Comparative Politics

Comparative politics can be defined as the study ...

Comparative politics can be defined as the study of domestic politics in various countries. Comparative politics dates back long before the modern systematic political studies. It dates back to the ancient Rome and Greece. Comparative politics during the time summed up to people from one principality comparing and contrasting their political situation with those of a different territory with whom they came into contact with. In the modern world, comparative politics includes analysis of the political systems in the world in a comparative manner. There is very little agreement on how to study politics in a comparative way which is as a result of the complexity of the task in that there are so many political systems to compare in the world (Lim, Timothy).

Some scholars and researchers compare political systems of different countries to judge which types the best particular values. The values, in this case, are order, economic security, well-being, equality and freedom of the citizens. The primary purpose of the comparative politics could be understood as providing an understanding of why and how different countries develop the different kinds of political institutions. The other goal of using comparative politics is to find out the theories and general laws that explain human political behavior. Comparative politics utilizes two approaches. The first method is by comparing particular problems in different countries and the second is an in-depth examination of the primary political processes in a state or a group of nations located in one region, for example, countries in South America as a region (Lim, Timothy).

The definition of the field of comparative politics is based upon the meaning of the two words; Politics and comparative. Politics are all the activities associated with the governance of a country within their national boundaries. Comparative, on the other hand, is derived from the word compare which is defined as the process of assessing any contrasts and resemblance between two or more things. In this case, therefore, it is the comparison of political systems of different countries.