Conceptualising Comparative Politics
Advisory Board: Colin Hay (University of Sheffield), Courtney Jung (University of Toronto), Todd Landman (University of Essex), Mark Lichbach (University of Maryland), Shinasi Rama (New York University), Vivien Schmidt (Boston University), Zheng Yongnian (East Asia Institute/National University of Singapore)
Conceptualising Comparative Politics seeks to bring a distinctive approach to comparative politics by rediscovering the discipline’s rich conceptual tradition and inter-disciplinary foundations. It encourages the submission of manuscripts which take equally seriously the importance of theoretical reflection on concepts and their application through empirical analysis. It aims to: 1) fill out the conceptual framework on which the rest of the subfield draws but to which books only sporadically contribute; 2) complement theoretical and conceptual analysis by matching it to thorough case studies; 3) cut across narrow methodological and disciplinary borders and offer valuable insights for scholars in other disciplines and subdisciplines.
We are looking for books that make serious inquiry into fundamental concepts in comparative politics (crisis, legitimacy, credibility, representation, institutions, civil society, reconciliation) through theoretically engaging and empirical rich analysis. Differing from other approaches, we do not see the concepts and theoretical framework of a book as being a necessary evil included in an introduction as an excuse to carry out empirical analysis. We are not looking for casual namedropping in a first chapter (Hobbes, Hegel, Huntington) which is disconnected from the rest of the chapters, nor do we want an elegant hypothesis which will be regressed on a different data set in each chapter without reflection on the concepts within the hypothesis. We believe that case studies cannot be independent of the concepts they articulate and the theoretical frameworks they support. In other words, ideally there should not be a ‘theoretical/conceptual’ chapter and then several ‘substantive’ chapters, but a cohesive book which thoughtfully synchronizes conceptual reflection, theoretical formulations, and empirical analysis.
While contributions with a historical depth are most welcome, the books should have a contemporary edge. Some possible areas of interest are: understanding politics in post-reform China, the politics of financial crises and the re-imagination of European and other social compacts, the new politics of the Middle East, the politics of social change in Latin America, changes in developmental practices in Sub-Saharan Africa, and dynamics of violence and non-violence in South Asia.
