Regime Type and Diffusion in Comparative Politics Methodology

Hanson, Stephen E.; Kopstein, Jeffrey

doi:10.1017/s0008423905050043

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Similar optimistic statements can be found elsewhere (Anckar, , p. 52; Hanson & Kopstein, , p. 93; Lijphart, , p. 171).…”

supporting

confidence: 87%

Qualitative Methods for the Study of Policy Diffusion: Challenges and Available Solutions

Starke¹

2013

Policy Studies Journal

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This article deals with the question whether and how processes of policy diffusion can be examined with qualitative methods. More specifically, how can qualitative methods address the “twin challenge of interdependence,” namely the challenge to identify diffusion, on the one hand, and the challenge to discriminate between mechanisms of diffusion, on the other? I argue, first, that there are three distinct qualitative techniques that can be used, namely cross‐case analysis (often based on systematic case selection), within‐case process tracing, and counterfactual reasoning. I demonstrate how these techniques can be adapted to the study of policy diffusion. Second, a combination of these methods is the best practice, since they are largely complementary in terms of the twin challenge of diffusion. The discussion draws on numerous illustrations from recent qualitative policy diffusion studies. The article closes with some suggestions for further methodological development in the study of policy diffusion, including the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods.

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“…Similar optimistic statements can be found elsewhere (Anckar, , p. 52; Hanson & Kopstein, , p. 93; Lijphart, , p. 171).…”

supporting

confidence: 87%

Qualitative Methods for the Study of Policy Diffusion: Challenges and Available Solutions

Starke¹

2013

Policy Studies Journal

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“…Rather I support Stephen Hanson and Jeffrey Kopstein's view that there always exist ‘temporal and spatial bounds on the validity of causal generalizations’. It remains the case that the task of holding together historical particularity and theoretical generalisability stands at the heart of comparative politics (Hanson and Kopstein, 2005, pp. 93–4).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Political Narratives: Developing a Neglected Source through the Exploratory Case of Russia in the Putin-Medvedev Era

Bacon

2012

Political Studies

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The place of narrative in political science is an issue that resurfaces with regularity, usually focusing on the questions of generalisability, evidence and causality which lie at the heart of the discipline. Most such debate concerns the use of narrative by political scientists. Far less attention has been devoted to the use of narrative by political actors, despite its relative ubiquity. Even where such attention has been given, it concentrates less on the narrative per se, and more on its performance and impact. However, the nature of public political narratives means that analysis of them facilitates a holistic understanding of their narrators' politics. A public political narrative consists of a sequential account given by political actors connecting selected, specific developments so as to impose a desired order on them. Taking contemporary Russia as an exploratory case, narrative analysis draws out the motivations, world view and inconsistencies within the Putin‐Medvedev regime. Recurring motifs and symbols identify the regime's political priorities, explaining policy choices and revealing future concerns. Narrative has a predictive aspect, identifying likely policy responses to unexpected events. Narratives capture time, and shifts in their temporalities indicate changes in self‐conceptualisation and political priorities. Temporal appropriations include or exclude particular agential and causal explanations. The relationship between their plots and subplots represents a political signalling process. Public political narratives provide temporally and spatially specific exceptionalist accounts, but their combinatory quality also facilitates comparative analysis. The approach essayed here provides methodological generalisability, arguing that the neglect of public political narratives merits correcting.

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“…Value-based diffusion can be unintentional. 43 Yet, in parallel to the above, the diffusion of democratic norms is much more researched than the other way around. 44 The current state of the art is still rather cautious about the effect of autocratic diffusion.…”

Section: Erosion and Decay Arguments For Democratic Regressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Erosion or decay? Conceptualizing causes and mechanisms of democratic regression

Gerschewski

2020

Democratization

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Democratic regression has become a worrying phenomenon in the last years. Social science has provided a variety of explanations why democratic regimes have lost democratic regime quality. Against this backdrop, I take stock of the recent literature by putting forward two important analytical distinctions that we should make more explicit. First, I propose to classify our current explanations along the source where the cause for the malaise originated. By doing so, I introduce a distinction between erosion and decay type of arguments. While the former is a gradual process that is caused exogenouslylike wind or water hitting a stonethe latter is caused endogenouslylike the half-life in nuclear decay processes. Second, I draw a distinction between the endogenous or exogenous roots of the cause and the subsequent causal mechanism that connects the cause with the outcome. I outline the need for dissecting a causal mechanism into its constitutive components and highlight its underlying dimensions of temporality. Throughout the article, I use empirical case material as well as relevant secondary literature to illustrate these points.

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Regime Type and Diffusion in Comparative Politics Methodology

Cited by 17 publications

References 69 publications

Qualitative Methods for the Study of Policy Diffusion: Challenges and Available Solutions

Qualitative Methods for the Study of Policy Diffusion: Challenges and Available Solutions

Public Political Narratives: Developing a Neglected Source through the Exploratory Case of Russia in the Putin-Medvedev Era

Erosion or decay? Conceptualizing causes and mechanisms of democratic regression

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