Q-7 | Paper 2

 Qn. 7. Which are the major approaches of comparative politics? Explain in brief, the political economy approach to the study of comparative inquiry. (2015/II/1a/10m)

Comparative politics is a methodological sub-discipline of political science, employing comparison as a method of political inquiry. Since an approach is a way of observing and explaining a particular phenomenon. However, Comparative politics does not have well-defined boundaries, but its major approaches can be categorised as traditional and modern approaches. Traditional approaches comprise philosophical, historical, institutional, legal, configurative, problem and area approaches, inter alia. Major modern approaches would be political system, political economy, political sociology, behavioural, psychological, quantitative, simulation and Marxian approaches, etc. The political economy approach is the “methodology of economics applied to the analysis of political behaviour and institutions”.

Traditional approaches emphasised on the value-laden study of politics and include:

1. The philosophical approach or ethical approach is the pursuit of goals, morals and principles, through the study of the state, man and their relations. e.g. works of Plato, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Strauss, Green, Nettleship, More, Bacon, Harrington, Bosanquet et al.
2. The historical approach is the determination of political principles from historical analyses. Its proponents have been Aristotle, Montesquieu, Hegel, Marx, Henry Maine, Jenks, MacIver etc.
3. The institutional approach or structural approach or institutional-functional approach denotes the study of formal structures of a political organisation, such as executive, legislature, judiciary, party system and interest groups. Its adopters were Aristotle, Polybius, Laski, Bryce, Finer, Bentley, Duverger, Sartori, Truman, Latham, Bagehot, Ogg, Munro, Crick etc.
4. The legal approach or juridical approach or formal-legal approach is the study of legal processes and institutions – here, political scientists see state as a maintainer of an effective and equitable system of law and order. Juridical analysts include Cicero, Bodin, Hobbes, Bentham, Dicey, Sevigny, Grotius, Jellinek and Maine.
5. The configurative approach studies a political system as a unique entity, focusing on its configurative description. It was employed by Neumann, Dragnich, Carter and Herz.
6. The problem approach is study confined to problem areas of formal institutional structures. For instance, the decay of bicameralism; the relationship between democracy and economic planning, delegation of powers to executive etc.
7. The area approach is the analysis of an “area” to understand variations in socioeconomic progress, especially in the Cold War era. Advocates include Macridis, Scalapino, Moore, Davis, McKahin, Anderen et al.

Modern approaches with fact-laden study of politics include:

1. The political system approach is inter-disciplinary study that focuses on comprehending ‘systems’. Major works include those of Easton, Almond, Powell, Beer and Ulam.
2. The political economy approach studies dynamics between politics and economics, i.e. relations that evolve between people in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods and services. Proponents are Adam Smith, Ricardo, Malthus, James Mill, J. S. Mill, Marx, Engels etc.
3. The political sociology approach studies the interactions, linkages and relationships between state and society, with many believing that state is more social than political. Its employers are Easton, Almond, MacIver, Dahl, Crick, Lipset, Bendix, Effrat etc. The sociological approach can be said to consist of ‘political sociology’ and ‘political culture’.
4. The behavioural approach, a manifestation of the empirical approach, is the adoption of scientific analytical methods to examine the actual behaviour of man as a political and social being. Proponents include Easton, Merriam, Tingsten etc. Easton’s model is said to include structural functionalism by Almond and Powell.
5. The psychological approach is the psychological study of politics, to display the political role of constituent elements of human personality (such as emotions, habits, sentiments, instincts, ego etc.) Its supporters include Dahl, Fromm, Wallas, MacIver, Merriam, Laswell et al.
6. The quantitative approach or statistical approach is the use of numerical data in the analysis of a political phenomenon, to enhance accuracy. Its subscribers include Merriam, Gallup, Gosnel, Lazarsfield, Lubel, Milne, Mackenzie and so on.
7. The simulation approach is a study of political phenomenon with the aid of image-construction or model building, borrowing from natural sciences, cybernetics, mathematics etc. Examples are political communication approach (Karl Deutsh) and decision-making approach.
8. The Marxian approach studies impact of economics on politics and society, and considers the state as an inevitable consequence of class contradictions, predicting that the final stage of social development is a stateless society. Supporters include Marx, Engels, Lenin, Gramsci, Luxemburg, Trotsky et al.
9. New institutionalism, the contemporary successor of institutionalism, refocused on the pivotal role of political institutions, upholding the importance of collective actions. Its subscribers include Skocpol, Pierson, Macridis, March, Olsen, Rhodes, Peters, Goodin, Klingeman, Brunnson and so on.
10. 10.Other approaches, which can be mentioned, are political culture, political development, public policy approach, dependency school and world system approach – these are not exactly separate from some of the above approaches.

Political economy approach is an approach of comparative politics that gives the economic interpretation of politics and studies relations that evolve between people in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods and services. This approach can be divided into the liberal and Marxian political economies. The liberal political approach was advocated by Adam Smith, Ricardo, Malthus, James Mill, J. S. Mill, McCulloh et al. Marxist proponents are Marx, Engels, Lenin etc. Sir William Petty, a developer of political arithmetic, is called the ‘father of political economy’.

Political economy approach has a long and distinguished history in the study of comparative politics. It is an old subject of intellectual inquiry but a relatively young academic discipline. Its academic revival is encouraged by the growing interest in interdisciplinary studies. It accommodates ideological and theoretical variety. Today, there is growing consensus that the separation between the study of politics and economics is artificial, especially in the light of tensions between economic and political objectives. The integrated approach of political economy is necessary.

Conclusion: The cross-disciplinary and methodological nature of comparative politics has been evolving through various approaches. One of them is political economy approach – the economic interpretation of politics.