What is Comparative Politics?
April 25, 2008
Comparative politics, to me, is almost a science. You look at data from different countrys and cultures to find out why the world is the way it is. For instance, why Kenya is expereincing such an unstable democracy, and why China, although economy developed is still in limbo between communism and capitolistm. For these answers we have to look at many factors especially the countrys history. For instance, what religion is native to the country, if the country was a colony, if it was what country occupied the country, ect. However, it is also necessaty to look at the countrys geography, is it condusive to trade, or isolation, are their raw materials condusive to an early industrial growth? All of these factors play into a countries overall development, and contribute to the current situation in both countries.
April 26, 2008 at 5:09 pm
How do you involve the local, the non-tangible parts of culture, if comparative politics is only a science?
April 26, 2008 at 11:18 pm
thats a good point. i think when i said it was a science, it was interpreted as too much of a cut and dry science, leaving nothing for interpretation. but what i think i meant to say was that identifying it like a science in the sense that there are definiatly necessary stepping stones to compare, but your right on a smaller sense there are intangibles that definiatly need to be addressed, however, couldnt these particulars, unique to each culture, a result of the politics and history of the culture?