The theory and method of comparative area studies

Ahram, Ariel I.

doi:10.1177/1468794110385297

Cited by 54 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 80 publications

(55 reference statements)

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“…In this manner, unfounded (and often unstated) assumptions about a particular concept's applicable scope are challenged empirically and the concept's essential components are uncovered and made more explicit (C. Chen and Sil 2007). Indeed, among the promises of MMR is that it can integrate qualitatively derived, region-specific knowledge with larger crossnational, quantitative analysis in a new form of comparative area studies (Ahram 2010).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concepts and Measurement in Multimethod Research

Ahram

2011

Political Research Quarterly

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This article argues that concept misformation and conceptual stretching undermine efforts to combine qualitative and quantitative methods in multimethod research (MMR). Two related problems result from the mismatch of qualitatively and quantitatively construed concepts. Mechanism muddling occurs when differences in the connotation of qualitatively and quantitatively construed concepts embed different causal properties into conceptual definitions. Conceptual slippage occurs when qualitatively and quantitatively construed concepts use incompatible nominal, ordinal, or radial scales. Instead of gaining leverage from the synthesis of large-and small-N analysis, these problems can push MMR in two diametrically opposed directions, emphasizing one methodological facet at the cost of the other.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concepts and Measurement in Multimethod Research

Ahram

2011

Political Research Quarterly

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“…4 Importantly, as with all research of this nature, this portrayal is unavoidably shaped by the level of access I was granted and the views of those I spoke with. However, in the spirit of Ahram's (2011) call for greater acknowledgement of how comparative and area studies can complement each other, I maintain that this approach augments the existing literature by providing a perspective missing thus far.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Small fish swimming in the shape of a shark: why politicians join political parties in the Pacific Islands

Corbett

2015

Commonwealth & Comparative Politics

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Political parties are ubiquitous features of contemporary models of representative democracy and are widely believed to be integral to transition, and yet persistently democratic Pacific Island countries tend to have 'weakly' institutionalised parties -some have none at all -that have little influence on the mobilisation of voters during elections. Party theory largely assumes that politicians form parties to win elections: the author asks why, given the commonly cited irrelevance of party politics in much of the Pacific, politicians join political parties at all. Drawing on 96 biographical accounts -including 72 in-depth interviews -he interprets the explanations politicians give for joining, leaving and changing parties. The author identifies three narratives. The first accords with an augmented rational actor model, the second with a responsible parties model and the third points to intrinsic motivations that are largely overlooked in the existing literature. The author concludes that a comprehensive account must include all three interpretations.

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“…We further buck the tendencies dominant in quantitative and deductive modes of inquiry by organizing the issue explicitly around regional clusters. There is, of course, a long‐standing tension in comparative politics between those pursuing global generalization and those who consider themselves area specialists (Bates, ; Ahram, ). While the tables may have turned in favor of the former in recent decades (Mahoney, ), we find that in the study of authoritarianism in particular, the emergences of general categorizations and concepts often are grounded in area‐specific forms of inquiry.…”

Section: The Qualitative Inductive Cornerstone In the Study Of Authomentioning

confidence: 99%