Teaching Comparative Politics: Finding the Red Threads

The end of the Cold War was a “big bang” reminiscent of earlier moments after major wars, such as the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the end of the world wars in 1919 and 1945. But what do states that win wars do with their newfound power, and how do they use it to build order? This book examines postwar settlements in modern history, arguing that powerful countries do seek to build stable and cooperative relations, but the type of order that emerges hinges on their ability to make commitments and restrain power. The book explains that only with the spread of democracy in the twentieth century and the innovative use of international institutions—both linked to the emergence of the United States as a world power—has order been created that goes beyond balance of power politics to exhibit “constitutional” characteristics. Blending comparative politics with international relations, and history with theory, the book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the organization of world order, the role of institutions in world politics, and the lessons of past postwar settlements for today.

The Contributions of the political economy approach: An analysis of Socio-economic development in Indonesia

10.31124/advance.11979687 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Falih Suaedi ◽

Muhmmad Saud

Keyword(s):

Political Economy ◽

Economic Development ◽

Southeast Asia ◽

Comparative Politics ◽

Analytical Framework ◽

The Political ◽

Developmental Studies ◽

Socio Economic Development ◽

Relationship Of ◽

Political Economy Approach

This article explores in what ways political economy as an analytical framework for developmental studies has contributed to scholarships on Indonesian’s contemporary discourse of development. In doing so, it reviews important scholarly works on Indonesian political and economic development since the 1980s. The argument is that given sharp critiques directed at its conceptual and empirical utility for understanding changes taking place in modern Indonesian polity and society, the political economy approach continues to be a significant tool of research specifically in broader context of comparative politics applied to Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia. The focus of this exploration, however, has shifted from the formation of Indonesian bourgeoisie to the reconstitution of bourgeois oligarchy consisting of the alliance between the politico-bureaucratic elite and business families. With this in mind, the parallel relationship of capitalist establishment and the development of the state power in Indonesia is explainable.<br>

West African States: Failure and Promise, A Study in Comparative Politics, edited by John DunnWest African States: Failure and Promise, A Study in Comparative Politics, edited by John Dunn. African Studies 23. Cambridge University Press. London and New York, 1978. 252 pp.

Canadian Journal of History ◽

10.3138/cjh.14.2.338 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 338-341

Author(s):

John E. Flint

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Comparative Politics ◽

West African ◽

African Studies ◽

Cambridge University

The Deep State: An Emerging Concept in Comparative Politics

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2313375 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Patrick H O'Neil

Keyword(s):

Comparative Politics ◽

Deep State

Diverging Pathways: The Peculiar and Problematic Gap between Comparative Politics and American Political Development

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2369014 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Kimberly J. Morgan

Keyword(s):

Comparative Politics ◽

Political Development ◽

American Political Development

On Westminster

10.1093/oso/9780198786115.003.0011 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

R. A. W. Rhodes

Keyword(s):

Public Service ◽

Comparative Politics ◽

Textual Analysis ◽

Public Services ◽

Primary Sources ◽

Area Studies ◽

The Public ◽

Parliamentary Government ◽

British Commonwealth

This chapter is not an example of comparative politics but of area studies, a field that is descriptive, cultural, historical, and contextual, seeking to analyse a country or region. The chosen area is the dominion countries of the British Commonwealth. The chosen method is the textual analysis of primary sources: speeches, writings, evidence to inquiries, and interviews by heads of the public services. This chapter analyses how the heads of the public services articulate the traditions of ‘constitutional bureaucracy’ found in Westminster systems of parliamentary government and selectively draw on past understandings to understand present-day changes. It describes traditions under challenge that reshape reforms as reforms reshape them. In each case, it is not a question of ‘in with the new, out with the old’, but of ‘in with the new alongside key components of the old’. The myths and legends of yore remain germane to the modern public service.