{"id":1402,"date":"2026-08-09T19:11:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/discuss-the-main-limitations-of-the-comparative-method-to-the-upsc-psir-2022-2707\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:24:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:54:30","slug":"discuss-the-main-limitations-of-the-comparative-method-to-the-upsc-psir-2022-2707","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/discuss-the-main-limitations-of-the-comparative-method-to-the-upsc-psir-2022-2707\/","title":{"rendered":"Discuss the main limitations of the comparative method to the study of Political Science."},"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> comparison is the sub-discipline\u2019s defining method (<b class=\"pq-sc\">Lijphart<\/b>: method, not substance) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> but the method itself is limited<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> comparison stands in for the laboratory control social science lacks (<b class=\"pq-sc\">Sartori<\/b>) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> yet that scientific promise is only partly met<\/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><b>subject resists science<\/b> (behaviour not purely rational <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> no uniform scientific method <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> individuals &amp; institutions follow no fixed rules <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> scarce data on systems and non-state actors) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b>comparison distorts<\/b> (generalisation from few cases <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> systems too different or too alike resist it: India vs Bahrain <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> concepts travel badly, <b class=\"pq-sc\">Sartori<\/b>\u2019s conceptual stretching) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b>bias intrudes<\/b> (cases picked to fit a prior view <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Macridis<\/b>: non-comparative, descriptive, parochial, Eurocentric <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> Marxist charge: systems approach status-quoist, Western as ideal)<\/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>flaws temper the method, not discredit it <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> careful operationalisation + <b class=\"pq-sc\">Landman<\/b>\u2019s moderate universalism keep comparison workable<\/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> read comparative findings as provisional generalisations, not scientific laws<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> despite its limits, comparison still widens political science beyond the West<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[47],"pyq_marks":[38],"pyq_topic":[68],"pyq_paper":[69],"class_list":["post-1402","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-47","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\/1402","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\/1402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4814,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1402\/revisions\/4814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1402"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1402"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1402"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}