- A Relation based on Similarities and Differences - In our everyday lives, we instinctively compare things in order to aid the decision making process. I cannot for the life of me remember how many hours I've spent comparing dresses at a store till I finally chose one that was deemed most pleasing based on a comparative fashion criteria that takes into account all of sorts of things such as current clothing trends, comfort, pricing, etc. Coke and Pepsi? Apples and Oranges? Tomaeto and Tomato? How do we differentiate and understand these constructs without a comparative analysis?
Comparative analysis may very well work for the mundane and trivial things in our everyday life, but is it scientific enough to be used in the field of politics? well according to Todd Landman, author of Issues and Methods of Comparative politics, comparative politics can be scientific despite certain imperfection in the approach brought about purely by potential human error when making the analysis. I am still however in agreement with one of the premises in Landman's publication. Comparative politics fulfills the need to understand the complex and multi-faceted world of politics, its various machinations, and its relevance to the larger world.
Landman accurately outlines the four main objectives of comparative politics - these objectives are reinforced in other comparative studies as well - as follows. Contextual descriptions allow scientists to describe and identify other countries. The process of classification, is essentially the means through which empirical evidence is organized, thereby simplifying the complex world of politics. Hypothesis testing function of comparative politics is the process of eliminating other explanations of about particular events, actors, structures, etc. in order to arrive at a more generalized theory. and lastly, the function of prediction, that is born from comparison and generalizations, works by foreseeing certain political outcomes, events, or trends based on gathered comparative data.
Now, i am no political scientist, but I can definitely find uses for comparative politics even if it is used crudely, of all the functions of comparative politics, I personally find comparative politics' function of prediction most intriguing. Instead of using countries, let me use the two dominant political parties in the United States, that is the Democratic party and Republican party as an example. Forgive me for being crude, but based on my understanding, US politics for the past several years have focused on either the national economy or national security. Based on the ruling party, policy making is usually centered around the previously mentioned issues. With this, we can roughly predict in the foreseeable future which political party would be most popular with citizens regardless of political affiliation. George W. Bush Jr.'s administration was marked by the 9/11 attack and the threat to national security that dictator's like Saddam Hussein posed. His policies on stringent national security and an increase in military budget were widely supported during that time. Now, even before the election of Barack Obama as the next U.S president, it was roughly predicted by many. The Democrats practice would I believe is called Democratic capitalism and focuses greatly on the US economy. With promises of an economically stronger state especially during a time when the US economy is fragile and is now in recession, it was easy to see which political party would eventually win the race.
- A Foggy Future -
Comparative analysis may very well work for the mundane and trivial things in our everyday life, but is it scientific enough to be used in the field of politics? well according to Todd Landman, author of Issues and Methods of Comparative politics, comparative politics can be scientific despite certain imperfection in the approach brought about purely by potential human error when making the analysis. I am still however in agreement with one of the premises in Landman's publication. Comparative politics fulfills the need to understand the complex and multi-faceted world of politics, its various machinations, and its relevance to the larger world.
Landman accurately outlines the four main objectives of comparative politics - these objectives are reinforced in other comparative studies as well - as follows. Contextual descriptions allow scientists to describe and identify other countries. The process of classification, is essentially the means through which empirical evidence is organized, thereby simplifying the complex world of politics. Hypothesis testing function of comparative politics is the process of eliminating other explanations of about particular events, actors, structures, etc. in order to arrive at a more generalized theory. and lastly, the function of prediction, that is born from comparison and generalizations, works by foreseeing certain political outcomes, events, or trends based on gathered comparative data.
Now, i am no political scientist, but I can definitely find uses for comparative politics even if it is used crudely, of all the functions of comparative politics, I personally find comparative politics' function of prediction most intriguing. Instead of using countries, let me use the two dominant political parties in the United States, that is the Democratic party and Republican party as an example. Forgive me for being crude, but based on my understanding, US politics for the past several years have focused on either the national economy or national security. Based on the ruling party, policy making is usually centered around the previously mentioned issues. With this, we can roughly predict in the foreseeable future which political party would be most popular with citizens regardless of political affiliation. George W. Bush Jr.'s administration was marked by the 9/11 attack and the threat to national security that dictator's like Saddam Hussein posed. His policies on stringent national security and an increase in military budget were widely supported during that time. Now, even before the election of Barack Obama as the next U.S president, it was roughly predicted by many. The Democrats practice would I believe is called Democratic capitalism and focuses greatly on the US economy. With promises of an economically stronger state especially during a time when the US economy is fragile and is now in recession, it was easy to see which political party would eventually win the race.
- A Foggy Future -
Japan is by all means a nation with a rich culture and history, a strong and collective sense of nation, and has for years inspired the intrigue of many people. But what would inspire a political scientist's intrigue in the Japanese polity? According to J.A.A Stockwin, Japan has undergone many transformation in a short amount of time that its political system has failed to adapt. For years, the ruling political party in Japan has been the Liberal Democratic Party or the LDP, despite Japan's attempts to reform its political system through the reforming of electoral system and such, it has still failed to do so as seen by the LDP's monopoly of political power. Despite the discontentment of the people with the LDP, things are still unchanged. Thus there is a division that is subtle, yet deep.
There is no harm in attempting to use comparative politics to better understand Japanese politics, but according to Stockwin, it would be quite inadequate to analyze Japan's political situation using the current norms based on international orthodoxies, simply because Japan is uniquely unique. Japan is now in a transitional phase attempting to shed itself from the old, although political scientists wish to predict what sort of system will take over, it will prove quite difficult especially with the above mentioned conditions. In this transitional phase, Japan is still facing unresolved issues before it can change. Stockwin outlined six "crises" - he did not wish to use the word, however due to a lack of a better word it was unavoidable - that are currently tying Japan down and may be linked to its divided politics.
The crisis of political power, is the issue of not having a stable and flexible political party system that would replace the LDP, and halt its monopoly on political power. There is the crises of bureaucracy, which encompasses the criticizing of the bureaucracy for mishandling important economic issues and the rising of corruption scandals. The crises of Political Apathy and lack of confidence in government, which illustrates the decline in voting turnout due to contingent circumstances in political transition. The crises of Economic management entails that the maturation of Japan's economy has led to a number of problems such as the deployment of industries overseas in order to cut costs, Japan's indebtedness which has led to the collapse of a number of financial institutions, and finally an increase in unemployment rate. The crises of popular satisfaction with life chances resulted in Japan's lagging standard of living with regards to components like homes and personal freedom despite it being the second largest economy in the world. The final hurdle would be the crises of constitution and world role. Will Japan play the role of the peaceful negotiator as dictated by its constitution article of peace, or will it play the role of a military power as it once was? The revision of the constitution is nonetheless a more pressing issue for Japan, as it may have national and international ramifications.
Concerning the prediction of what sort of system will likely replace the old, in my opinion is largely dependant on how Japan will deal with the above mentioned issues. The manner through which it is resolved is of great importance in understanding Japan's polity and predicting political trends that may arise. Therein lies the need to study Japanese politics, in an attempt of unfogging the future.
There is no harm in attempting to use comparative politics to better understand Japanese politics, but according to Stockwin, it would be quite inadequate to analyze Japan's political situation using the current norms based on international orthodoxies, simply because Japan is uniquely unique. Japan is now in a transitional phase attempting to shed itself from the old, although political scientists wish to predict what sort of system will take over, it will prove quite difficult especially with the above mentioned conditions. In this transitional phase, Japan is still facing unresolved issues before it can change. Stockwin outlined six "crises" - he did not wish to use the word, however due to a lack of a better word it was unavoidable - that are currently tying Japan down and may be linked to its divided politics.
The crisis of political power, is the issue of not having a stable and flexible political party system that would replace the LDP, and halt its monopoly on political power. There is the crises of bureaucracy, which encompasses the criticizing of the bureaucracy for mishandling important economic issues and the rising of corruption scandals. The crises of Political Apathy and lack of confidence in government, which illustrates the decline in voting turnout due to contingent circumstances in political transition. The crises of Economic management entails that the maturation of Japan's economy has led to a number of problems such as the deployment of industries overseas in order to cut costs, Japan's indebtedness which has led to the collapse of a number of financial institutions, and finally an increase in unemployment rate. The crises of popular satisfaction with life chances resulted in Japan's lagging standard of living with regards to components like homes and personal freedom despite it being the second largest economy in the world. The final hurdle would be the crises of constitution and world role. Will Japan play the role of the peaceful negotiator as dictated by its constitution article of peace, or will it play the role of a military power as it once was? The revision of the constitution is nonetheless a more pressing issue for Japan, as it may have national and international ramifications.
Concerning the prediction of what sort of system will likely replace the old, in my opinion is largely dependant on how Japan will deal with the above mentioned issues. The manner through which it is resolved is of great importance in understanding Japan's polity and predicting political trends that may arise. Therein lies the need to study Japanese politics, in an attempt of unfogging the future.
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