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Argument
The placement of evidence in logical form in support of a position or claim. TERM 2
Comparative Politics
DEFINITION 2 The subfield of political science that aims to analyze multiple cases using the comparative method. TERM 3
Open-ended Question
DEFINITION 3 A question that, in principle, is open to numerous possible answers. TERM 4
Empirical
DEFINITION 4 Drawn from observations of the world. TERM 5
Normative
DEFINITION 5 Concerned with specifying which sort of practice or institution is morally or ethically justified.
Concept
An idea comparativists use to think about the processes we study. TERM 7
Conceptualization
DEFINITION 7 The deliberate process through which we create and select social-scientific concepts. TERM 8
Sartori's Ladder of
Abstraction
DEFINITION 8 The idea that we can organize concepts on the basis of their specificity or generality. TERM 9
Operationalization
DEFINITION 9 The process through which we make a concept measurable. TERM 10
Evidence
DEFINITION 10 A set of facts or observations used to support a proposition or examine a hypothesis.
Variation
Difference between cases in any given study of comparative politics. TERM 17
Most-Similar-Systems (MSS)
DEFINITION 17 A research design in which we compare cases that are similar with respect to a number of factors but with distinct outcomes. TERM 18
Most-Different-Systems (MDS)
DEFINITION 18 A research design in which we compare cases that differ with respect to multiple factors but in which the outcome is the same. TERM 19
Comparative Checking
DEFINITION 19 The process of testing the conclusions from a set of comparisons against additional cases or evidence. TERM 20
Generalizability
DEFINITION 20 The quality that a given theory, hypothesis, or finding has of being applicable to a wide number of cases.
Within-case Comparison
The comparative analysis of variation that takes place over time or in distinct parts of a single case. TERM 22
Theory
DEFINITION 22 A general set of explanatory claims about some specifiable empirical range. TERM 23
Hypothesis
DEFINITION 23 A specific prediction, derived from a theory, that can be tested against empirical evidence. TERM 24
Deductive Reasoning
DEFINITION 24 The process of moving from general claims or theories to specific observations or predictions about a phenomenon or set of cases. TERM 25
Deviant Case (Outlier)
DEFINITION 25 A case that does not fit the pattern predicted by a given theory.
Correlation
A relationship between two variables in which they tend to move in either the same direction (positive correlation) or in opposite directions (negative correlation). TERM 32
Causation
DEFINITION 32 The property that obtains when one thing can be shown to cause another. TERM 33
Indicator
DEFINITION 33 An element or feature that indicates the presence of an underlying factor. TERM 34
Bias
DEFINITION 34 A preference for one idea or perspective over another, especially a preference that may result in unbalanced use of evidence or in analytical error. TERM 35
Measurement Error
DEFINITION 35 Either an episodic error, such as improperly recording data, or a systematic error, meaning that a measurement does not fully reflect what it is designed to measure.
Measurement Bias
A measure is biased if it will not produce comparable results for all observations. TERM 37
Parsimonious
DEFINITION 37 Selecting the most important variables and giving them pride of place in the argument. TERM 38
State
DEFINITION 38 The most important kind of political organization in modern politics, which, in its ideal form, is characterized by centralized control of the use of force, bureaucratic organization, and the provision of a number of public goods. TERM 39
Modern State
DEFINITION 39 A concept used to distinguish states in the modern world from earlier forms of political centralization; it includes features such as extensive bureaucracy, centralization of violence, and impersonality. TERM 40
Rule of Law
DEFINITION 40 A system that imposes regularized rules in a polity, with key criteria including equal rights, the regular enforcement of laws, and the relative independence of the judiciary.
Citizenship
A form of relationship between the state and individuals subject to its control in which citizens have certain basic rights and are in some way represented by the state. TERM 47
Sovereignty
DEFINITION 47 The key way the authority of the modern state is conceptualized: states are understood to be the ultimate authority within their specifically demarcated territories. TERM 48
State System
DEFINITION 48 The condition that many of the most important actors in international relations are states, which can be understood as systemically linked to one another. TERM 49
Bellicist Theory
DEFINITION 49 Theory associated with scholars such as Charles Tilly, who argued that interstate wars were decisive in the creation of the modern state. TERM 50
Diffusion
DEFINITION 50 The process through which a practice or idea spreads locally, nationally, and globally.
Organization
Institutionalized group such as a state, corporation, political party, social movement, or international body. TERM 52
Isomorphism
DEFINITION 52 In institutional theory, the quality that two or more organizations have by virtue of being structurally very similar. TERM 53
World Society Theory
DEFINITION 53 A theory associated with scholars such as John Meyer who argue that basic organizational features of the state system are cultural and have diffused globally.
