{"id":1400,"date":"2026-08-09T19:11:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/discuss-the-subject-matter-of-comparative-politics-outline-the-upsc-psir-2020-2705\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:24:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:54:29","slug":"discuss-the-subject-matter-of-comparative-politics-outline-the-upsc-psir-2020-2705","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/discuss-the-subject-matter-of-comparative-politics-outline-the-upsc-psir-2020-2705\/","title":{"rendered":"Discuss the subject matter of comparative politics. Outline the limitations of comparative political analysis."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pq-flow\">\n<div class=\"pq-flow-h\">Flow snapshot <em>\u2014 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\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> CP defined by method, not substance (<b class=\"pq-sc\">Lijphart<\/b>) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> subject matter is fluid, widening as the discipline grows<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> comparison as the analytical core <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> what it compares expands from institutions to the whole political process<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p>traditional subject matter: formal institutions\/constitutions\/forms of government, mostly Western <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> modern shift to political processes + behaviour <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> systems &amp; functional analysis <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> political culture, civic attitudes (<b class=\"pq-sc\">Almond &amp; Verba<\/b>) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> political economy (economics\u2013politics) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> political sociology (state\u2013society) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> class structures + modes of production + developing world<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p><b class=\"pq-sc\">Macridis<\/b>: parochial\/ethnocentric\/static <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> modern approaches: jargon + abstraction; Marxists: status-quoist + Western-centric <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> selection bias\/many variables\/scarce data weaken objectivity <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Chandhoke<\/b>: loss of certainties strains a grand-theory field <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> over-comparison erases the uniqueness of states<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> limitations real but not disabling <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> CP still widens political science beyond the West, aids theory-building<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> the same breadth that limits also enriches <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> value lies in comparison handled with care, against conceptual stretching<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[41],"pyq_marks":[38],"pyq_topic":[68],"pyq_paper":[69],"class_list":["post-1400","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-41","pyq_marks-10-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\/1400","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":4,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4812,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1400\/revisions\/4812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}