Politics is the study of power, authority, and governance in human society. It involves the analysis of political systems, institutions, behavior, and processes of different countries. Comparative politics is a subfield of political science that involves the systematic study and comparison of diverse political systems in the world. It seeks to explain why different political systems have similarities or differences and how developmental changes came to be between them. Comparative politics is comparative in that it looks for trends, patterns, and regularities among these political systems. The nature and scope of comparative politics can be summarized as follows:
Nature of Comparative Politics
- Comparative politics is a methodological focus rather than a substantive one.
- It involves conscious comparisons in studying political experience, institutions, behavior, and processes of the systems of different countries.
- It seeks to explain similarities and differences between political systems.
- It is systematic in that it looks for trends, patterns, and regularities among these political systems.
Scope of Comparative Politics
- Comparative politics is a key area in political science, pigeonholed by an empirical approach based on the comparative method.
- It is the study of the domestic politics, political institutions, and conflicts of countries.
- It often encompasses comparisons among countries and through time within single countries, emphasizing major patterns of similarity and difference.
- It seeks to comprehend and define the nature of politics and to devise a scientific theory of politics.
- It involves the analysis of political systems, institutions, behavior, and processes of different countries.
In summary, comparative politics is a subfield of political science that involves the systematic study and comparison of diverse political systems in the world. It seeks to explain similarities and differences between political systems and is systematic in that it looks for trends, patterns, and regularities among these political systems. Comparative politics involves the analysis of political systems, institutions, behavior, and processes of different countries, and seeks to comprehend and define the nature of politics and to devise a scientific theory of politics.
