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CHAPTER FIVE: THE COMPARATIVE APPROACH

5.1 The object of comparative politics: to encompass the major political similarities and differences between countries (pp. 83-5).

 

5.2 Advantages of comparison: learning about other governments, improving our classifications of politics, testing hypotheses and some potential for prediction and control (pp. 83-5).

 

5.3 What to compare: institutions, societies and states (pp. 85-9).

5.4 How to compare: case studies, focused comparisons and statistical analysis (pp. 89-94).

5.5 Pitfalls of comparison: knowledge requirements, varied meanings across cultures, interdependence, selection bias, and too few countries (pp. 94-8).