Comparative politics is one of the major components of political science. Like the discipline as a whole, its goal is to try to reach general conclusions about how power and other resources are used and people govern themselves. What makes comparative politics different from the rest of political science is the method brought to bear in reaching those conclusions.

People who use this method argue that you can understand something by putting it into a perspective through comparison. In principle, you can compare any unit, and most of you probably have done so in deciding which car to buy or college to attend.

This web site has virtually all the material students receive in the course. You can move around the course materials, go to its TownHall discussion page, and access Comparative Politics Online using the navigation bar below.