ASPO 21A10 - Comparative Politics

The concepts and methods scholars use in their attempt to comprehend polities, politics and

policies have a history. They have travelled in translation(s), and experienced multiple

appropriations. The story these notions tell us is that of the unequal distribution of social

and symbolic resources across the world. Engaging in a reflection on Comparative Politics

thus invites an exploration into the social conditions of knowledge production. It also offers a

stimulating lens on the current world order. How situated are “universal ideas”? Which

concepts and issues circulate, and how? To what extent can the analyses of extremely diverse

local configurations engage in a conversation (to borrow Sanjay Subrahmanyam’s expression)?

These are amongst the questions the course will address.

The purpose of thisintroduction to Comparative Politicsis threefold.

First, the aim is to acquaintstudents with key notions and empirical research in the field of

political science – with a strong focus on how they came into being and were credited with an

ability to account for social dynamics beyond their place and moment of origin. The relationships

between “area studies” and “socialsciences” will also be explored.

Second, a majority of the case studies are borrowed fromthe historical trajectories of Central

and Southeast Europe, as well as Russia. In considering these cases, the course will adopt a

twin perspective: It will examine the making of “Slavic/Soviet/post-Soviet” studies, on the one

hand; it will show how Eastern European configurations may shed new light on such

comparative issues as state formation, identity processes and the resort to violence, on the

other.

Finally, the examination of cross-national insights into politics will provide a basis for a

consideration of sources, research methods, and epistemological controversies. Central to

this course is the belief that students need to familiarize themselves with a diversity of – print,

sound, visual, and digital – sources in order to acquire the tools for developing a reflexive approach to the social sciences and further their own creativity.