2019/02/13 by Jefferey M. Sellers · 62 citations
Social Sciences · #Comparative research #Currency #Economic geography #Economics #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Geography #Leverage (statistics) #Political Systems and Governance #Political science #Politics #Regional science #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Social science #Sociology #Typology #Variety (cybernetics)
paper · doi:10.1017/s1537592718002104
published in Perspectives on Politics 17(1), 85-105 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2019/02/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/19
Long a staple in the toolkit of American politics, comparison among subnational territorial units has gained increasing currency in comparative politics. A growing portion of subnational research, especially in the monographic literature, employs comparisons of subnational territorial units within different countries. This approach to comparison, which I term transnational comparison, has the potential to build on and extend the advantages of subnational comparison. Despite the numerous added challenges it poses, transnational comparison offers a variety of ways to incorporate and leverage variations between countries as well as within them. Drawing on exemplary studies from the literature on subnational regimes and beyond, I outline a typology of successful transnational comparative strategies. The choice among these strategies depends on their distinctive properties, on the substantive questions asked, and on the stage of a research program. All have contributed to advancing the study of politics beyond nation-centered comparison.