Comparative government or comparative politics is a method in political science for obtaining evidence of causal effects by comparing the varying forms of government in the world, and the states they govern, although governments across different periods of history may also be the units of comparison. There are several methods at work in comparative government (method of difference as opposed to method of agreement and variable as opposed to case study approaches) but all have in common the explanation of differential changes in dependent variable by the presence of different independent variables in the systems under comparison. The nature of dependent (what is to be explained) and independent variables (what explains the pattern of the dependent variable) in the method is almost unlimited, from government form to electoral system to economic or cultural factors Politics is the process by which individuals or relatively small groups attempt to exert influence over the actions of an organization. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... Political science is the field of the social sciences concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ... Political history is what most people refer to simply as history. ... This is a list of notable political scientists. ... International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ... Political economy was the original term for the study of production, the acts of buying and selling, and their relationships to laws, customs and government. ... Political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, liberty, property, rights, law and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it... Political psychology is an interdisciplinary academic field dedicated to the study of the psychology behind political behavior by voters, lawmakers, local and national governments and administrations, international organizations, political parties and associations. ... A form of government is a colloquial term that refers to the set of political institutions by which a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a political community [1] Note that this definition holds valid even if the government is illegitimate or if it is unsuccessful... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ... Public administration is, broadly speaking, the study and implementation of policy. ... Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science referring to the way that the administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules is socially organized. ... Street-level bureaucracy is a term used to refer to a public agency employee who actually performs the actions that implement laws. ... Consent of the governed is a political theory that says a governments legitimacy and moral right to use state power is, or ought to be, derived from the people or society over which that power is exercised. ... The psychodynamics of decision-making form a basis to understand institutional functioning. ... Politics is the process by which individuals or relatively small groups attempt to exert influence over the actions of an organization. ... A form of government (also referred to as a system of government or a political system) is a system composed of various people, institutions and their relations in regard to the governance of a state. ... Anarchy (Greek: αναρχία) is the anarchist society, the stateless society of free people. ... The Ancient Greek term aristocracy meant a system of government with rule by the best. This is the first definition given in most dictionaries. ... An Autocracy is a form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual. ... Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either a single person (ie. ... World dictatorships. ... Places where monarchies maintain rule appear in blue. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, family, military strength, or political influence). ... States in which a single party is constitutionally linked to power are coloured in brown. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... An election is a decision making process where people choose people to hold official offices. ... It has been suggested that ballot be merged into this article or section. ... An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ... A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... A form of government (also referred to as a system of government or a political system) is a system composed of various people, institutions and their relations in regard to the governance of a state. ... A state is a set of institutions that possess the authority to make the rules that govern the people in one or more societies, having internal and external sovereignty over a definite territory. ... HIStory: Past, Present and Future – Book I (or simply HIStory) is a double-disc album by Michael Jackson released in 1995 by the Epic Records devision of Sony Music. ... Mills Methods are five methods of induction described by philosopher John Stuart Mill in his 1843 book A System of Logic. ... Mills Methods are five methods of induction described by philosopher John Stuart Mill in his 1843 book A System of Logic. ...

It has areas of concentration that include topics such as democratization, state-society relations, identity and ethnic politics, social movements, institutional analysis, and political economy. Methodologies used in comparative politics include rational choice theory; and political cultural, political economy, and institutional approaches. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Thomas Hobbes are some of the key early thinkers in this subdiscipline. Democratization is the transition from an authoritarian or a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. ... Identity politics is the political activity of various social movements for self-determination. ... An ethnic group is a human population whose members identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry (Smith, 1986). ... American Civil Rights Movement is one of the most famous social movements of the 20th century. ... Political economy was the original term for the study of production, the acts of buying and selling, and their relationships to laws, customs and government. ... Rational choice theory assumes human behaviour as guided by instrumental reason. ... Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778) was a Genevan philosopher of the Enlightenment whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism. ... John Locke (August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704) was an influential English philosopher. ... Portrait of Montesquieu in 1728. ... Hobbes redirects here. ...

Another method of comparison looks at the inputs and outputs of the political system. Inputs include socialization, recruitment, interest articulation, interest aggregation, political parties and methods of communicating policy. Outputs are generically rule making, application and adjudication. Interest articulation is a way for members of a society to express their needs to a system of government. ...

Connection to international relations

Comparative politics is not a subfield of international relations. How each government conducts its foreign policy is a consideration inside comparative politics. International relations is the study of these interactions and the process of these interactions. These two fields do of course overlap, but are separate fields of study. International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ... A foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how a particular country will interact with the other countries of the world. ...

The study of political institutions

Some of the major units of study in the subject are political institutions such as

• executive
• legislative branch
• judicial
• bureaucratic elites

The judiciary, also referred to as the judicature, consists of justices, judges and magistrates among other types of adjudicators. ... In sociological theories, bureaucracy is an organizational structure characterized by regularized procedure, division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. ...

See also

• Comparing Unitary and Federal Systems of Government
• Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES)
• Politics of Australia and Canada compared
• Politics of Australia and New Zealand compared
• Canadian and American politics compared

In the majority of nations, the public government contains multiple governments within itself, each of which have their own jurisdiction and laws. ... There are a great many similarities between the countries of Canada and Australia. ... There are a great many similarities between Australia and New Zealand. ... Though there are many similarities between the politics of Canada and the politics of the United States, there are also important differences. ...

External links

• What is comparative politics?
• Abstracts of seminal books and articles in the study of comparative politics