Approaches To Study Comparative Politics

Approaches To Study Comparative Politics Traditional, Behavioral, And Post-Behavioral

Traditional Approach:

It establishes a close link between politics and value systems. It is normative and prescriptive in nature. It focuses on – what politics should be. It is primarily about comparing individual countries. 

It focuses only on the formal aspect of political institution and process; thus it is parochial in nature. Therefore, this approach was criticized by the behaviorist in 1940.


Behavioral Approach:


The behavioral approach focuses on the separation of fact and value. It is neutral in character and it has a value-free kind of understanding of politics. 

It focuses on quantitative analysis and verification of data. Behavioral approach is concerned with regularities, uniformity, etc. However it was dominated by ethnocentric kind of politics, as a result, it faced criticism within it.

Post Behavioral Approach:


Post behavioral approach focuses on relevance. It is problem-solving in nature. 

It gives importance to third world countries and focuses on studying not only on the formal institutions but also on the non-formal institutions and political processes. It understands politics from a holistic perspective.