What is Comparative Government? Institutions, policies, politics or process?

Before comparing, classify Types of government types of regime types of political behaviour political culture political economy do we have adequate taxonomies and paradigms for all these?

Aristotle’s classification

LIBERAL totalitarian authoritarian democratic

Contemporary classification First world Second world Third world Fourth world [a] Fourth world [b] how do we classify post-Westphalian governments?

By region or type of government? Types of democracy or regions of democracy? Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Asia: is this a useful way to classify? Other than democracy what is there? Chinese Communism, traditional, Islamic? Too soon to say?

Once classified, what to compare? Same sort of system? Different systems? Institutions? Policies? Processes?

“New” Comparative Government Roy Macridis: stop describing: analyse, and produce models New journal, Comparative Politics [see issue 1] Behaviouralism trendy in 60s This is why the reading lists all contain books and articles from the 60s Most typologies created then

Easton’s input-output model inputs outputs Feedback loop demands support conversion

Almond’s Structural- Functionalism Political socialisation and recruitment interest articulation interest aggregation political communication rule making rule execution rule ajudication

The 60s had great models but no data Almond and easton difficult to implement, because of shortage of data Return to case study approach Academics basically lazy: whatever is easiest to publish. Also fashion driven for the same reason Social Sciences as Sorcery