rising food prices. Statistical software traces the rate of new intrastate conflict against the rate of food price increases. If the test results suggest a strong positive correlation between food price hikes and the onset of civil war in Africa, the researcher must then explain why she thinks this could suggest a causal rather than merely correlative relationship.
What is comparative method?from cambridge.org
The comparative method aims to identify specific political trends by isolating data to test hypotheses involving just a few cases. For example, a comparative scholar may study the frequency of intrastate warfare among two, three or four states in Central Africa where natural resources like diamonds are looted. The goal would be to begin figuring out whether the unregulated and chaotic trade in precious natural resources is a cause of civil wars in Central Africa.
How is comparative analysis defined?from cambridge.org
The comparative method is defined and analyzed in terms of its similarities and differences vis-à-vis the experimental and statistical methods. The principal difficulty facing the comparative method is that it must generalize on the basis of relatively few empirical cases. Four specific ways in which this difficulty may be resolved are discussed and illustrated: (1) increasing the number of cases as much as possible by means of longitudinal extension and a global range of analysis, (2) reducing the property space of the analysis, (3) focusing the comparative analysis on “comparable” cases (e.g., by means of area, diachronic, or intranation comparisons), and (4) focusing on the key variables.
What is the difference between comparative politics and international relations?from en.wikipedia.org
The division between comparative politics and international relations is artificial, as processes within nations shape international processes, and international processes shape processes within states. Some scholars have called for an integration of the fields. Comparative politics does not have similar "isms" as international relations scholarship.
Why is comparative politics important?from en.wikipedia.org
Comparative politics is significant because it helps people understand the nature and working of political frameworks around the world. There are many types of political systems worldwide according to the authentic, social, ethnic, racial, and social history.
Why is comparative approach important in politics?
Comparative approach to studying of politics also enables researchers to move beyond mere description, toward explanation and within this method researchers can talk about comparative politics as a science. But negative side is that there is difficulty of operationalising variables. Any research of comparative method is susceptible ...
Why is comparative method used?
Comparative method is used as a basis in all methods of valuation. Comparative method make simpler to a complex political reality and makes it more manageable. Comparative politics brings researchers into contact with political worlds other than political and cultural horizons.
What is institutionalism in politics?
Institutionalism denotes to the practice of comparing political institutions such as governments, political parties. In has been documented that the main advantage of comparative method is that it makes the study of politics more structured and conclusions derived with this method are more precise. Despite of benefits, there are certain ...
What is Arend Lijphart's classification of scientific methods?
He distinguishes between experimental and non-experimental methods. Among the non-experimental methods, which are applied in Comparative Politics in particular, he differentiates between the statistical and the comparative method as well as the case study. The difference between the statistical and the comparative method is challenging. Particularly, describing the statistical method as an independent procedure is haphazard.
What is methodical pluralism in comparative politics?
However, methodical pluralism should only be accepted of under two conditions: The research should be performed in a nomothetic research tradition which strives to fulfil scientific criteria.
What is the difference between comparative and comparative approach?
Comparison is a popular research technique which has several benefits and widespread application. Comparative approach are explained by numerous researchers as relating to a type of evaluation that contrasts one ideology or investigative plan aligned with others.
What are the limitations of comparative approach?
This means that collecting valid and reliable data for the case researchers have selected to test theoretical relations can turn out to be formidable task. If this problem is insufficiently solved, it will undermine the quality of results (Daniele Caramani, 2014). Other disadvantages of comparative approach are that if inadequate data is available, it may be impossible to apply. Adjustments must be made as no two properties are ever identical . Precision of the method depends upon the appraiser's ability to recognize differences, and to make the proper adjustments for those differences.
How to conduct comparative politics?
A crucial component of doing comparative politics is field research— the collection of data or information in the relevant areas of your research focus. Where political theory is akin to the discipline of philosophy, comparative politics is akin to anthropology in this field research component. Comparativists are encouraged to “leave the office” and bring their research out into the relevant areas in the world. Being on the ground affords the researcher a firsthand perspective and access to the sources that underpin good comparative analysis. Conducting surveys with local respondents, doing interviews with key actors in and out of government, and making participant observations are some common methods of gathering evidence for the field researcher. To continue with the above example of Kosovo and Abkhazia, suppose a researcher was interested in comparing constitutional development and reform in the two republics. Interviews with key actors in developing those respective constitutions would provide a firsthand account of the process, while surveys conducted with local responses could measure the degree of support for key reforms. A researcher could also conduct participant observations of the legislative process, media events, or council meetings.
Why is comparative method important in political science?
The comparative method is important to political science because the other main scientific methodologies are more difficult to employ. Experiments are very difficult to conduct in political science—there simply is not the level of recurrence and exactitude in politics as there is in the natural world. The statistical method is used more often in ...
How does social stratification affect society?
Another factor is social stratification—differentiation in society based on wealth and status. What is typically regarded as lower, middle, and upper classes in most developed societies, social stratification can be complex, overlapping, and influenced by a variety of group characteristics such as race or ethnicity and gender. Social stratification can lead to political stratification—differing levels of access, representation, influence, and control of political power in government. This derived power can in turn reinforce social stratification in various ways. For example, the wealthy and privileged of a country may have derived political power from their wealth and in turn shape and influence government in such a way as to protect and increase their wealth, influence, and privilege. With the comparative method of political inquiry, political scientists can study the degrees to which social stratification effects political processes across countries. This kind of comparative inquiry can yield important insights such as whether wealth derived from group characteristics leads to greater political stratification than wealth derived across more diverse groups, or whether reforms directed at lessening political stratification have any effect on social stratification.
What is comparative method?
The comparative method is one of four main methodological approaches in the sciences (the others being statistical method, experimental method, and case study method). The method involves analyzing the relationship between variables that are different or similar to one another. Comparative politics commonly uses this comparative method on two ...
How does derived power affect social stratification?
This derived power can in turn reinforce social stratification in various ways. For example, the wealthy and privileged of a country may have derived political power from their wealth and in turn shape and influence government in such a way as to protect and increase their wealth, influence, and privilege.
Why is it important to compare two similar cases?
A benefit of this strategy is that it keeps confusing or irrelevant variables out of the mix by identifying two similar cases at the outset. Two similar cases implied a number of control variables—elements that make the cases similar—and very few elements that are dissimilar. Among those dissimilar elements is likely your independent variable that produced the presence/absence of your dependent variable. A downside to this approach is that when comparing across countries, it can be difficult to find similar cases due to a limited number of them. There can be a more strict or loose application of the MSSD model—similarities may be fairly exact or roughly the same, depending on the characteristic involved, and will influence your research project accordingly.
Which method is used more often in political science?
The statistical method is used more often in political science but requires mathematical manipulation of quantitative data over a large number of cases. The higher the number of cases (the letter N is used to denote number of cases), the stronger your inferences from the data.
Comparability and Uniqueness
Approaches to The Comparative Study of Political Systems
The Problem Approach
A Classificatory Scheme
Area Study and Comparative Politics
- The third alternative approach to the study of comparative politics is the more systematic use of the area concept. However, neither geographic, historical, economic, nor cultural similarities constitute prima facie evidence of the existence of similar political characteristics. If the concept of an area is to be operationally meaningful for purpos...
International Relations
Overview
Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the comparative method or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relating to political institutions, political behavior, conflict, and the causes and consequences of economic development. When applied to specific fields of st…
Definition
History of the field
Substantive areas of research
Methodology
See also
Further reading
External links