Comparative Politics

•Examines why countries are organized in different ways and what effects those differences may have• Appreciate what is distinctive

about our own• Subfield of Political Science• distinct from International Relations

(IR)• politics within countries (IR studies politics among countries)

Comparative Political Analysis

• Hypotheses = statements about relationship we expect to find among variables

• Dependent variables = what we are trying to explain

• Independent variables = what we believe explains the dependent variable

• Operationalization = finding specific, concrete alternatives to abstract concepts

• Controls = holding other factors constant to see whether we obtain same results or if they were spurious due to other intervening factors

Testing hypotheses

•Case study (one)•Comparative cases (more than one to a few, several)•Comparing many countries (large n studies)

Value of Comparison

• How countries’ political conditions differ and consequences differences have

• Check if country’s politics apply in other cases

• Evaluate and form judgments to make sense of the world• Empirical/objective• Normative/moral

• What constitutes a good society and why are some countries better than others at creating one?

The Good Society: GNP

• Treats money spent on desirable goods and services as equal to money spent on less desirable goods• Money spent on prisons = money spent for

education• Focus on growth ignores hidden costs

• Omits behavior many consider desirable• People caring for aging parents• Only measures cold, hard cash

• May hide differences in how money is distributed

The Good Society: GNH

• Overlooks different ways people find satisfaction

• Happiness is a good thing, but not the only thing

• Different cultures do not attach same value to happiness

• Happiness a function of expectations; depends heavily upon one’s reference group

Capabilities

• Most important goal of government: provide individuals with freedom to develop potential• A good society “enhances capabilities of people to

pursue goals important to their own lives, whether through individual or collective action.” – Hall and Lamont

• Four dimensions essential to making people free to live the life they choose• Live in safety (S) = free from violence, crime; homicide

rates• Meet their physical needs (P) = nourishment,

healthcare, housing; infant mortality rates• Make informed decisions (I) = access to information,

skills to understand; literacy rates• Exercise civil and political rights (R) = democracy, Polity

IV index, Freedom House rankings

Criticisms

• Too idealistic; contrary to human nature• Humans are selfish, which is a good thing

according to some critics

• Cultural relativists believe it is inappropriate to establish criteria for a good society that applies to all countries• Not necessarily innocent or impartial• May legitimize those who have triumphed over

others in the conflict over social values (e.g., Taliban and the education of girls)

• Difficult to apply consistently

Critical Thinking Questions

1. How would you define a “Good Society”? What would it include? Rank order the components of the capabilities approach from most to least important and explain.2. We use concepts, such as democracy or freedom, all the time. We say workers in some country are more class conscious than workers in another, or that ethnic tensions are greater here than there. Operationally defining these concepts so they can be used in comparative analysis is tricky and takes a great deal of imagination. How would you operationally define these concepts (democracy, freedom, class consciousness, ethnic tension) so they can be compared across countries?3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different comparative methods (case study, a paired country approach, large n)? Which method do you think is best and why?4. Even if we accept that wealth (GDP per capita) is not sufficient for the “Good Society,” do you think it is at least necessary? What criteria do you believe should be used to evaluate how states perform?