Strategies for Comparative Research in Political Science

297 Pages·2013·1.089 MB·English

by  B. Guy Peters

Strategies for Comparative
Research in Political Science
Theory and Methods
B. Guy Peters
Series Editors:B.Guy Peters,Jon Pierre and Gerry Stoker
Political science today is a dynamic discipline.Its substance,theory and methods have
all changed radically in recent decades.It is much expanded in range and scope and
in the variety of new perspectives – and new variants of old ones – that it encom-
passes.The sheer volume of work being published,and the increasing degree of its
specialization,however,make it difficult for political scientists to maintain a clear
grasp of the state of debate beyond their own particular subdisciplines.
The Political Analysisseries is intended to provide a channel for different parts of the
discipline to talk to one another and to new generations of students.Our aim is to
publish books that provide introductions to,and exemplars of,the best work in vari-
ous areas of the discipline.Written in an accessible style,they provide a ‘launching-
pad’ for students and others seeking a clear grasp of the key methodological,
theoretical and empirical issues,and the main areas of debate,in the complex and
fragmented world of political science.
A particular priority is to facilitate intellectual exchange between academic commu-
nities in different parts of the world.Although frequently addressing the same intel-
lectual issues,research agendas and literatures in North America,Europe and
elsewhere have often tended to develop in relative isolation from one another.This
series is designed to provide a framework for dialogue and debate which,rather than
advocacy of one regional approach or another,is the key to progress.
The series reflects our view that the core values of political science should be coher-
ent and logically constructed theory,matched by carefully constructed and exhaus-
tive empirical investigation.The key challenge is to ensure quality and integrity in
what is produced rather than to constrain diversity in methods and approaches.The
series is intended as a showcase for the best of political science in all its variety,and
demonstrates how nurturing that variety can further improve the discipline.
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Series Editors:B.Guy Peters,Jon Pierre and Gerry Stoker
Published Martin Smith
Power,Politics and the State
Peter Burnham,Karin Gilland,Wyn Grant
and Zig Layton-Henry Cees van der Eijk and Mark Franklin
Research Methods in Politics (2nd Elections and Voters
edition)
Forthcoming
Lina Eriksson
Rational Choice Theory:Potential
David Beetham
Limits
The Legitimation of Power (2nd
Colin Hay edition)
Political Analysis
Keith Dowding
Colin Hay,Michael Lister and David Marsh The Philosophy and Methods of
(eds) Political Science
The State:Theories and Issues
Alan Finlayson and James Martin
Andrew Hindmoor Interpretive Political Analysis:A
Rational Choice Critical Introduction
Vivien Lowndes and Mark Roberts Colin Hay
Why Institutions Matter Globalization and the State
David Marsh and Gerry Stoker (eds) Johanna Kantola and Emanuela Lombardo
Theory and Methods in Political Gender and Political Analysis
Science (3rd edition)
William Maloney and Jan van Deth
Ioannis Papadopoulos Political Participation and Democratic
Democracy in Crisis? Politics, Politics
Governance and Policy
David Marsh
Jon Pierre and B.Guy Peters Political Behaviour
Governance,Politics and the State
Karen Mossberger and Mark Cassell
B.Guy Peters The Policy Process:Ideas,Interests and
Strategies for Comparative Research Institutions
in Political Science:Theory and
Gerry Stoker,B.Guy Peters and Jon Pierre
Methods
(eds)
Heather Savigny and Lee Marsden The Relevance of Political Science
Doing Political Science and
Dimiter Toshkov
International Relations
Research Design in Political Science
Rudra Sil and Peter J.Katzenstein
Beyond Paradigms:Analytic
Eclecticism in the Study of World
Politics
Strategies for
Comparative Research
in Political Science
Theory and Methods
B. Guy Peters
© B.Guy Peters 2013
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First published 2013 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
This book is designed as a replacement volume for the author’s earlier work,
Comparative Politics:Theory and Methods.
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England,company number 785998,of Houndmills,Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
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ISBN:978-0-230-22091-1 paperback
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Contents
List of Key Texts viii
List of Tables ix
Preface x
1 The Importance of Comparison 1
Forms of comparative analysis 5
Types of comparative studies 11
The content of comparisons 23
Cross-time comparisons 24
Conclusion 26
2 The Logic of Comparison 29
Comparative research design 31
Research design and case selection 38
Levels of analysis 46
Threats to validity in non-experimental research 49
Conclusion 59
3 The Number of Cases and Which Ones? 61
Strategies with different numbers of cases 64
Small-N research in general 72
Conclusion 84
4 Measurement and Bias 86
The traveling problem 93
Typologies 99
Triangulation 104
Nominal categories 108
Ideal-type analysis and measurement 112
Conclusion 114
5 The Role of Theory in Comparative Politics 116
Levels of explanation 118
Macro-level theories 118
v
vi Contents
Meso-level theories 126
Micro-level theories 135
State and society 139
Conclusion 145
6 The Case Study 146
Improving case research 148
Case studies 151
Conducting case research 152
Defining cases 154
The purposes of case research 156
The case as process 161
Issues in case study research 163
The role of the case researcher 166
Conclusion 168
7 Building on Case Analysis 169
Meta-analysis 173
Boolean algebra and cumulation 176
Conclusion 190
8 Events Data and Change Over Time 192
Events data 193
The method 198
Relationships with other methods 204
Potential problems 205
Conclusion 208
9 Statistical Analysis 210
Statistical modes of explanation in comparative
politics 214
The question of time 219
The problem of context 222
Coping with a small N 225
Secondary analysis 228
Conclusion 230
10 The Future of Comparative Politics 231
Territory or function: choices in comparison 235
Theory and the restriction of perspective 237
Methods and the restriction of vision 239
Contents vii
The exceptional and the ordinary: what can we
learn from each? 241
Modesty, but hope 242
The future of comparative politics 243
References 247
Index 280
vii
Key Texts
1.1 Gabriel Almond and Bingham Powell and structural
functionalism 17
2.1 Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba and The Civic
Culture 48
2.2 Philippe Schmitter and the politics of interest
intermediation 50
2.3 George Tsebelis and game theory 54
3.1 Stein Rokkan and center–periphery politics 67
4.1 Arend Lijphart and consociationalism 100
4.2 Richard Rose and party government 109
5.1 Bo Rothstein and good governance 130
5.2 James March and Johan Olsen and the new
institutionalism 133
5.3 Robert Putnam and social capital 142
6.1 Ronald Inglehart and political values 150
6.2 Alfred Stepan, democratization and the
consolidation of democracy 159
7.1 Graham Allison and triangulation 172
7.2 Fritz Scharpf and actor-centered institutionalism 174
8.1 David and Ruth Collier and critical junctures 197
9.1 Edward Page and bureaucracy 212
9.2 Frank Baumgartner, Bryan Jones and agendas 224
10.1 Gosta Esping-Andersen and the welfare state 232
10.2 Peter Mair and political parties 234
viii
Tables
2.1 Economic characteristics of Anglo-American
democracies (2012) 41
2.2 Political characteristics of Anglo-American
democracies (2012) 42
4.1 Triangulation matrix 107
7.1 Adoption of pay for performance 178
7.2 Fuzzy set classifications for democracy 186
7.3 Logit estimates of impacts on probability of
adoption of administrative reform 189
9.1 Internal diversity in the United States and the
United Kingdom (2009) 211
ix