Political Science 2245E Chapter Notes -Comparative Politics, Unearned Income, Avocation
12 Nov 2012
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Aristotle primacy he assigned politics and problems/methods similar to current studies. Comparativists want to understand the critical events of the day: theory explained as it exists, not in abstractions. Contemporary comparative politics response to political problems post wwii: communist threats, peasant rebellions, etc, worldwide movements toward democratic rule. Follow path laid out by hobbes, smith, pareto. Assumptions about actors who act deliberately to maximize their advantage. Analysis begins at individual collective actions, choices, and institutions. Need to understand varied ways of life, systems of meaning and values. Frequently draw from fieldwork detailed readings of cases. Strong doubts about ability to generalize to abstract categories. Draw together long-standing interests in political and social institutions. Emphasize formality of governments, how states and society"s interact, political parties, political economy. Study historical dynamics of real social types. Sought to lay out basic ways in which we understand political power. Modern definition of state: monopoly of force over territory.
