#1 POL 128

• Comparative government evolved over time, studying how political systems and procedures vary across countries and time periods
• Evidence of studying comparative governments came to prominence in the 1950s
• Aristotle is considered the 'ancestral father' of comparative politics, his methods and questions are still relevant in current political studies
• A comparative study of the diversity of lives among people of different nations reveals surprising differences
• Somalia has a history dating back to the Paleolithic times, with pyramidal structures, tombs, and ruined cities indicating an ancient sophisticated civilization
• Somalia faced destruction due to communist rule and the Somali Civil War, leading to great adversity
• The study of comparative politics involves conscious comparisons in political experience, institutions, behavior, and processes of different systems of different government
• A pragmatic evaluation of the government and politics of one's own country is made possible by recognizing the governmental processes of other countries or their political systems
• A comparative study of governments streamlines the progress of objective and rational judgement about political systems
• Comparative study of governments disperses ethnocentrism, the belief that one's own country is superior to any other
• The study of governments is a significant part of the study of politics
• A comparative analysis of political structures and processes is an essential requirement for students of political science
• ‘Comparative politics is the study of the forms of political organizations, their properties, correlations, variations and modes of change.' Who defined this?

  M.G. Smith
• ‘Government is not the sole concern of students of comparative politics.’ Comparative politics, no doubt, has to be concerned with the government structure but at the same time it has to take note of the following:

  Society, historical heritage and geographic and resource endowed;

  Its social and economic organizations;

  Its ideologies and value systems;

  Its political style;

  Its parties, interests, and leadership structure. Who defined this?

  Roy C. Macridis and Robert Ward
• ‘Comparative politics is concerned with significant regularities, similarities and differences in the working of political institutions and political behavior.’ Who defined this?

  M. Curtis
• ‘Comparative politics is comparative analysis of the various forms of government and diverse political institutions.’ Who defined this?

  E. A. Freeman
• What are the 3 associations of politics

  1. Political activity
  2. Political process
  3. Political power
• Politics, hence, involves the study of power and power relations in society since it is a struggle for power and a process of conflict resolution through the

  use of legitimate power
• Great stress is laid on analytical research when it comes to the study of contemporary comparative politics, as it is no longer confined to  clearer view of the actual activities of the governments along with their structures and functions.

  Analytical research
• This deals with the empirical study of the various processes of political study in different environments. Since political science is a social science, it takes into account only those values whose validity can be demonstrated scientifically.

  Objective study of political science
• Comparative politics also analyses the actual nature of individual, groups, structures, systems and subsystems, in relation to the environment in which the behavior manifests. The study of the dynamics of politics and its actual operation in the environment is regarded as an essential component of comparative politics.

  Study of infrastructures
• Earlier, comparative politics was only confined to the study of the political systems of developed societies. However, it has evolved in contemporary times and it stresses on the study of political systems of developing nations as well.

  Study of developing and developed societies