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WiSe 16/17: Introduction to Comparative Politics

Philipp Lepenies

Comments

Comparative Politics is one of the main fields of political science. Using the method of comparison (mostly comparing different nation states) observable political events, actors, interests, institutions, and outcomes are analyzed. In this way, important features and characteristics of politics and of political systems are identified, described and contextualized, hypotheses derived and empirically tested and predictions made. The array of possible topics that fall under the scrutiny of comparative politics is as vast as the possible quantitative and qualitative research methods that comparativists use. Given that to compare is an automatic human proclivity when investigating or reasoning, the comparative method not only allows us to understand what politics is, how political systems function or how they change. In fact, many important contributions in the Social Sciences can be subsumed under the heading of comparative politics even if their authors did not explicitly use the term. This course is an introduction to comparative politics taking into account that as a Bachelor you are still new in the field. The lecture course has two parts. In the first lectures, general ideas concerning comparative politics, its characteristics and methodologies will be introduced. The larger and remaining part of the course, however, will familiarize you on a bachelor degree level to some of the major authors, texts and ideas in comparative politics. In the lectures, these classic texts will be explained and analyzed – not only concerning the specific argument and observations made, but also by critically highlighting the research design and methodology used, the validity of the claims made and the context in which these texts were written. close

16 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Wed, 10:00 - 12:00 16 Class schedule

Wed, 2016-10-19 10:00 - 12:00

Lecturers:
Prof. Dr. Philipp Lepenies