Comparative Politics

Comparative politics analyses and compares political systems, institutions, and behaviour across countries to explain political phenomena.

Scope

It covers regime types, political institutions, parties and elections, state formation, and political culture, using comparative and case-based methods.

Core questions

• Why do political institutions and regimes differ?
• What explains democracy and authoritarianism?
• How do institutions shape political outcomes?
• How does political culture vary and matter?

Key concepts

• Regime types
• Political institutions
• Political culture
• Consensus vs majoritarian democracy
• State formation
• Party systems

Key theories

Political culture

Almond and Verba linked citizens' attitudes ('civic culture') to stable democracy.

Comparative historical analysis

Moore explained divergent paths to democracy and dictatorship through class coalitions and modernization.

Patterns of democracy

Lijphart classified democracies into majoritarian and consensus types with differing institutional logics.

History

Comparative politics moved from formal-legal study to the behavioural analysis of political culture (Almond-Verba), comparative historical sociology (Moore), and the institutional analysis of democracies (Lijphart), and is now strongly empirical and method-pluralist.

Debates

Culture, structure, or institutions?

Whether political outcomes are best explained by culture, social structure, or institutional design.

Key figures

• Gabriel Almond
• Sidney Verba
• Barrington Moore
• Arend Lijphart

Seminal works

• almond-verba-1963
• moore-1966
• lijphart-1999

Frequently asked questions

What does comparative politics compare?

Political systems, institutions, regimes, and behaviour across countries, to explain similarities and differences.