Introduction to comparative politics Daniele Caramani Chapter contents luction . . what is comoarative poritics? tnt ~The substance of comparative police “The method of comparative povties Cendusion :2. Daniele Caramani Introduction — This book is about politics. It is a book about all the most important dimensions of political life, not about one specific aspect of political life (such as elections. or policies), Furthermore, it is a corr parative book, meaning that we look at a variety of countries from all over the world. It is not a book about polities in one place only. Finally, it is not only about politics today, but rather about how polities changed over a period of time be- ginning with the transition 10 mass democracy in the nineteenth century, In sum, it is a book about the long-term comparative study of palit- ics But what, precisely, is politicst Politics is the hu- man activity of making public and authoritative decisions. First, they are public because they con- cern the whole of a society (not just inside groups, such as decisions in a family or university}, Political decisions apply to everyone wha is part ofa given cit izenship and/or living in a specific territory (a state) Second, they are authoritative because the govern ment that makes such decisions is invested with the authority {and legitimacy) to make them binding and compulsory, meaning that they are supported by the possibility to sanction individuals who do not com ply with them, ‘Authorities’ have the authority —as it were—to compel or force individuals to comply theough soercive means. Politics is thus the activity of acquiting fand maintaining) the power of mak- ing such decisions and of exercising this power, It is the conflict or competition for power and its use Who makes political decisions? How did they acqulre ical decisions? Where does the power of making pol the authority to make decision applying (0 all came from? What decisions have been taken, why, and how BOX |.1 Definition of ‘comparative politics" Comparative polities is one of the three main sub- field sof political science (alongside political theory an inlernaticnal relations) focusing-on internal political structures, actors, and processes, and analysing them empirically by describing, explaining, and presicting their variety (similarities and difierences) across polit- ical systems —be iL national political systems, gional municipal, oF even supranational political sy do they affect societies’ life? These are the questions that comparative politics seeks to answer, It goes without saying that these are impostant questions, What decisions are made concerns our every life, The decision to increase taxation isa political decision, Sa are the decisions to cut welfare benefits such as maternity leave from the workplace, introduce military conscription ar carry out military intervention in a neighbouring country, and invest in nuclear power as a source of energy, But also how decisions are made is important, which public and authoritative decisions are made varies a great deal, In democracis directly invalved through elections or referenda, If we are unhappy with them we can protest through demonsivations, petitions; letters, or vote differently at the next election and ‘send the rascals home’, In other types of government individuals are excluded fas in authoritarian or totalitarian cegimes}, Under absolute rule the king or queen used to be inves ted with such a power. and, finally, who makes or influences decisions also counts, Many desisions we, as citizens are oa the maintenance of generous pension systems today are supported by elderly age cohorts in dis- agreement with younger ones who pay for them Or, as another example, take the decision to intro: sluce high taxation for polluting Industries, Such a decision is heavily influenced by labbies and pres sure groups and by the protest of ecological activists Configurations of power relationships can be very different but all point to the basic fact that political decisions are made by individuals or groups who ac quired that power—against others— through either peacetul/democratic or violent means KEY POINTS: O Politics is the human activity of making public enc authoritative decisions, (isthe activity of acauiring the power of making such decisions and of exer cising this power, Its the confict. oF competition for power and its use. (Who decid ife of societies what, and how, is important for theIntroduction to comparative polities — 3 What is comparative politics? Ascience of politics Bien though the questions addressed above are very broad, they do not cover the whole spectrum af polit ical science, Comparative politics is one of the three iain subfields in palitical science: + comparative politics; * political theory + international relations.! Whereas political theory sleals with normative and theosetical questions ¢about equality, democracy, justice, tc.}, comparative politics deals with empir isal questions. The concern of comparative polities is not primarily whether participation is a good ora bad thing fi ich forms of participation. people choose to democracy, but rather invest by young people use more unconventional forms of participation than older age groups, and if there are differences in how much groups participate, say; in elections, Even though comparative political sientiss are of course concerned also by norm- ative questions, the discipline as such is empirical and yalue-neutral. It is a discipline that analyses political phenomena as they appear in the “real sro’ ‘On theather hand, whereas international relations cals nih interactions between political systems {ba asceal power, war, trade), comparative polities deals “vill interactions wishivt political sysfeens, Comparat ivepolities docs not analyse wars between nations but uather investigates which. party is in government and shy it has voted in favour of military intervention, vat kind of electoral constituenc has supported this aut, how strong has been the influence of the arms industry on foreign ar trade policy, and so on. Asa subject matter, it is concerned with power relation shipsbetween individuals, groups,and organizations, losses institutions within political s nation-states, empires, even sub-national systems such as federated. states Compara polities does not ignore external influences on in- ems (either ive or regions} femal structures, but its ultimate concern is power configurations within systems. As subsequent bervsen these three disciplines is nest so neat, Many chapters clarify, the distinetion BOX 1,2 Important works in. ea politics: Aristotle : ‘ = Aristotle (350 ae), 7a Politika (Politics) The typologies of potitical systems presented in this ‘work are based on a data compilation of the constity tions and practices in 158 Greek city-states carried out by Aristotle's students, This collection, unfortunat is now Inst with the except on oF The Comstioriey Athens). This work represents the olsest attempt on reco'd af comparative empirical deta collection are litical institutions, Av itotle distinguished analysis thee types of Greek city-states: those ruled by one person, by few persons, and by all citizens, He further separates the corrupt from tne nen-cartuet anes, argue that, because of globalization and increasing interdependence and diffusion processes between countries, comparative polities and international re lations conve! ge towards one single discipline, And, indeed, the greatest scholars bridge the two field nd that camparative polities is a discipline that deals What is important for the moment is to underst with the very essence of politics where sovereignty 1 the sfate: questions of power between groups, the institutional organization of political resides —ie, tems, and authoritative decisions thataflect the whole of a community. For this reason, aver centuries of political thought the comparative analysis of the state has continuously been at the very heart of political science, For a long time thinkershavebeen concerned with the empirical investigation of politics, Scholars like Aristatle, Machiavelli, and Montesquieu —wwith many others, see the various boxes in this Lntreduc- tion—were interested in the question af ‘haw does politics wor In spite of being a vast and variegated discipline comparative politics constitutes a subdiscipline of political svience in its own right and, as Peter Hall has recently asserted, *[nJo respectable department of political science would be withaut scholats of com parative politics’ (all 2004: 13. Similarly, Chapter | in this book shows that the mast influential polit- ical scientists have been ‘comparativists’, according to two surveys at different times and countries (see Box 1.1)