|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
Comparing and Miscomparing
Giovanni Sartori
I seek to explain the disappointing performance of the field of comparative politics addressing the three basic questions: Why compare? What is comparable? and How? I also challenge the view that the methodology of comparison is pretty well known and established. Hosts of unsettled issues remain, while a growing cause of frustration and failure is the undetected proliferation of `cat-dogs' (or worse), that is, nonexistent aggregates which are bound to defy, on account of their non-comparable characteristics, any and all attempts at law-like generalizations. The bottom line is that the comparative endeavor suffers from loss of purpose.
Key Words: comparative method • conceptual stretching • degreeism • logic of comparison • misclassification • parochialism
Journal of Theoretical Politics, Vol. 3, No. 3,
243-257 (1991)
DOI: 10.1177/0951692891003003001
 CiteULike  Complore  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
O. Sanchez
Party Non-Systems: A Conceptual Innovation
Party Politics,
July 1, 2009;
15(4):
487 - 520.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. M. Radaelli
Desperately Seeking Regulatory Impact Assessments: Diary of a Reflective Researcher
Evaluation,
January 1, 2009;
15(1):
31 - 48.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Denters and K. Mossberger
Building Blocks for a Methodology for Comparative Urban Political Research
Urban Affairs Review,
March 1, 2006;
41(4):
550 - 571.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Albrecht and O. Schlumberger
"Waiting for Godot": Regime Change Without Democratization in the Middle East
International Political Science Review/ Revue internationale de science pol,
October 1, 2004;
25(4):
371 - 392.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Capoccia
Anti-System Parties: A Conceptual Reassessment
Journal of Theoretical Politics,
January 1, 2002;
14(1):
9 - 35.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Mossberger and G. Stoker
The Evolution of Urban Regime Theory: The Challenge of Conceptualization
Urban Affairs Review,
July 1, 2001;
36(6):
810 - 835.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. ANCKAR and C. ANCKAR
Democracies without Parties
Comparative Political Studies,
March 1, 2000;
33(2):
225 - 247.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. S. Brown
Reading, Writing, and Regime Type: Democracy' Impact on Primary School Enrollment
Political Research Quarterly,
December 1, 1999;
52(4):
681 - 707.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Levitsky
Institutionalization and Peronism: The Concept, the Case and the Case for Unpacking the Concept
Party Politics,
January 1, 1998;
4(1):
77 - 92.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Cioffi-Revilla and D. Lai
War And Politics in Ancient China, 2700 B.C. to 722 B.C.: Measurement and Comparative Analysis
Journal of Conflict Resolution,
September 1, 1995;
39(3):
467 - 494.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Keraudren
Administrative Reform, Ethics and Openness: The Balance between Effectiveness and Administrative Identity
International Review of Administrative Sciences,
March 1, 1995;
61(1):
41 - 60.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. H. T. O'Kane
Coups d'Etat in Africa: A Political Economy Approach
Journal of Peace Research,
August 1, 1993;
30(3):
251 - 270.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. H. T. O'Kane
The Ladder of Abstraction: The Purpose of Comparison and the Practice of Comparing African Coups d'Etat
Journal of Theoretical Politics,
April 1, 1993;
5(2):
169 - 193.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Sartori
Totalitarianism, Model Mania and Learning from Error
Journal of Theoretical Politics,
January 1, 1993;
5(1):
5 - 22.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. R. Gurr
Why Minorities Rebel: A Global Analysis of Communal Mobilization and Conflict since 1945
International Political Science Review/ Revue internationale de science pol,
January 1, 1993;
14(2):
161 - 201.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. J. Motyl
Concepts and Skocpol: Ambiguity and Vagueness in the Study of Revolution
Journal of Theoretical Politics,
January 1, 1992;
4(1):
93 - 112.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
