Rethinking Comparison: Innovative Methods for Qualitative Political Inquiry

302 Pages·2021·2.322 MB·English

by  Erica S. Simmons (editor), Nicholas Rush Smith (editor)

RethinkingComparison
Qualitativecomparativemethods–andspecificallycontrolledqualita-
tivecomparisons–arecentraltothestudyofpolitics.Theyarenotthe
only kind of comparison, though, that can help us better understand
political processesandoutcomes. Yettherearefew guidesforhow to
conduct non-controlled comparative research. This volume brings
together chapters from more than a dozen leading methods scholars
from across the discipline of political science, including positivist and
interpretivist scholars, qualitative methodologists, mixed-methods
researchers, ethnographers, historians, and statisticians. Their work
revolutionizesqualitativeresearchdesignbydiversifyingtherepertoire
of comparative methods available to students of politics, offering
readersclearsuggestionsforwhatkindsofcomparisonsmightbepos-
sible,whytheyareuseful,andhowtoexecutethem.Bysystematically
thinking through how we engage in qualitative comparisons and the
kinds of insights those comparisons produce, these collected essays
createnewpossibilitiestoadvancewhatweknowaboutpolitics.
Erica S. Simmons is Associate Professor of Political Science and
International Studies and holds the Department of Political Science
BoardofVisitorsProfessorshipattheUniversityofWisconsin–Madison.
Nicholas Rush Smith is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the
City University of New York–City College and Senior Research
Associate in the Department of Sociology at the University of
Johannesburg.

Rethinking Comparison
Innovative Methods for Qualitative Political
Inquiry
Edited by
ERICA S. SIMMONS
UniversityofWisconsin–Madison
NICHOLAS RUSH SMITH
CityUniversityofNewYork–CityCollege
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Contents
ListofFigures pageix
ListofTables x
ListofContributors xi
Acknowledgments xv
1 RethinkingComparison:AnIntroduction 1
EricaS.SimmonsandNicholasRushSmith
part i rethinking the building blocks of comparison 29
2 BeyondMill:WhyCross-CaseQualitativeCausalInference
IsWeak,andWhyWeShouldStillCompare 31
JasonSeawright
3 TwoWaystoCompare 47
FredericCharlesSchaffer
4 UnboundComparison 64
NickCheesman
5 OnCasingaStudyversusStudyingaCase 84
JoeSoss
6 FromCasestoSites:StudyingGlobalProcessesinComparative
Politics 107
TheaRiofrancos
part ii developing new approaches to comparison
through research 127
7 ComparingComplexCasesUsingArchivalResearch 129
JonathanObert
vii
viii Contents
8 ComposingComparisons:StudyingConfigurationsofRelations
inSocialNetworkResearch 152
SarahE.Parkinson
9 AgainstMethodologicalNationalism:SeeingComparisonsas
EncompassingthroughtheArabUprisings 172
JillianSchwedler
10 ComparativeAnalysisforTheoryDevelopment 190
MalaHtunandFrancescaR.Jensenius
11 ProblemsandPossibilitiesofComparisonacrossRegime
Types:ExamplesInvolvingChina 208
BenjaminL.Read
12 ComparisonswithanEthnographicSensibility:StudiesofProtest
andVigilantism 231
EricaS.SimmonsandNicholasRushSmith
epilogue 251
13 TheoryandImaginationinComparativePolitics:AnInterview
withLisaWedeen 253
EricaS.SimmonsandNicholasRushSmithwithLisaWedeen
Index 275
Figures
7.1 DiffusionofviolenceinChicagoRaceRiot
(July26–29,1919) page143
8.1 MilitantA’segocentricsocialnetworkperspective 165
ix
Tables
7.1 Methodologicalchoiceandcomplexcomparisons page138
7.2 RaciallymotivatedviolenceintheUnitedStates(1919) 145
x