Comparative Approach in the Study of Politics Essay

Comparative Approach in the bailiwick of Politics - Essay ExampleThe linkage between constitutionalism and political culture is not always directed, fixed, or clear, however it depends upon which method of resemblance is adopted. While studying comparative approach the unubiquitous issue present promptly a days is the political comparison of umpteen countries, which most closely approximates the experimental method of science. This comparison is particularly suited to quantitative epitome through measurement and analysis of aggregate data compile on many countries (Lijphart 1971). Although there are examples of qualitative comparisons of such countries, like Huntingtons (1996) The Clash of Civilizations and Finers (1997) History of Government, the mass of studies that compare many countries simultaneously use quantitative methods. This method of comparison requires a higher aim of abstraction in its specification of concepts in order to include as many countries as possible. ( Landman, 2003) Its important advantages include statistical control to rule out rival explanations, vast coverage of countries along with its political circumstances, the ability to pack strong inferences, and the identification of deviant countries or outliers.Comparing many countries is referred to as variable-oriented, since its primary point is on general dimensions of macro-social variation (Ragin, 1994) and the consanguinity between variables at a global level of analysis. The extensive coverage of countries al downhearteds for stronger inferences and theory building, since a given relationship can be show to exist with a greater degree of certainty. For example, Gurr (1968) demonstrates that levels of civil conflicts across 114 countries are positively chargedly related to the presence of economic, political, short-term, and long-term deprivation. His analysis also explains that this relationship holds for roughly 65 per cent of the countries. More recently, Helliwell ( 1994) has shown that for 125 countries from 1960-1985 there is a positive relationship between per capita levels of income and democracy. After controlling for the differences between OECD countries, Middle Eastern oil-producing countries, Africa, and Latin America, this relationship is demonstrated to hold for about 60 per cent of the countries. A second advantage of comparing many countries lies in the ability to identify so-called deviant countries. These are countries whose values on the dependent variable are unalike than expected, given the values on the independent variables (levels of deprivation or per capita income). In testing for the positive relationship between income inequality and political violence in sixty countries, Muller and Seligson (1987) use a childly scatter plot to identify which countries fit their theory and which do not. For example, Brazil, Panama, and Gabon were establish to have a dismantle level of political violence than was expected for the rel atively high level of income inequality. On the other hand, the UK was found to have a particularly high level of political violence given its relatively low level of income inequality. By identifying these outliers, scholars can look for other explanations that account for their deviance, and they can remove them from their analysis to make more accurate predictions for the remaining countries. (Landman, 2003)