What is Comparative Politics?
April 24, 2008
Our semester long study of global political systems has enhanced our understanding and knowledge of what it means to compare two states.
We have examined the regimes, governments, societies and the economies of states all over the world. The basis of our studies involved the comparison of one factor as an indicator or driver of another phenomenon. The studies of these phenomena were then analyzed and conclusions were postulated that suggest whether or not the realities of a state was a direct event by an outside source.
“Comparative Politics itself seems fairly obvious at first glance. “We are comparing two countries”, says a naïve student the first day of class. What he hopefully would say today, having had a semester long survey of readings from a diverse group of political scientists and economists is that “Comparative Politics involves a mind-set and thought process much more than a straight evaluation of two different states. We have to identify what it is we are trying to explain and derive what exactly causes the socio-economic, geo-political or exclusively civil action that we seek to understand.”
Does a particular religion impede democratization? Do states with more a more liberal stance on family favor communism? How is the state’s economy affected by corruption and militarization of the government?
These are some of the questions we would answer. It takes an understanding of the state in its entirety, from the economy, to the politics to the general culture, in order to identify with the state. Once you appreciate that, a hypothesis can be created and conclusions can be formulated regarding the presence or absence of actions in two or more states.
