Comparative Politics Lecture Notes PDF 2024

Institute of Political Science Middle East and Comparative Politics Lecture: Theories and Methods of Comparative Politics Session 1: Why and How Do We Compare Winter Term 2024-25, University of Tübingen Dr. Mirjam Edel Struc...

Institute of Political Science Middle East and Comparative Politics Lecture: Theories and Methods of Comparative Politics Session 1: Why and How Do We Compare Winter Term 2024-25, University of Tübingen Dr. Mirjam Edel Structure of Today’s Lecture (1) Introduction to the course structure (2) Compare - Why? (3) Compare – What? (4) Compare – How? (5) The importance of concepts and theory in comparison 2 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE STRUCTURE 3 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2023 University of Tuebingen  Introduction to the Course Structure 1) Course objectives The aim of the lecture is to provide an overview of both classic and current research in Comparative Politics. This includes: assessing core theoretical issues, e.g. democracy, autocracy, transformation, state, regime, elections, parties, culture, welfare, economy giving an overview on core methods of comparative politics, e.g. case studies, comparative method, QCA, regression analysis addressing important types and structures of political systems in a comparative perspective, e.g. democratic and authoritarian regimes, parties and associations, parliaments, welfare states, state and regime, political culture discussing perspectives and problems of comparative politics 4 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Introduction to the Course Structure 2) Course Overview Part 1: Research Methodology 1 17.10. Why and How Do We Compare? 2 24.10. Causal Inference and Research Traditions 3 31.10. Comparing and Miscomparing Part 2: Research Methods 4 7.11. Collecting Data 5 14.11. Single and Small n-Analysis 6 21.11. Medium n-Analysis 7 28.11. Large n-Analysis 5 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Introduction to the Course Structure Part 3: Theories and Concepts 8 5.12. The Nation State 9 12.12. Regimes and regime types 10 19.12. Transitions 11 9.01. Elections and Electoral Systems No session on 16 January 12 23.01. Parties and party systems 13 30.01. Capitalism, Development, and Welfare 14 06.02. Political Culture and Participation 15 10.02. Final exam for those who need it. (Mon 10-12) 6 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Introduction to the Course Structure 3) Requirements and Assessments 4 ECTS Regular presence Preparation of the readings Active participation in in-class exercise Literature & methods paper (2500 words) Due on 15 January 2024, to be submitted on ILIAS Additional instructions will be available in a separate handout + 2 ECTS Final exam for BA, Exchange and MPPSC Students 2 ECTS (10.02. 2022, 10:00-12:00) + 4 ECTS Module Exam for CMEPS and MADRE at the end of the seminar on political rule in summer 7 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen COMPARE – WHY? 8 | Mirjam Edel Theories and Methods of Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Why compare? 1) The human mind “In short, to compare is to be human.” (Landman and Carvalho 2017: 3) 9 | Mirjam Edel Theories and Methods of Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Why compare? →Comparing is an intuitive process in everyday life → But: not all comparisons are scientific! Specific and transparent procedures are needed. In science, comparing is a consciously reflected method to gain knowledge. 10 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Why compare? 2) Feasibility and ethical reasons “Comparison remains the fundamental laboratory of Political Science” (Peters 2008: 45) o Other disciplines, e.g. chemistry, commonly use experimental methods o The experimental method and the comparative method are two different types of methods to gain knowledge o The experimental method, however, has limited applicability in the social sciences, in part because the social world is too “messy”: experimental or laboratory conditions cannot be reproduced in the real world for both practical and ethical reasons o The comparative methods is an alternative method to test hypotheses o In the social sciences, “testing” is often done indirectly through comparative analysis, or the comparative method. 11 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Why compare? 3) Purposes of Comparison Comparing to control: testing hypotheses / theories Comparing to understand: applying concepts to a case Comparing to Explain: building / revising theories Classification: structuring empirical reality The comparative method / approach: “An analytical effort to exploit similarities and differences between political units as a basis for development theory, testing hypotheses, inferring causality, and producing reliable generalizations” (Schmitter 1991) 12 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Why compare? Different goals of comparison Goals of comparison control understand explain classify Comparative Analytical structuring Strategy checking Interpretation induction empirical reality The researcher The researcher uses the uses cases in comparison to The researcher is order to develop exclude and to mostly interested a stronger The researcher control variables in a single case. Logic of theoretical uses cases to explanation. categorize and to comparative → thereby, the She uses different find comparable analysis effect of other cases or general The cases are units of analyis. variables is theories in order added one after determined can learn about the other to (hypothesized the analyzed case. develop a independent general theory. variables) NumberFallzahl of Mostlyi.d.Regel large hochUsuallyi.d.Regel one nur einer i.d.Regel gering Usually small Often medium cases 13 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen “Comparison enables us to identify (common) conditions, causes and consequences of political events and institutions” (Strom et al 2015: 46) 14 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen COMPARE – WHAT? 15 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? 1) What is comparable? Are apples and oranges comparable? Why (not)? 16 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? Are oranges and apples comparable? →Yes! in large part, because they are not the same. In comparative analysis, in fact, differences are crucial! There have to be similarities and differences between two objects to make a comparison useful. The key question about the comparability of objects is therefore not whether they are comparable, but with respect to what they are comparable / not comparable. We can thus compare “entities whose attributes are in part shared (similar) and in part non-shared”. But: Can we compare oranges to elections? 17 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? 2) Classes and Classification classification | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? → Classes tell us what is comparable and what is not classification classing judgment of classings | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? 3) Comparative Politics… Subdiscipline of Political Science: - typically concerned with political structures and processes within national or subnational entities (states, governorates, etc.) Comparison as a methodological approach As a field of study, comparative politics focuses on the politics of a given country, state or society, or collective actors within such units… which raises a very important question: 20 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? What is Politics? Politics as the “interactions through which values are authoritatively allocated for a society” (David Easton) Politics as the “process by which people negotiate and compete in the process of making and executing shared or collective decisions” (Hague et al 2019: 6) Foreign policies Revolution Elections International Political Economy Organizations Parties Environmental Conflict Interest groups Politics International Politics / between nations Comparative Politics / within nations 21 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? 4) Units of Analysis There are different ways of setting up comparative research and to differentiate between what we compare, i.e. ways of structuring what we actually compare when we do comparative politics: - Levels of Analysis - Actions and Institutions - Events and processes - The five I‘s - Etc. 22 | Mirjam Edel Theory and Methods of Comparative Politics © 2023 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? Levels of Analysis o International → IOs, regional organizations, int’l. reg.s o National, or: Macro-Politics → political regimes o Subnational level → federal states, governorates o “Regional” level → (electoral) districts, provinces o Communal level → local politics, cities and towns 23 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? Actors and Institutions Common criteria for differentiating collective actors: - state vs. non-state // governmental vs. non-governmental - legislative / executive / judicial - organizational capacities, resources (e.g. TNCs vs. TNAs) - size of collective actor (e.g. # of participants, members,…) - social strata or classes 24 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? Creating Classes of Events and Processes Common criteria for differentiating events/processes: - structurally occurring vs. actor-initiated processes - binding vs. non-binding decision-making - reform, revolt, revolution, civil war, inter-state war - change of regime vs. change in regime - decision-making vs. decision-implementation, - ….. - … 25 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - What? The five / six „I“ (Peters) In your opinion: Are the „I“ all Institutions equally important? Interests Ideas Individuals How do these analytical lenses International Environment interact? Interactions 26 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen COMPARE – HOW? 27 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - How? 1) Methodology vs. Method Methodology: a body of methods, rules and postulates employed by a discipline; a particular procedure or set of procedures the science or analysis of the principles or procedures in a particular field Comparison is the core methodology of political and social sciences Method: Methods are the tool-kit for testing (or developing theories) „means by which a theory is derived and tested, including the collection of evidence, formulation and testing of hypotheses, and the arrival at substantive conclusions“ (Landman and Carvalho 2017: 19) 28 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - How? 2) A wide range of methods Method: a systematic procedure, technique or mode of inquiry employed by a scientific discipline Many different methods of data collection and/or analysis exist. Some examples of methods: - Process tracing - Cluster analysis - Regression analysis - Grounded theory - Qualitative content analysis - Network analysis - Etc. A method is more general than a research technique, but sometime the work “method” is still used. Example: interview techniques 29 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - How? 3) Research strategies / Modes of inquiry - Case studies - Small-n comparisons - Medium-n comparisons - Large-n comparisons - Focus on: Case? Variable? Process? X- vs. Y-centred? →Studies with few cases tend to use more qualitative methods, studies with many cases more quantitative methods. But there are many exceptions to this general tendency! →Mixing methods (“mixed-methods approach”) is often a good idea: it can combine the individual strengths of different methods 30 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - How? 4) Strengths and weaknesses of methods Methodology: a body of methods, rules and postulates employed by a discipline; a particular procedure or set of procedures the science or analysis of the principles or procedures in a particular field Comparison is the core methodology of political and social sciences Method: Methods are the tool-kit for testing (or developing theories) „means by which a theory is derived and tested, including the collection of evidence, formulation and testing of hypotheses, and the arrival at substantive conclusions“ (Landman and Carvalho 2017: 19) 31 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Compare - How? Qualitative research Quantitative research Capture details of phenomena Generalizability Explore meanings & contexts Possible to deal with a large amount of data: Both cases & Detect causal links variables Help to specify quantitative Detect correlations between findings variables Necessary: Some knowledge of Help to find crucial or deviant cases language and cultural context (for qualitative research) Necessary: Some knowledge of Attention: this is a simplification, more nuanced evaluations are needed! statistics 32 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen THE IMPORTANCE OF CONCEPTS AND THEORY IN COMPARISON 33 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  The importance of Concepts and Theories 1) Concepts Concept An idea, term or category sucha as democracy or What do we mean with the power, with a definition restricted to its inherent term characteristics „democratic“? Concept specification = Defining terms and concepts We theorize that democracies do not Theory specification wage war against one = How are concepts related to one another? another, because... These two steps are essential for any transparent and good research. 34 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  The importance of Concepts and Theories 2) Explanation An explanation is “[t]the causal laws or hypotheses that connect the cause to the phenomenon being caused, showing how causation occurs. (“A causes B because A causes q, which causes r, which causes B.”)” (van Evera 1997: 9) Variables Variable are features in which our cases differ. X Y Independent variable (IV) dependent variable (DV) Cause Outcome Explanans explanandum 35 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  The importance of Concepts and Theories 3) Theories Theory = „a simplified representation of reality and a framework within which facts are not only selected but also interpreted, organized and fitted together so that they create a coherent whole“ (Lim 2016: 66) →A story about how the world works Choosing a theory means to choose a certain perspective on the world In order to avoid „selective blindness“, we can either use more than one perspective on reality or use a set of different methods and data (triangulation). Theories hav different ranges. Grand theories want to explain more or less everything, wheras middle-range theories address more specific phenomena 36 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  The importance of Concepts and Theories 4) The role of theory What does Peters say about the role of theory in Comparative Politics? 37 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  The importance of Concepts and Theories 4) The role of theory 1) Source of questions and puzzles: A theory helps us to develop and specify what our actual puzzle is. 2) Reducing complexity and structuring empirical reality: Theories let us know which factors we need to control for in our comparisons. 3) Plausible or accepted general principles: Established theories give us assumptions and laws on which we can base our research 4) Theory links micro- and macro-level: From individual to institutional and systemic behavior. 5) Source of hypotheses: We can derive concrete hypotheses from theory and test them empirically 6) Theories are also the outcome of our analysis and systematic interpretations: Our empirical results can lead to new or readjusted theories 38 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen The dialogue between theory and data Theory Data Literature Qualitative Existing empirical theoretical descriptions in arguments the literature Own “hunch” Indices about important Own add-hoc factor observations on the case (news,…) 39 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  The importance of Concepts and Theories 4) Testing Hypotheses Hypothesis = expectations on causal relations between two (or more) variables, that are not yet proven. „Comparison allows „testing hypothesized empirical relationships between variables“ (Lijphart) Hypothesis testing is the driving force behind scientific accumulation of knowledge Hypotheses can be derived from theory, or from educated guessing. 40 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen Recapitulation of the first session & Outlook (1) Introduction to the course structure (2) Compare - Why? (3) Compare – What? (4) Compare – How? (5) The importance of concepts and theory in comparison 41 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Introduction to the Course Structure Part 1: Research Methodology 1 17.10. Why and How Do We Compare? 2 24.10. Causal Inference and Research Traditions 3 31.10. Comparing and Miscomparing Part 2: Research Methods 4 7.11. Collecting Data 5 14.11. Single and Small n-Analysis 6 21.11. Medium n-Analysis 7 28.11. Large n-Analysis 42 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Introduction to the Course Structure Part 3: Theories and Concepts 8 5.12. The Nation State 9 12.12. Regimes and regime types 10 19.12. Transitions 11 9.01. Elections and Electoral Systems No session on 16 January 12 23.01. Parties and party systems 13 30.01. Capitalism, Development, and Welfare 14 06.02. Political Culture and Participation 15 10.02. Final exam for those who need it. (Mon 10-12) 43 | Mirjam Edel Comparative Politics © 2024 University of Tuebingen  Thank you. Dr. Mirjam Edel Senior Lecturer CMEPS program direcotr & Departmental exchange coordinator Institute of Political Science University of Tuebingen Melanchthonstraße 36, room 009 72074 Tübingen 07071 2978367 [email protected]