The art of comparing is a procedure through which key political similarities and differences can be grouped together to enrich understanding. The art of comparing sets out a mixture of key areas to be compared given their distinct contexts for example countries, groups, institutions the list of comparison is endless in the world of politics. Heywood (2004 p.11) gives a standard definition of comparative politics as “Grouping of strategies and techniques used to advance understanding within a field”. In my essay, I will begin with arguing the strengths for the art of comparing and how it continues to be a useful tool using the example of countries, political setups, historical examples to back up the strengths of the comparative method. I will continue on by looking at some of the weaknesses when it comes to comparative politics, which make it not such an essential tool for political scientists. Finally, I will outline the relevant techniques used to make the art of comparing not only useful for comparativists, but a necessary part of a political scientists tool kit.
The art of comparing has obvious strengths expanding in various directions, which as a result broaden the understanding of both comparativists and political scientists understanding of the political world. The art of comparison cannot only be present when comparing states but crucial in comparing institutions and societies. The art of comparing can also follow various techniques to make it a key element of a political scientists tool kit; as it allows for the comparison of case studies and statistical analysis which make it key in producing detailed finding between states.
The first strength of the comparative approach is exploration it gives a political scienti...
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The creation of the study of international relations in the early 20th century has allowed multiple political theories to be compared, contrasted, debated, and argued against one another for the past century. These theories were created based on certain understandings of human principles or social nature and project these concepts onto the international system. They examine the international political structure and thrive to predict or explain how states will react under certain situations, pressures, and threats. Two of the most popular theories are known as constructivism and realism. When compared, these theories are different in many ways and argue on a range of topics. The topics include the role of the individual and the use of empirical data or science to explain rationally. They also have different ideological approaches to political structure, political groups, and the idea that international relations are in an environment of anarchy.
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Comparative politics is an important aspect of political science in that instead of studying how this country functions, it studies why other countries around the world are the way they are. There must be some medium for finding the differences and similarities between one county and another in order discover what can effect such aspects as economic strength, military strength, and the structure of the regime in power. One reason to compare countries is to help ourselves by allowing us to learn about other countries while escaping the ethnocentric fallacy many of us have. The Unites States may have a good government but is not necessarily a perfect government; certain countries may have aspects of their own government that we could learn from and perhaps improve upon our own system. Another reason to compare countries is to understand how countries evolve, discover patterns, and why they evolve in the way they do. Another very important reason to study comparative politics is to better understand how certain regimes work for purposes of international relations and foreign policy. In order to create policy regarding other countries and in order to give aid to these countries we must know how these countries function so that we can work with the countries instead of blindly trying to change them in a way that we seem fit. This is especially important in the modern age with the evolution of a global cooperation between many countries and the fact that the United States has become the watchdog, big brother, and teacher for many of the less developed countries of the world.