Cpi Flashcards

1
Q

Comparative politics includes three traditions. Which?

A

(1) Country focus: (comparative) description of (aspects of systems) of countries
(2) Methodological focus: establish rules and standards for comparative analysis
(3) Analytical focus: combination of substance and method:describe/explain similarities and differences between cases

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2
Q

What does comparative politics do in practice?

A

(1) Describe similarities and differences → classifications, typologies
eg. describe the electoral system in Belgium and the UK

(2) Explain similarities and differences
→ test hypotheses
eg. Why is voter turnout lower in the Netherlands than in Belgium?

Predict which factors might cause specific outcomes
→ formulating predictions
eg. What would happen if voting was no longer compulsory in Belgium?

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3
Q

What is compared in this field?

A

! Seldom comparison of entire systems, rather components

(1) Structures:
• National political systems
• Sub-national political systems (regions)
• Supra-national units (supranational or international
organizations)

(2) Actors: voters, parties, social movements, …

(3) Processes: policymaking, government formation,
candidate selection, party finance regime

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4
Q

Comparative Politics before WWII

A

Mainly analysis of the state and its institutions

  • 3 state powers (legislative, executive, judiciary)
  • Formal analysis of constitutional texts and legal documents (legalistic study)
  • Study of formal political institutions in West-Europe and North-America
  • Idea of convergence towards Western models of political order
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5
Q

Comparative Politics in 1950’s 1960’s

A

Behavioural revolution + new cases

Shift away from institutions; politics in practice
Broadening geographical and historical scope:
• Communism, dictatorships, post-colonialism
• Other types of democracies (consensus) Consequences:
• Increased variety of political systems
• Role of non-formal institutions (parties, interest groups, media, etc)
• New methodology (empirical data, large N, statistics, systematic
data collection)
• A new “language“ (‘state’ ‘system’; systemic functionalism: Easton)

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6
Q

What does the new language in Comparative Politics mean?

A

It belongs to systematic functionalism.

Many of the concepts and categories used in traditional comparative politics did not fit the “new cases“
• Western concepts did not travel well

Search for more general and universal categories
eg. State → political system (Easton)

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7
Q

Comparative politics since 1967..

A

High level of abstraction of systemic approach leads to counter-reactions -> back to institutions.

Shift of substantial focus: new focus on states and their
institutions (new institutionalism):
- Historical institutionalism
- Sociological/normative institutionalism
- Rational choice institutionalism
-Narrowing of geographical scope (importance of historical structures, cultural elements, etc.):
 Mid-range theories
 grounded theory
-Change of methodology:
case-oriented
 back to small “N”
- Theoretical turn to ‘rational choice theory’:
 focus on actors as rational and self-interested
 institutions as constraining actors’ possibilities

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8
Q

Methods in comparative politics differ with respect to:

A

–>Research design:
• Intensive research design: small N, many variables
• Extensive research design: large N, few variables
–>Dimensions:
• Spatial comparison (cross-sectional/synchronic)
• Functional comparison (cross-organizational)
• Longitudinal comparison (cross-temporal/diachronic)
–> Unit of analysis: single actors, institutions, processes
–>Focus on similarities or differences (cf. infra)

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9
Q

Cyclical process in methods in comparative politics:

A
--> Before behavioural shift:
• Small N, case-oriented
--> Behavioural revolution:
• Large N, variable oriented
•‘Quantified’, statistical techniques
--> More recently:
• Return to small N, case-oriented
• AND focus on parsimonious explanatory designs
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10
Q

Two types of data:

A

 Aggregate or ecological data:
available at some territorial level (e.g. election results)

 Individual data:
information attributable to an individual

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11
Q

Recovery of ecological data from 1970s onwards:

A

• Creation of international networks and datasets for
comparable ‘hard data’ worldwide
• Individual data have limitations as compared to
aggregate data sets:
• highly subjective
• very costly
• lack of long time series

 Towards a combination of both type of data

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12
Q

At the broadest level, political theories can be

categorized as:

A
  • Positivist: Facts are real and observable

* Constructivist: Facts are socially constructed

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13
Q

Why is theory the best friend of comparative researchers?

A

• Necessary for interpreting & generating analytical insights
• Provides links between empirical facts, between micro- and
macro-behaviour
• Provides scholars with puzzles to be addressed

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14
Q

Theory is worst enemy of comparative researcher

A
  • Theory is a blinder; tendency to find support for it
  • Theories cannot provide full, comprehensive explanation
  • Need for triangulation
  • Testing multiple theories is costly
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15
Q

Grand theories =

A

encompassing, claim to integrate all cases (eg. structural functionalism, systems theory,
Marxism, …)
• Limited explanatory capacity

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16
Q

Middle-range theories =

A

apply to a more specific geographical, political and historical context
• Generalize within well-specified boundaries

17
Q

What are the theoretical approaches of comparative politics, explaining politics in comparative perspective?

A
The five "I"s = main approaches
• Institutions
• Interests
• Ideas
• Individuals
• International environment

The five approaches interact with each other

18
Q

Main approac: Institutions

A

Structures matter
 institutions shape and constrain behaviour of individuals
Institutional analysis = the root of comparative politics, cf.
initial focus on central state institutions & constitutions
political sociology, more focus on behaviour

 New institutionalism: centrality of institutions
• Normative/sociological institutionalism
• Rational choice institutionalism
• Historical institutionalism
 Institutionalist approaches stress importance of initial
structures and choices (incrementalism)
•BUT weak in explaining change

19
Q

Main approach: Interests

A

 Narrow and deterministic interpretation:
- rational choice analysis: Individuals are selfinterested utility maximizers and engage in political
action to receive benefits and avoid costs
(of lesser interest to comparative politics)

 Broader interpretation:
- Mixture of individual and collective interests (identity)
- Corporatism: strong involvement of societal interest
groups in developing policy (direct access) in return for
reliability (no strikes) leads to less conflict
( = importance of societal interests)
- Network theory, different approaches:
- Self-organising networks now provide governance,
as governments are no longer able to
-Forms of interest involvement in governing
- Consociationalism: elites representing different
communities come together around the need to govern, even in case of severe social divisions (Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Columbia)

20
Q

Main approach: Ideas

A

 Ideas matter for outcome: How should society look like?:

  • Political culture (e.g. trust and distrust)
  • Ideologies (communism, fascism, neoliberalism)
  • Policy ideas (Keynesian economics, welfare state)

 But effect of ideas is difficult to measure, political culture often ‘residual’ explanation
Example: Importance of social capital in explaining
regional differences in Italy (Putnam)

21
Q

Main approach: Individuals

A

 Elite level
• Individual leaders are important for understanding
governing
• Importance of personality, social roots, recruitment
• A prominent approach in political psychology (e.g.
presidential styles)

 Mass level
• Sociological approaches stress the importance of social
backgrounds (eg. cross-national voting behaviour)

22
Q

Main approach: International environment

A

 In comparative politics focus is on individual countries
 BUT: countries function in globalized environment, so
impossible to understand system in isolation
 Patterns can be mimetic or coercive (EU membership
criteria)
 Quid globalization, hierarchy of countries, diffusion, multilevel governance?
-> the Galton problem

23
Q

How to improve quality of research?

A

 Theory-building for comparing micro-level behaviour of individuals with macro-level behaviour of institutions.
 Use of multiple theories and methodologies when
analysing the same phenomenon
 Case studies that focus on complex interactions and
dynamics of political processes and their environments

–>Stronger focus on:

 Processes
- Emphasis on dynamics and underlying processes of
politics (instead of static analysis of institutions, ideas,
etc.)
- eg. candidate selection processes

 Outcomes
 Dependent variables in CP vary according to
approaches
 ‘Governance’ as ultimate dependent variable?

24
Q

What is the TRIAD?

A

The research design (RD) can be considered to be a

“bridge” between research question (RQ) and the research answer (RA).

25
Q

What is a theory in it simplest form?

A

a (casual) relationship between two real-world phenomena – the independent (X) and the dependent (Y) variable
 Examples:
- Ballot structure (X) → # Personal votes (Y)
- Party Age (X) → Party spending behaviour (Y)

26
Q

How can typologies be used?

A

They can be used as first step to simplify reality and untangle variable (= descriptive abstraction, no causal relationship).

27
Q

What is a comparative method?

A

 The Research Design links Research Question (theory) to the Research Answer (evidence) by means of comparative methods
 Conclusions are drawn from comparisons not
experiments (quasi-experimental method)
 Quasi-experimental method enables to make
inferences = deductions that go beyond the immediate
collected data

28
Q

Research needs to adhere to certain “standards”. Which?

A

 Reliability: findings can be trusted (based on correct
information and controlled for other possible
explanations)
 Validity
• Internal validity: whether inferences are correct for
most/all cases under inspection
• External validity: whether results are valid for other
more or less similar cases not included in research
• Generalizability: findings do not depend on specific
context of case, but hold on a more abstract level

29
Q

What is as intensive research strategy?

A

Few cases and many variables

30
Q

What is an extensive research strategy?

A

Many cases and few variables

31
Q

Five types of RDs can be distinguished. Which?

A
  • Case study: One case at one time point
  • Time series: One case over time
  • Closed universe: Relevant cases in relevant periods
  • Cross section: All cases at one time
  • Pooled analysis: Maximizing cases across time
32
Q

The case selection depends on what?

A
  • The theoretical relationship under review

* Type of required and available empirical information

33
Q

What is the method of agreement?

A

Search for commonalities among dissimilar cases

• Uses the Most Different Systems Design (MDSD):
- Selection of cases that are dissimilar on many
features which are not part of the X  Y relation
- Elimination of irrelevant variables

34
Q

What is the method of difference?

A

Search for differences among similar cases (e.g. EUcountries).

Uses the Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD):
- Selection of cases which show similar features that
are not part of the X  Y relation
- Positive identification of relevant variables

35
Q

Limitations of rules of comparison:

A

• No list of potential causes
• Assumes that only one factor is the unique cause,
whereas in reality the cause might be a combination of
factors

36
Q

QCA and fuzzy-set logic (Ragin 2008)

A
  • Attempts to cater for multiple causalities
  • Many variables / medium number of cases
  • Which combination of factors explains outcome?
  • Based on Boolean algebra
37
Q

What is conceptual stretching?

A

Concept developed for one set of cases is extended to additional cases to which features of concept do not apply
in same manner