Comparative politics, as conducted by, among others, Niccolò Machievelli, Karl Marx and Max Weber was an odd blend of ideology and academic inquiry, and by the twentieth century, although a formal field, approximated a sort of Euro-centric journalism rather than a comparative study of states and political institutions. This has, however, also sparked a debate concerning its nature as a real science. Due to all the problems above, the relationship between variables of study is most often concluded to correlational (if that) rather than causational, as causation is too difficult to determine.Īlthough the above may cause skepticism about the validity of political science as a whole, the fact that it, along with comparative politics, makes for difficult study is also what engendered a push towards an increasingly scientific approach in these fields. This bias revolves specifically around the selection of cases - given their highly limited number - as language barriers, political barriers or plain personal interest motivate the selection of one case over the other despite the fact that the one discarded may be more appropriate. Fourth and last, issues of bias play a role in complicating study of the field. The methodological contrasts between how each dataset was compiled makes comparison more complex. Furthermore, individual scientists are highly unlikely to do the comparative field research themselves, and usually tend to use data and databases compiled by others. In some countries, access to archives is nigh on impossible, and in others different methods of analysis (assuming the records can be obtained) yield very different results. This brings us to the third problem, as how each characteristic of a country is measured depends often on the method used to access it. 200 countries with varying cultures, regimes, economic outputs, inputs and other characteristics make such systematic study difficult. Consider the fact that in the natural sciences, for instance, a large number of similar cases - at least hundreds and most often thousands - are contrasted to yield the most accurate results. Second, as there are around 200 countries, each with varying characteristics and intricacies that make comparison difficult, sample sizes are often deemed inadequate for accurate results. Although both methods have their validity, both are also quite complicated and have their shortcomings, due to the nature of political science.įirst, as is the case with political science, variables cannot be controlled for, as they are based on an analysis of the real world where all variables, causes and effects are intermingled in a complex web that is difficult, if not impossible, to untangle. Deductive reasoning, on the other hand, has the opposite directionality, whereby hypotheses are generated and then tested with cases. Inductive reasoning refers to the process by which a hypothesis is obtained following the study of a case. Comparative politics suggests several approaches for investigating this question, springing from two basic reasoning tools. This last question is in fact a central topic, and the debate over going to war in Iraq revolved around it. For instance, why are some governments stable while others are not? Why do some governments stubbornly remain non-democratic? The politics of different political institutions are compared so as to help us understand the dynamics behind political power, test our hypotheses concerning political power and verify our assumptions. Simply put, it is the comparative study of politics and political power. Power is defined as the ability to influence others.Ĭomparative politics uses these two concepts and adds in a third: comparison. In the political science realm, the type of politics being observed is that conducted in political institutions - such as sub-national, national or supra-national governments - where the power exerted is over the general public. Thus, any relations within organization that involve a struggle for power are referred to as politics. Politics exist wherever an organization does, sometimes even if the organization is not formally constructed. In order to understand what comparative politics is, the definition of politics must also be made clear.
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