{"id":1399,"date":"2026-08-09T19:11:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/examine-the-significance-of-the-comparative-method-in-political-upsc-psir-2019-2704\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T21:56:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T16:26:26","slug":"examine-the-significance-of-the-comparative-method-in-political-upsc-psir-2019-2704","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/examine-the-significance-of-the-comparative-method-in-political-upsc-psir-2019-2704\/","title":{"rendered":"Examine the significance of the comparative method in political analysis. Discuss its limitations."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pq-flow\">\n<div class=\"pq-flow-h\">Flow snapshot <em>&mdash; how the answer moves<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p1\"><span>Intro routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">re method defines the sub-discipline, not its subject (Lijphart) \u2192 comparison = political science\u2019s laboratory-substitute ez the mind cannot proceed without comparison (Tocqueville) \u2192 comparison-as-control is the discipline\u2019s core method<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">Body How | Sartori: comparison works as control, the surrogate for the experiment social science cannot run \u2192 it tests theoretical propositions \u2192 Durkheim: keeps analysis from staying purely descriptive \u2192 Landman: four functions (description \u2192 Classification \u2192 hypothesis-testing \u2192 prediction) \u2192 Bara: a conviction and<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">objectivity single-country study cannot claim<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">| the surrogate is imperfect because political life resists laboratory control \u2192 Eckstein: small N weakens rigour \u2192 Sartori: conceptual stretching + non- equivalence of concepts across contexts \u2192 selection bias, cultural \/historical specificity, patchy data onclusion routes er! the flaws limit the method, they do not discredit it \u2192 corrective is care: operationalisation + guarded concepts \u2192 comparison stays indispensable ez Landman\u2019s middle path \u2014 moderate universalism vs extreme relativism \u2192 used with awareness of its limits, comparison remains political analysis\u2019s central tool<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[37],"pyq_marks":[31],"pyq_topic":[68],"pyq_paper":[69],"class_list":["post-1399","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-37","pyq_marks-20-marks","pyq_topic-comparative-politics","pyq_paper-paper-2"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_pyq"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2622,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1399\/revisions\/2622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1399"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1399"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1399"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}