Comparative Politics: What does it mean?

An Online Database Exploration Lesson
for Undergraduate Comparative Politics

Designed by Tiffany Danko

tdanko@cox.net

Introduction | Acquaint | Ask | Arrange | Apply | Evaluation |Credits

Introduction

What is comparative politics? What does does it mean, and what do we use it for? What does it study? This lesson is designed to help you understand some of the issues that comparative politics examines. Political and economic systems, types of government and leadership, and the effects of geography and history are all valuable tools in beginning a study of comparative politics.

In this lesson, you will use the CIA World Factbook, an online repository of information about the countries of the world, to examine and analyze some of the differences between nations.

Acquaint Yourself

Explore the CIA World Factbook: check out the Appendixes, Reference Maps and Notes and Definitions. Now try Search The World Facbook- what kind of information can you find?

1. What do you find if you search for Commonwealth, a political system?
   Some answers include: Field listings for Government type, and countries which belong to a commonwealth, such as Australia and Canada, as well as commonwealth territories such as Puerto Rico.
2. What countries do you find if you search for South America, a location?
   Countries such as Brazil, Chile, Argentina, French Guiana.
3. What do you get if you enter a country's name, such as Australia?
   Some answers include: Field listings for Organizations Australia participates in, page listings for Australia information such as geography, and listings for some of the islands Australia owns.

Now examine an individual country's listing by selecting a country. If you choose Bahrain, what kind of information do you find? Examine this information and answer the following questions:

1. What kind of government does Bahrain have?
2. Bahrain has what kind of legal system?
3. What is the capital?
4. Describe Bahrain's geography.
5. What are the dominant religions of Bahrain?
6. Describe Bahrain's economy.

Ask for Information

Now begin the first of what will be many exercises in comparative politics. Choose two countries from the same geographic region: Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America, Central America, or Africa (North America is not an option). Use the CIA World Factbook to explore the similarities and differences between these two countries. Feel free to use the Field Tables and maps within the Factbook to supplement your exploration. At a minimum, examine the following information:

1. Political System
   Government type (monarchy, democracy, etc).
   Head of State
   Voting rights
   Legal system
2. Geography
   Location
   Significant geographic characteristics (island, land-locked, mountainous, etc)
   Climate
3. Economy
   Major industries
   Characteristics of the economic structure: GDP, labor force, communications and transportation capabilities, etc.
4. Population
   Size of population
   Ethnic groupings
   Age distribution
   Major religions
   Languages
5. Any other major issues which affect the nation, such as transnational disputes or ongoing wars.

Arrange the Answers

Arrange the information you've sought out to determine how the two countries measure up. How are they similar? How are they different? You may want to use a table, with the countries at the top and categories below, to help you organize your answers. For example, comparing Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, we would begin with:

Apply What You've Learned

After examining the information you've collated into a table, think about what it means. How are these nations similar? How are they different? Is one nation more stable, does another have greater economic resources? What kind of governments do they have: is one state democratic, and the other communist? Who is the Head of Government, the person who runs the everyday business of the nation? What about their geography- how do you think it has influenced the economies and political structure of the two nations?

Now, considering these questions, write an essay, minimum of 2 pages, comparing and contrasting the two nations. Include both the factual information you've obtained as well as your evaluation. What does this information mean about the nations, their roles in the world today, and their future? Do these two countries connect in any way? Consider some of the categories and information used in comparative politics, such as the power of the state, political institutions, and modernization and development when framing your answer.

Evaluation

1 = not acceptable       2 = could be better     3 = acceptable     4 = outstanding

Conclusion

You now have an initial understanding of some of the ways countries may be compared, the heart of Comparative Politics. Now think about how you could use these ideas to expand your understand of a group of countries. How could you compare democracies to communist states? What about religious states, such as Iran, compared to countries like the United States, without an official religion? The goal is to begin to see what the problems, processes, and institutions are, and how they can be used to explore the relationships not only between countries, but how those countries interact on the international stage.

Throughout this course, you will continue to expand your knowledge of characteristics of states and Comparative Politics. Now think about how you would characterize the non-formal institutions of government. What about the things that don't show up in the CIA World Factbook, like the influence of transnational organizations like the UN, international terrorism, and regional bodies like the European Union?

Explore some of these sites, and think about how you would use what you've learned so far to evaluate the countries and issues involved.

• The European Union
• The United Nations
• The U.S. Department of State on terrorism
• The United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Credits & References

Special thanks to:

CDR Ayer, USCG Academy Government Department instructor 1991-1995, on whose exercises this lesson is based.

The CIA World Factbook

The National Geographic Society, for the image at the top of the page.

Macridis, R. & Brown, B (1990). Comparative Politics: Notes and Readings. Brooks/Cole Publishing: Pacific Grove, CA.

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Last updated on 15 June 2003. Based on a template from EDTEC 570