1: Science of Comparative Politics Flashcards
3 definitions of comparative politics
- study of political phenomena in every country apart from the one in which the student resides
- study of political phenomena through the comparative method
- study of political phenomena that are predominantly within country relationships
necessary conditions
a condition is necessary for the effect so the effect cannot occur without the condition or cause
if E, then Cn = if no Cn, then no E
sufficient conditions
a condition is sufficient for an effect, if the presence of the condition implies that the effect must occur
if Cs, then E = if no E, then no Cs
necessary and sufficient conditions
necessary and sufficient condition is a condition that is both necessary and sufficient for an effect
when the effect occurs, the condition must be present and when the condition is present, the effect must occur
Cns if, and only if, E
method of agreement
investigating instances of phenomena that have a circumstance in common and the circumstance alone is agreed to be the cause/effect of the phenomenon
method of difference
investigating phenomena where in every situation apart from one, there is a circumstance in common so the circumstance is effect/cause
weaknesses of the comparative method (John Stuart Mill)
too many assumptions to be satisfied for the use of comparative method to be useful
no measurement error, no interaction effects, has to be only one cause of the outcome, all possible causes must be identified
Skocpol’s theory of revolutions
studying France, Russia and China - contrast with countries where revolutions did not occur
use of method of agreement and method of difference
conditional probability
not a deterministic relationship but more the measure of the probability of an event occurring, given that another event has already occurred
e.g. does an external military threat increase the probability of a revolution?
counterfactual
something that we can think about but can’t observe - studying something that by definition cannot be observed
at the core of any causal statement
definition of a causal effect
casual effect is the difference between the probability of having Y in the presence of X and the probability of having Y in the absence of X
means that something has happened, or is happening, based on something that has occurred or is occurring
fundamental problem of causal interference
impossible to observe the unit of analysis both exposed and not exposed to a certain event so it is impossible to observe the causal effect of that event on the probability of something else
measuring a causal effect is a counterfactual condition
causal effect vs. causal mechanism
causal effect doesn’t tell us necessarily why something happens but causal mechanism is the process/pathway through which a cause leads to the effect
when looking at a causal effect, does X cause Y?
when looking at a causal mechanism, how does X cause Y?
